Lone worker protection on a mobile phone: choosing the right smartphone for people working alone

Works on standard and rugged smartphones, Android or iPhone
Physical SOS key supported on Crosscall, Samsung XCover and Doro
No dedicated SIM: the phone's data plan is enough

A lone worker protection phone is a smartphone that acts as a safety alarm for people working alone. It detects a fall or abnormal stillness, lets the worker send an SOS and shares their location with supervisors. With VigieApp, Neovigie's safety app, a recent smartphone, standard or rugged, becomes a lone worker protection phone without new hardware.

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What is a lone worker protection phone?

There are two kinds of lone worker phones: pre-equipped handsets, sold with an alarm function built in by the manufacturer, and ordinary smartphones running a working alone app connected to a monitoring platform.

Neovigie takes the second approach: you choose the phone that fits the job, VigieApp turns it into a safety device, and alerts go to VigieControl.

Which phone for someone working alone?

VigieApp runs on Android 8.0 and later, and on iPhone from the iPhone 6s (iOS 12.4 and later). The right choice depends mainly on the work environment:

Standard smartphone: offices, retail, home visits, low-risk travel
Rugged smartphone (Samsung XCover, Crosscall, Honeywell): construction sites, industry, outdoor work, impacts, dust, rain, cold
Physical SOS key (Crosscall, Samsung XCover, Doro): trigger the alarm without unlocking the screen
Android rather than iPhone for demanding use: iPhone has no SOS button on the lock screen and cannot start protection automatically on a schedule

Also check the IP rating, operating temperature range and battery life stated by the manufacturer. They determine how well the phone holds up in the field.

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What a lone worker protection phone detects

The phone uses its accelerometer to detect situations where the worker can no longer call for help.

Falls, detected by an AI algorithm with 3 sensitivity levels
Loss of verticality
Prolonged stillness
Low battery and loss of connection with the servers

Before an automatic alarm, an audible and vibrating pre-alarm gives the worker a few seconds to cancel a false alert. The alarm then follows the escalation procedure set up by the administrator in VigieControl.

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Battery life: lasting the whole workday

Battery life depends first on the phone. A rugged smartphone usually has a bigger battery, and some models, such as the Samsung XCover range, have a removable battery that can be swapped in seconds. In the settings, VigieApp must be allowed to run in the background, excluded from battery optimization. Without this, the phone may stop protection to save power.

Triggering the alarm without looking at the screen

In the field, nobody unlocks their phone to call for help. A lone worker protection phone offers several ways to trigger an alarm:

Physical SOS key on Crosscall, Samsung XCover and Doro phones
Floating SOS button on the lock screen (Android only)
VigieTouch Bluetooth button: worn on a belt, around the neck or on a wristband

A voluntary alarm is sent immediately, with no pre-alarm.

Bouton d'urgence sur téléphone Crosscall et XCover

Smartphone, smartwatch or both?

If your workers already carry a smartphone, the simplest option is to turn it into a lone worker protection phone with an app: nothing to buy, nothing extra to carry. If they need their hands free or keep the phone in a bag, a Wear OS smartwatch running VigieWatch keeps protection on the wrist.

Smartphone + VigieApp: your existing phones, no dedicated SIM, one-click activation with Click&Protect
Smartwatch + VigieWatch: SOS, fall and stillness detection on the wrist, on Wear OS watches, without relying on a paired phone for core functions
Check-in call over data: supervisors call the worker inside the app over the internet, no SIM card required
One monitoring platform for phones and watches: VigieControl

When an alarm is triggered, supervisors are alerted by call, text message, email or notification, with the worker's location, and handle the alert in VigieControl.

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Effective monitoring for managers and supervisors

With the VigieControl web platform, managers see the protection status of people working alone in real time.

Live alerts with location
Incident handling and remote alarm management
Weekly report emailed to supervisors

Neovigie offers a clear, intuitive interface that makes team management and safety procedures easier.

Privacy and data protection

Workers' data is processed securely and limited to what protection requires.

GPS location visible only during an alert
Data hosted on Microsoft Azure in the European Union
GDPR-compliant processing

The goal: protect, not monitor.

A reliable connection, even with no cell coverage

The phone uses whatever network is available, and Neovigie continuously checks that it can be reached.

4G/5G or Wi-Fi: the app uses the phone's network
Iridium satellite network: in areas with no coverage, with the Bivy Stick beacon paired to the phone (learn more)
Continuous check of the link between the phone and Neovigie's servers
Automatic alarm if the connection is lost for too long

Where there is no cell signal, in the backcountry, in forests or at remote industrial sites, the Bivy Stick sends alerts and location by satellite.

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FAQs

Many of you ask us how to protect people working alone. Here are our answers to the most frequently asked questions.

What is a lone worker protection phone?

A smartphone that acts as a safety alarm for someone working alone: fall and stillness detection, SOS button and location shared with supervisors.

Which app turns a phone into a lone worker protection phone?

VigieApp, available on Google Play and the App Store. It runs on Android 8.0 and later and on iPhone 6s and later, and connects to the VigieControl monitoring platform.

Do you need a rugged phone?

Not always. A standard smartphone is enough for low-risk work. For construction, industry or outdoor work, especially in the cold, a rugged model with a physical SOS key is safer.

Is a lone worker device required by law?

Most provinces have working alone rules that require employers to assess the hazards and set up a way to check on workers regularly. They do not impose a specific device. A lone worker protection phone is one way to meet these requirements.