diff --git a/nixos/modules/module-list.nix b/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
index 4e0d3b77fe30..cf82e5035d9a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/module-list.nix
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@
   ./services/hardware/acpid.nix
   ./services/hardware/amd-hybrid-graphics.nix
   ./services/hardware/bluetooth.nix
+  ./services/hardware/freefall.nix
   ./services/hardware/nvidia-optimus.nix
   ./services/hardware/pcscd.nix
   ./services/hardware/pommed.nix
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/hardware/freefall.nix b/nixos/modules/services/hardware/freefall.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6e6960bac491
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/hardware/freefall.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+{ config, lib, pkgs, utils, ... }:
+
+with lib;
+
+{
+
+  ###### interface
+
+  options = with types; {
+
+    services.freefall = {
+
+      enable = mkOption {
+        default = false;
+        description = ''
+          Whether to protect HP/Dell laptop hard drives (not SSDs) in free fall.
+        '';
+        type = bool;
+      };
+
+      devices = mkOption {
+        default = [ "/dev/sda" ];
+        description = ''
+          Device paths to all internal spinning hard drives.
+        '';
+        type = listOf string;
+      };
+
+    };
+
+  };
+
+  ###### implementation
+
+  config = let
+
+    cfg = config.services.freefall;
+
+    mkService = dev:
+      assert dev != "";
+      let dev' = utils.escapeSystemdPath dev; in
+      nameValuePair "freefall-${dev'}"
+        { description = "Free-fall protection for ${dev}";
+        after = [ "${dev'}.device" ];
+        wantedBy = [ "${dev'}.device" ];
+        path = [ pkgs.freefall ];
+        serviceConfig = {
+          ExecStart = "${pkgs.freefall}/bin/freefall ${dev}";
+          Restart = "on-failure";
+          Type = "forking";
+        };
+      };
+
+  in mkIf cfg.enable {
+
+    environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.freefall ];
+
+    systemd.services = listToAttrs (map mkService cfg.devices);
+
+  };
+
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/freefall/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/freefall/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9903cb5b963d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/freefall/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+{ stdenv, fetchurl }:
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
+  version = "3.18.3";
+  name = "freefall-${version}";
+
+  src = fetchurl {
+    url = "mirror://kernel/linux/kernel/v3.x/linux-${version}.tar.xz";
+    sha256 = "0ma2x68975xsi9kb15p0615nx9sm5ppb309kfdz7fgx9pg84q0hf";
+  };
+
+  buildPhase = ''
+    cd Documentation/laptops
+
+    # Default time-out is a little low, probably because the AC/lid status
+    # functions were never implemented. Because no-one still uses HDDs, right?
+    substituteInPlace freefall.c --replace "alarm(2)" "alarm(5)"
+
+    cc -o freefall freefall.c
+  '';
+
+  installPhase = ''
+    mkdir -p $out/bin
+    install freefall $out/bin
+  '';
+
+  meta = with stdenv.lib; {
+    description = "Free-fall protection for spinning HP/Dell laptop hard drives";
+    longDescription = ''
+      ATA/ATAPI-7 specifies the IDLE IMMEDIATE command with unload feature.
+      Issuing this command should cause the drive to switch to idle mode and
+      unload disk heads. This feature is being used in modern laptops in
+      conjunction with accelerometers and appropriate software to implement
+      a shock protection facility. The idea is to stop all I/O operations on
+      the internal hard drive and park its heads on the ramp when critical
+      situations are anticipated. This has no effect on SSD devices!
+    '';
+    license = with licenses; gpl2;
+    platforms = with platforms; linux;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ nckx ];
+  };
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 79e33e9ac4a9..f9f8e0ad499a 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -8418,6 +8418,8 @@ let
 
   firejail = callPackage ../os-specific/linux/firejail {};
 
+  freefall = callPackage ../os-specific/linux/freefall { };
+
   fuse = callPackage ../os-specific/linux/fuse { };
 
   fxload = callPackage ../os-specific/linux/fxload { };