Get ready to hear a piercingly unpleasant noise this Sunday, as all around the country, 87 million phones vibrate with a government alert.
It is the second nationwide test of a warning system, telling people there is a danger to life.
At 3pm on September 7, you will get a taste of what it would be like to face the imminent threat of a nuclear attack, a hurricane, or – more commonly – a major heatwave, flood, or fire.
All phones and tablets equipped with 4G or 5G internet will start buzzing and blaring, and display a message that will reassure people in this instance, it’s only a test.
This will only be the second time the Emergency Alerts message is sent to every phone in the country.
The government said that testing ‘ensures the system is functioning correctly, should it need to be used in a life-threatening emergency’.
Last test in April 2023, there were some hiccups, with some receiving the text early or late, and others not receiving it at all.
Has the emergency alert been used for real?
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Yes, it has been used five times before, although in smaller areas of the country facing a threat.
In total, it as been sent to around 10 million separate phones in real emergency situations since the system was introduced.
When an unexploded WW2 bomb was found in Plymouth, around 50,000 phones were sent an alert about needing to evacuate.
Warnings were also sent to 15,000 phones during severe flooding in Cumbria last year, and to to 10,000 phones in Leicestershire, which faced severe floods in January.
The most alerts sent so far were during Storm Darragh and Storm Eowyn, where 3.4 million and 4.5 million alerts respectively were sent to people in their paths.
Warning to domestic abuse victims
While the alert is intended to save lives, domestic abuse charities warned that it could unintentionally put victims at risk if they have a secret phone, which could be their only lifeline.
Isabelle Younane, head of external affairs at Women’s Aid, said they had ‘long voiced concerns about the emergency alert system’ and were pleased you could now opt out.
She said: ‘We know that survivors will often have second phones which they might use to help them to access lifesaving support or flee abuse.
‘An emergency alert could risk an abuser discovering the phone and cutting off a vital lifeline, putting lives in danger. It is vital that survivors are aware of how to switch off emergency alerts on their phones to mitigate this risk.’
How to turn off the alert
The government says you ‘should keep them switched on for your own safety’, but if you do want to opt out, here’s how:
iPhones
- Go to Settings
- Go to Notifications
- Scroll to the bottom, past all the apps
- ‘Emergency alerts’ is the lowest section
- Toggle off‘extreme alerts’ and ‘severe alerts’.
Android
- Go to Settings
- Go to Safety and emergency
- Go to Wireless emergency alerts
- Toggle off the alerts you don’t want to receive
- If this option doesn’t appear, try searching ‘wireless emergency alerts’ in the search bar.
Which phones are not compatible?
Your phone must be connected to a 4G or 5G network to receive the alert. So, older phones which still run on 3G will not get it.
To be sure of receiving the alert, make sure you device has the latest software updates.
The alerts are designed to work on iPhones running iOS 14.5 or later, and Android phones and tablets running Android 11 or later. Other phones with different operating systems may also receive it.
You will not receive alerts if your device is turned off or only connected to wifi, and it may not work in airplane mode either.
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