The test – the second one of its kind – is scheduled to take place on the afternoon of September 7 and will mark the second national test of the emergency alert system, which has been deployed five times since it was launched in 2023
This weekend almost everyone in the UK with a mobile phone or tablet will be sent an emergency alert at 3pm on Sunday, September 7 as the Government carries out a national test.
You should expect to hear a siren sound (even if your device is on silent), while your phone may also vibrate and a message will appear on your phone screen. This should last around 10 seconds and your phone will be locked until you acknowledge the warning by pressing ‘ok’.
The UK Emergency Alerts can be used to warn people about severe weather, flooding and fires and will normally be sent by emergency services or government departments/bodies. While officials believe that the majority of mobile phone users will experience the emergency test, some people won’t get the alert – and there are a few reasons why.
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According to the gov.uk website, the emergency alerts “work on all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK” and you do not have to be connected to mobile data or wifi at the time to receive it.
However, you will not receive an alert if your device is:
- turned off or in airplane mode
- connected to a 2G or 3G network
- wifi only
Some devices simply may also not be compatible with the alert service – so how can you tell if yours is one of them?
It is said that the emergency alert will only work on iPhones running iOS 14.5 or later and Android phones and tablets running Android 11 or later. If your device is not running the latest software updates, be sure to install them on your phone or tablet.
If you have an earlier version of Android, you may still be able to receive alerts.
To check, search your device settings for ’emergency alerts’.
For those in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland the alert message on Sunday will say: “This is a test of emergency alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.
“You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.
“Find simple and effective advice on how to prepare for emergencies at gov.uk/prepare.
“Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information or to view this message in Welsh. Ewch i gov.uk/alerts am ragor o wybodaeth neu i weld y neges hon yn y Gymraeg.”
This is a test. You do not need to take any action.
In a real emergency, you would follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.
An alert will include a phone number or a link to the gov.uk website for more information.
You would receive alerts based on your location at the time – not where you live or work. You do not need to turn on location services to receive alerts.
If for whatever reason you did not have a compatible device, you would still be informed about a real emergency. The emergency services have other ways to warn you when there is a threat to life.
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