Government to test Emergency Alert system

On Sunday 7th September at 3 pm, the Government will be testing the Emergency Alarm system on mobile phones.

Your phone or tablet might receive an alert, make a loud siren-like sound and vibrate. Don't worry, you don't need to do anything when this happens.

The Emergency Alerts system is used to warn if there’s a danger to life nearby, such as extreme weather, and the test is to make sure the system is working as it should, in case it's needed.

The test is happening primarily to make sure the system is operating correctly and to make sure as many devices as possible are receiving the emergency alerts.

The full wording of the emergency message test will read: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby," will appear on your screen. "You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

You can opt out of receiving the emergency alert in your device's settings.

This is particularly important for victims of domestic abuse, who have been urged to take action ahead of the test next weekend if they have a phone or device they keep secret.

The head of policy for Women's Aid said at the time of the first test in 2023, "For many survivors, a second phone which the perpetrator does not know about is an important form of communication with friends or family – as some abusers confiscate or monitor and control their partner’s phone.

"It may also be their only lifeline in emergencies. The emergency alerts pose a risk, not only because an abuser could discover a survivors’ second phone, but also because they could use this as a reason to escalate abuse," adding that anyone worried about this should follow the steps to disable the alert in their phone settings.

If you have an Android or iPhone device, you can opt out by opening up your settings and first searching 'emergency alerts' - then turning off the warnings. In some other kinds of devices, this option can be found in message settings, sound settings, or general settings.

The alerts might be listed as any of the following, depending on your device, so you should turn all that appear on your phone off if you're trying to opt out.

• severe threats
• extreme threats
• show amber alerts
• severe alerts
• emergency alerts
• wireless emergency alerts
• emergency broadcasts
• test alerts
• Even if your phone is on silent, the siren will sound and the test message will appear on your screen. However, if your phone is turned off at the time of the test, it won't make the piercing siren sound, and you won't receive the message.