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23 April mobile phone emergency alert test

The UK Government has launched an emergency alert service that will notify people about potential life-threatening events via their mobile phones

The first test of this service will be run in April. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, said: “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system to deal with a wide range of threats – from flooding to wildfires.

“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we’ve seen in the US and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life.”

The US, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands already have similar systems in place to warn people about severe weather events.

Here’s everything you need to know about the alerts, and what to expect from the test.

The emergency alert test will be run on Sunday 23 April

The alert will say: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK Government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

“In an actual emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

“Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

“This is a test. You do not need to take any action.”

How will the emergency alerts work?

Emergency alerts will only be sent by the emergency services, or government departments, agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies.

You may get alerts about severe flooding, fires or extreme weather.

When you get an alert your mobile phone or tablet may:

make a loud siren-like sound, even if it’s set on silent;
vibrate;
read out the alert.

The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

An alert will include a phone number or a link to the government website for more information.

You will get alerts based on your current location, not where you live or work. You do not need to turn on location services to receive alerts.

When you get an alert you should stop what you’re doing and follow the instructions in the alert.

You will have to acknowledge the alert
to use your phone’s other features

If you are driving you should find somewhere to safely stop before responding to the alert.

The Government said the alerts will be secure, free to receive, and will not reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.

The alerts will work on all 4G and 5G phone networks. Older “non-smart” phones won’t be included, with the 3G technology that they use being switched off next year. The Government has said that people will be informed by other means if they don’t have a compatible device

Can I turn the emergency alerts off?

It is possible to opt out of receiving emergency alerts in your device’s settings.

Your settings should have an Emergency Alerts section, which should be under Notifications.

Once you’re in this section you can select which alerts you want to turn on or off.

Turn off notifications on ANDROID

Settings
Emergency alert settings
Cell Broadcast settings
Wireless Emergency alerts
Turn off notifications

Can UK Govt. Lock Phones

Claim:

If phone users in the U.K. do not acknowledge or reply to an emergency text alert test on April 23, 2023, their phones will be locked by the U.K. government for the day.

What's True

On April 23, 2023, the U.K. will implement a nationwide test of its emergency alerts service. The alert will ring for around 10 seconds on people’s phones, and they must acknowledge the alert by hitting an “OK” button before they can use other features on their devices.

What's False

Users do not have to reply to the emergency alert. While users have to acknowledge it in order to use other features on their phone, the process is much like acknowledging a “low battery” warning on a mobile device. Users also have the option to disable emergency alerts on their phones.

On March 20, 2023, internet users tweeted about the U.K. government's testing of an emergency alert system set for April 23, 2023. Many claimed that refusing to acknowledge or reply to the alert would result in their phones being locked down by the government.

It's true that on that date, the U.K. government plans to conduct a nationwide test of the emergency alerts service. This will involve a siren-like alert being sent to smartphone users across the U.K. Alerts like this are normally used to warn the public of urgent life-threatening situations like floods, wildfires, and more.

But the impending emergency alerts test has resulted in a number of unsubstantiated rumors.

A Reddit user asked, "Could the April 23rd emergency alert system lock down your mobile phone?" adding, "two family members have told me that with the government's test of the emergency alarm on the 23rd of April if you fail to acknowledge it on your phone that the government will lock down your phone. They've even gone as far as to turn off some alarm settings on the phone."

Twitter user @karma44921039 shared a video in which a man claimed, "If you don't reply to that text message, basically the use of your phone is going to be limited. So they're going to cut your phone off for the day." He added that replying would allow the government to have access to "elements" of your phone.

These claims largely misrepresent what is a routine emergency alert method that is used numerous times by different authorities, including in states across the U.S. While smartphone users are required to acknowledge the alert message in order to use certain features on the phone, this is not as big a deal as the above posts make it out to be.

We reached out to the U.K. Cabinet Office and asked bout some of the above claims, specifically about whether phones will be locked down if users refuse to acknowledge the message, and the office directed us to its news release and FAQs.

According to the FAQs on the government site, an emergency alert is meant to be a warning about potential nearby threats (emphasis, ours):

Emergency Alerts will appear on your device and you will hear a loud siren-like sound for up to 10 seconds. It will appear on your device's home screen and you must acknowledge it before you can use other features.

They appear as a notification and may include telephone numbers or website links containing further information. A loud, siren-like sound and vibration will accompany the message to raise awareness of the hazard or threat

It is indeed correct that one has to acknowledge the alert by clicking an "OK" button as illustrated in the video below. After acknowledging it, people can operate the phone normally.

However, users do not have to reply to emergency alerts as the Twitter video claimed. According to the FAQs, "When you receive the Welcome Message you do not need to take any action. The siren will stop automatically after ten seconds. A welcome message will stay on screen until you acknowledge it, just like a 'low battery' warning."

Users also have the ability to turn off all emergency alerts from the government on smartphones. IPhone users just have to go to their "Settings" and then to "Notifications," where they can scroll to the bottom of the screen and find the option to turn "Government Alerts" on or off. Android users also can go to their "Settings" page, then go to "Notifications" and "Wireless emergency alerts," where they can select the alerts they want to receive.

The FAQs also pointed out that the government does not rely on personal data to send an alert: "The system uses the cell tower your phone is connected to. When an alert is triggered, all towers in the area will broadcast the alert. To do this the Government does not need to know the specific location or personal data on your device."

The Cabinet Office added that successful alert tests already took place in certain regions of the U.K., like East Suffolk and Reading. They emphasized that such alerts are "one-way" and do not collect personal data.

Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden told the BBC the warnings are sent in a "very targeted way" and "revolutionize our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger."

While it is indeed true that smartphone users have to acknowledge the alert by pressing "OK" before they can use other features on their phone, they do not have to reply or do anything else.

Clicking "OK" on their phone is much like acknowledging a low battery notification and does not have the drastic implications that the posts are suggesting. As such we rate this claim as "Mostly False."

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/uk-go ... ncy-alert/

UK emergency-alert system

A UK-wide emergency alert system will be tested today at 3pm Sunday 23 April

A message is set to appear on the home screens of mobile phones and tablets from 15:00 BST, accompanied by a loud siren-like sound or vibration lasting for about 10 seconds.

The government says the new system is a "vital tool to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies".

What will the message say?

The test alert will say: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby.

"In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

"Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

"This is a test. You do not need to take any action."

Phone users can swipe away the alert message or click "OK" to continue using their phone as normal.

Which devices will receive the alerts?

The alerts will work on all 4G and 5G phone networks and on devices with the following software:

iPhones running iOS 14.5 or later
phones and tablets running Android 11 or later

Older "non-smart" phones will be unable to receive the alerts, and nor will devices that are turned off or on aeroplane mode.

The alert will sound on phones on silent mode.

The government says emergency services will have other ways to notify those without a compatible device.

The alert is expected to reach about 90% of mobile phones.

Can users turn off emergency alerts?

Despite the government strongly recommending enabling devices to receive alerts, users can opt out.

This can be done by searching in settings for "emergency alerts" and turning off "severe alerts" and "extreme alerts".

Is personal data protected?

Personal data about a user's device or specific location will not be collected or shared, according to the Cabinet Office.

The alerts will be broadcast from mobile-phone masts to every compatible phone and tablet within range.

The government or emergency services do not need to know the mobile-phone number or any other personal data.

Why have some organisations criticised the test?

Domestic-abuse campaigners, including the charity Refuge, warn the test could endanger some vulnerable people by potentially alerting an abuser to the location of a hidden phone.

The government says it has been engaging with the organisations to ensure vulnerable people were not adversely affected. Refuge has produced a video showing how to turn off the alerts.

Drivers are also advised not to look at or touch their phone until it is safe to do so, just as when receiving calls or messages.

When might emergency alerts be used in the future?

Emergency alerts, with advice about how to stay safe, will be sent - locally or nationally, by the government or emergency services - on rare occasions where there is a threat to life.

They will initially focus on the most serious weather-related events, such as:

severe flooding
fires
extreme weather

But many people will not receive an alert for months, perhaps even years.

Do other countries use emergency alerts?

Many countries around the world use emergency-alert systems, including the United States, the Netherlands and Japan.

Japan credits its system with saving countless lives in natural disasters.

The US system allows the president to send a message to citizens directly.

But it does not always go to plan.

In 2018, in the US state of Hawaii, an alert warning of an incoming missile was sent in error, causing widespread panic

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65177316