UK emergency alert FAQs

The emergency alert is a system that will be used if there is danger to life nearby. It will be tested on Sunday 23 April 2023. Examples given by the government of when it might be used are fire, flooding, or extreme weather. This will not replace the radio or television broadcasts of the emergency alert.

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You will get an alert based on your current location, it does not know where you live or work or what your phone number is. This will only work on phones connected to the 4G and 5G network. In an emergency, the relevant mobile phone masts will broadcast an alert so location services do not need to be switched on for it to work.

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You will not receive an alert if your phone is connected to the 2G or 3G network, turned off or in plane mode, or it is not compatible. A phone might not be compatible, for example, if it is not up to date on the latest software.

A loud siren-like noise will sound for approximately 10 seconds.

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There are lots of reasons why someone might like to know in advance what this will sound like. One of our committee members is neurodivergent and has anxiety, now she knows what it will sound like she can keep the emergency alert function switched on. You can listen here or watch the video at the bottom of the page. 

There is a huge number of reasons why someone might not want the test alert to come through on Sunday 23 April 2023, or ever.

You might work overnight the night before and do not want it disturbing your sleep, or you might be driving on your own and do not want the distraction, the reasons are endless. The situation we are most worried about is if you are experiencing domestic violence and have a secret phone. In this case, you would want the setting to be switched off all the time.

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Please see the section below on how to turn the alerts on and off.

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PLEASE REMEMBER, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ALERT IF YOU ARE DRIVING. PULL OVER AT THE NEXT SAFE LOCATION AND READ THEN.

On an iPhone you go to Settings, select Notifications, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and there will be a section called Emergency Alerts. You can toggle the Extreme Alerts and Severe alerts on and off.

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On an Android phone, you can go into Settings and search for emergency alerts, once found just select the option and it will take you to the relevant page, you can toggle all the relevant options on this page to off. With older Android phones (10 and older OS versions) you might need to go to Messages app > Settings > Emergency Alert settings > Emergency Alerts.

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We are aware that not everyone has an iPhone or Android phone, the quickest way to find out how to get to the Emergency Alert settings for your phone is to use Google and search for emergency alert uk with your phone make and model name included in the search.

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Please click here to watch a video instruction from our friends at Refuge, or you can scroll to the bottom of this page to see the video.