Millions of UK smartphones to blare emergency alarm in government test
Mobile devices across the country will sound a ten-second alarm as part of a government test of its Emergency Alert System (EAS).
The test will happen at some point this year, and the government will confirm a date and time for the test ahead of the alarm being sounded.
Launched in 2023, the EAS is used to deliver alerts to citizens across the UK, warning them of hazards in their region and providing advisories to mitigate danger.
The system uses mobile phone masts to broadcast an alert to every connected and compatible mobile phone and tablet within range. Emergency alerts work on all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK.
It has previously been used to deliver emergency alerts for those in the path of Storm Éowyn and Storm Darragh, warning recipients to stay indoors to shelter from extremely strong winds.
Previous tests of the EAS system delivered the following message to recipients, along with sounding an alarm tone for ten seconds:
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.
It is possible to opt out of operator test alerts like the one above. To do so, search your phone’s settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off the option for ‘test alerts’, ‘exercise alerts’, ‘operator defined’, or ‘operator alerts’.
Android users can also dial *#*#2627#*#* to opt out of test alerts.
While you can also opt out of emergency alerts entirely, the government advises you keep them switched on for your own safety.
