Summary
The UK government will run another test of its emergency alert system for mobile phones on September 7. This test will make phones vibrate and display a message, even if they are on silent, to check the system's reliability and familiarize people with alerts for threats like severe weather or terror attacks.
Key Facts
- The UK will test sending emergency alerts to mobile phones on September 7 at 15:00 BST.
- Phones will vibrate and sound a siren for 10 seconds, and display a message during the test, even if they are on silent.
- The test aims to address issues found in a previous nationwide test where some phones didn't receive alerts or got them at the wrong time.
- Only smartphones connected to 4G or 5G networks will receive the alerts; older phones and those on 2G or 3G will not.
- Emergency alerts are meant to warn about immediate life threats, like extreme weather or terror events.
- The alert system has been used regionally, such as during Storm Eowyn and for the evacuation in Plymouth due to an unexploded World War Two bomb.
- The government advises keeping alerts switched on but provides guidelines for domestic abuse victims on how to disable the alerts.
- The test will include a British Sign Language version of the message for deaf users.
