A national test of the new Emergency Alerts service will take place between 3.00pm and 3.30pm on Sunday 23 April.
The system will enable people to be contacted via their mobile phone when lives are in danger.
An Emergency Alert is a loud, siren-like sound with a message on your screen.
Emergency Alerts are sent by the government or emergency services to mobile phones within an area of risk. They don’t track your location, need your phone number, or collect personal data, and only the emergency services can send them.
On Sunday 23 April 2023 at 3pm, there will be a national test of the new National Emergency Alerts service.
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. If you have a vision or hearing impairment, audio and vibration attention signals will let you know you have an emergency alert.
An alert will include a phone number or a link to the GOV.UK website for more information.
You’ll 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.
You can check an alert is genuine by visiting gov.uk/alerts.
You can also opt out of receiving emergency alerts. For more information on how to opt out, please visit gov.uk/alerts
Find out more about the Emergency Alert System at gov.uk/alerts or by downloading the Emergency Alert fact sheet here.
