Emergency Alerts is a service provided by the UK government to warn you if there’s a danger to life nearby.
When there’s an emergency, your mobile phone or tablet will receive a notification, accompanied by a loud siren-like sound, with guidance on how to remain safe.
The government does not require your phone number or location information to send you a notification.
Circumstances in which you might receive a notification include:
- Significant flooding
- fires
- extreme weather conditions.
Emergency notifications will only be issued by:
- Emergency services
- government departments, agencies, and public bodies responsible for emergency management.
What happens when you get an emergency 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 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.
Find out more by visiting https://www.gov.uk/alerts
Turning the alerts off if you have a secret or concealed phone
If you’re a victim of domestic abuse and have a concealed phone we understand that the alerts, whether when tested or in an actual situation, could put you at increased risk. For this reason, the ability to opt-out is available. We strongly recommend this is only used by those affected by this specific situation.
We’ve outlined the instructions below, but you can also visit the West Midlands Police website for further details.
The new Emergency Alerts use several channels, and the channel type determines the ability to opt-in or out.
To opt-out on an iPhone:
To opt-out, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.
If this does not work, contact your device manufacturer.
For further advice go to https://www.gov.uk/alerts/how-alerts-work
To opt-out on Android phones and tablets:
To opt-out, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.
On Huawei devices running EMUI 11 or older, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and please turn off “Extreme threats”, “Severe threats” and “Show amber alerts”
If this does not work, contact your device manufacturer
