Date set for millions of phones across UK to receive emergency alert test
Why a 10-second siren will sound on your phone on 7 September
- The UK's Emergency Alert System is scheduled for its second national test on 7 September at 3.00pm, with millions of mobile phones expected to receive the alert.
- Smartphones will vibrate and sound a 10-second siren, displaying a test message, as part of a system designed to warn the public of nearby life-threatening emergencies such as extreme weather or terror activity.
- This test, the first since April 2023, is intended to strengthen the country's emergency preparedness, a measure recommended by the Covid inquiry.
- Concerns about the alert's impact on domestic abuse victims using secret phones have led to government plans for a public information campaign on how to disable the alert.
- Since April 2023, the system has been activated five times for real emergencies, including during major storms and the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb in Plymouth.