People and communities
Time set for UK Emergency Alerts test
Published on
National test of Emergency Alerts will take place at 3pm 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 following this link
