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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64999417
Now, I'm sure there will be incessant reminders about the event beforehand and everyone *should* know it is going to happen.... but I'm also guessing there will be some (mostly) amusing pranks/ stories doing the rounds after the event.😉
People can opt out by searching their device settings for emergency alerts and then turning off severe and extreme ones
Done
I’ll not want to be on a busy motorway at that time.
Or anywhere near a road, really.
Or trying to stealthily walk across a field with a bull in it without them noticing.
Lolz
There'll be 40,000 London marathoners stopping to look at their phones 🙂
Or just tripping over each other while trying to get it out of their pocket and tap away at the screen.
But I'd take them and a dozen bulls over some audi ****mobile doing 90 blindly while the driver fiddles away sorting it out.
Phone users will have to acknowledge the alert before they can use other features on their devices.
This was the bit that caught my attention - it’ll be interesting to see which features are disabled.
Awaits daily alert of the number of small boats arriving in and around Dover…
In Japan they send earth quake warning alarms to mobiles. I was there a few weeks after the big quake in 2011 and the alarms went off several times ahead of aftershocks. As I wasn't on the Japanese alert system the alarms were errmm very alarming as I had to watch the Japanese people reaction in order to know whether to carry on or dive under a desk.
I’ve had these a few times when travelling abroad. Mostly in US where they are usually state wide “look out for licence plate Xxx xx potential child abduction”. Seem like a good idea. I’m not sure what there is to be scared about?
Good idea
Overall good idea. Potential to cause more of an increase in accident / death rate than is solves though due to distraction if it is too "siren like" - thinking drivers, equipment operators (forklifts etc) - especially given that everyones phone in a given area will go off at the same time, so as above the entire motorway / busy city road has EVERY driver momentarily distracted at the same time.
I wonder if there will be a 2-tier option - a "notification" and an "alarm" - e.g. imminent flooding is unlikely to need a "stop and read me RIGHT NOW" reaction, whereas an incoming nuke (OK, unlikely) does?
Re the "small boats" comment - I really hope that it doesn't get abused in this way, however I have a nagging feeling that it just might.
Article mention weather alerts.
So warning when there is snow, raind and wind.
People can opt out by searching their device settings for emergency alerts and then turning off severe and extreme ones
Done, I can't really imagine a situation in the UK where this would help matters + by the time the test comes around I will have completely forgotten about it, although not being on the road that day seems to be a good plan of action.
I can't think of a single instance of anything where a government warning would have helped my life.
Maybe in the event of ballistic missile launches it might be a source of impending doom, but it'd detract from the 'surprise' IMO.
It'll be used for "heavy rain" warnings for idiots who can't look out of the window, or maybe people in Hebden Bridge or York who haven't yet clocked that it floods, regularly.
Will opt out. If they manage it like APHA manage their bird flu notifications you'll be getting "heavy snow in the cairngorms" warnings for your two-up two-down in Brighton.
In Japan they send earth quake warning alarms to mobiles. I was there a few weeks after the big quake in 2011
I was there for the main event, on a train (and on an elevated line too, which was quite wobbly). The public address systems actually give a countdown to arrival of the shock (in Japanese of course). It works very well (and was working for the pre-shock a couple of days before, it's not just after that event).
I wonder if it will interrupt do not disturb settings on phones, or driving mode? Hopefully not.
I cannot find how to disable this on my samsung S8. Anyone help? Could the phone not be able to do this? I have followed online guides and also searched settings - nothing
Edit - found it!
I can only find a setting for earth quake alerts on my phone (BV5800) which is turned off anyway. Not much of a concern where I live 😁
Yeah, definitely disabling that crap. Can't think of a single circumstance where that would help me, but plenty where it would cause a danger. What are you supposed to do if you're driving?
What are you supposed to do if you’re driving?
Carry on driving?
Carry on driving?
What if it is warning you that the bridge up ahead has collapsed? 😐
What are you supposed to do if you’re driving?
The BBC article has a link to video showing that if you're driving you're expected to pull over and look at the message. Definitely not a good idea to be on a motorway when it happens.
As long as they just make it a warning about something so obviously false that nobody mistakes it for reality it should be fine, maybe an invasion from Mars or something would do the trick.
The BBC article has a link to video showing that if you’re driving you’re expected to pull over and look at the message. Definitely not a good idea to be on a motorway when it happens.
Which no doubt is why they included the comment "if it is safe to do so".
wonder if it will interrupt do not disturb settings on phones, or driving mode? Hopefully not
Article says it will breakthrough
Carry on driving
Have you heard what it sounds like? You tube link in the bbc article. It'd be hard to tune that racket out. I wonder if handling the phone to silence it comes within the emergency exemptions. Doubt it.
I would love to see the risk assessment on this test - machinery, drivers, panic reactions? Given how people freak out at having to park outside someone else's house it doesn't say calm and collected response to me!
maybe an invasion from Mars or something would do the trick.
War of the Worlds intro for the test message. Like that 😂
Have you heard what it sounds like?
Yeah, it sounded like a mobile phone making a noise, for 10 seconds apparently. I reckon that I could carry on driving quite easily if it happened.
I don't necessarily stop doing whatever I'm doing every time my phone makes a noise. That could be dangerous.
I don't understand how this is supposed to work. It doesn't require an app, but has the ability to override your phone's volume settings and can lock you out until you've acknowledged it? Sure, that's totally not disturbing at all.
Cougar
Full Member
I don’t understand how this is supposed to work. It doesn’t require an app, but has the ability to override your phone’s volume settings and can lock you out until you’ve acknowledged it? Sure, that’s totally not disturbing at all.
Somewhere on my Pixel there is a setting for emergency alerts, that said, I'm guessing there are many mobiles that don't so your point is still valid.
Well, it won't work on my mum's Nokia feature(less) phone.
My point really is that this feature exists, no-one knows about it, and the government has access to it. I've found the settings on my own phone now, seems it's baked into the OS.
I had this on my phone in Seoul when covid was getting going and it is disconcerting the first couple of times. Like anything though, after that you just ignore it.
it is disconcerting the first couple of times. Like anything though, after that you just ignore it.
Which no doubt is one of the reasons for the test on a Sunday in April.
It doesn’t require an app, but has the ability to override your phone’s volume settings and can lock you out until you’ve acknowledged it? Sure, that’s totally not disturbing at all.
You can always wrap your phone in tinfoil when you're not using it so that you can't be tracked. Problem is that mobile phones are designed to find the strongest signal and lock to that, so they are inherently traceable. Smartphones with auto-update features (which most people want) require that you give the phone company access to the phone's admin settings. If you're going to be crimeing (or just pissing off totalitarian governments in general), best to leave your phone at home.
I’m guessing there are many mobiles that don’t
On Android just open settings and search for 'Alert'.
I've switched off severe and left extreme.
They're just checking it works.... I doubt they'll ever use it.
But if they do it will probably be linked to Putin!
That was easy. Settings, alerts, emergency alerts off.
so far nobody on here has provided an example which would make me opt-in
my view being that its more likely to be misused and/or nuisance than beneficial, in full understanding that some on here will declare that kind of thinking conspiracy/nutjob, meh.
Dirty bomb being exploded in London? I'm inn SE so I'd want to know.
Not as far fetched as it sounds with Iran recently testing our border controls with an irradiated cargo of metal.
What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-42679614
At least they got a show out of it...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0018zpw/storyville-on-the-morning-you-wake-to-the-end-of-the-world
What if there is an active shooter going around like in Plymouth or Derek bird in the lake District, personally I'd like to know and avoid that.
thinking drivers, equipment operators (forklifts etc)
Having driven forklifts and excavators when my phone goes off you just ignore it till it's safe to look at. It's not very hard to do.
What’s the bet that anti-vaxxers/ New World Order types will come up with some amazing conspiracies over this?😐
I had a panicky message from my uncle when this was announced, he genuinely thinks that his phone will turn into a mind controlling tracking device when they activate it. Since then he's properly gone down the YouTube rabbit hole on all the theories out there. He does to with everything, reads the Daily Heil and refuses to listen to anyone else's opinions on pretty much anything. He only had the vaccine due to my mum (one of the few people to put up with him) said he couldn't visit unless he had it!
I had a panicky message from my uncle when this was announced, he genuinely thinks that his phone will turn into a mind controlling tracking device when they activate it.
He'll shit himself when he finds out it's already active.
As an earlier poster said it's in in Korea, however a point well made us that you ignore it eventually as over there it goes off every 5 minutes.
My phone is permanently set to silent except for an alarm to wake me up in the morning as I don't like being disturbed so I've turned emergency alerts off as I don't want to be woken from my Sunday snooze.
I had a panicky message from my uncle when this was announced, he genuinely thinks that his phone will turn into a mind controlling tracking device
He’ll shit himself when he finds out it’s already active.
He'll have kittens if you tell him how facebook really works 😀
Not sure if it was a pilot for the same system or if a seperate ones been active for ages but it's been tested in Reading/Barkshire already a few years ago.
No one died, crashed, etc etc*. You can untwist your knickers.
*Well obviously that's what THEY want you to think.
Well that explains the strange thing that popped up on my phone first thing this morning saying I had dialed an emergency number and it was now unblocking blocked numbers. I thought it was some sort of scam to let the spam numbers get back through. I re ticked the ignore emergency radio button
I don’t understand how this is supposed to work. It doesn’t require an app, but has the ability to override your phone’s volume settings and can lock you out until you’ve acknowledged it? Sure, that’s totally not disturbing at all.
I don't know for sure but assume that it's just a pop-up notification that you have to clear by clicking a cancel or ok button, like lots of other pop-up notifications.
My initial thought when I read this on the BBC news was the real motivation for this is because of the threat from Putin and his big red button, sold to us under the guise of wet and windy weather.
Maybe in the event of ballistic missile launches it might be a source of impending doom
I hope not, they'll stop the trains. Wrong sort of nuclear fallout on the tracks or some such thing.
I’ve had this alert while in Canada, telling me the police were looking for 2 gunmen, about 100 miles away from where i was.
It’s a unique tone, but, had I been driving, I could have ignored it and carried on quite easily.
IF someone is unable to manage that, they shouldn’t be driving at all, it’s really not difficult.
I spoke to my pal about it, it’s a regular occurrence there, happens a couple of times a month.
Settings> Notifications > scroll right down, severe and extreme alerts.
That’s where you can turn off the extreme warnings on an iPhone.
It’s a unique tone, but, had I been driving, I could have ignored it and carried on quite easily.
I assume that one of the reasons for the test in April is precisely to get people familiar with the 10 second tone and not panic the first time they hear it.
The alert doesn't sound any more panic-inducing than a sudden unexpected blast of a siren from an emergency vehicle behind you.
Hmm had one last year in Spain, they’d announced it was going to happen, was a bit weird when it did go off,end of the world vibe,but tbh it does make sense.
Don't really see the issue as you can opt out if you really object. Seems you need a reasonably up to date OS on your phone for it to work anyway.
And identify each and every working and in use mobile phone across the whole of the UK.
The test is expected to take place in the early evening of 23 April.
Phone users will have to acknowledge the alert before they can use other features on their devices.
A message will appear on the home screens of people's devices during the test, with vibration and a loud warning sound that will ring for about 10 seconds, even if the phone is set to silent.
Fun aplenty for theatre and concert-goers...
I've turned it off.
I had this back in 2019 whilst in LA...."alert of wildfires in the area" - I wondered for about 3.5 seconds how they knew I was in the area and then realised what it was and they didn't "have my number" it just went to every phone in a cell.
IMO, very useful if not overused.
And identify each and every working and in use mobile phone across the whole of the UK.
Huh?
I don't see what all the fuss is about, just turn it off if you don't want it:
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I don’t see what all the fuss is about, just turn it off if you don’t want it:
I don't even know why someone wouldn't want it on.
Simple. I don't want alerts going off on my phone. As soon as I heard about this on this thread I turned it off. there is no alert they can give out that would in any way be of any use to me. I check the weather, I don't live in an earthquake or tsunami zone. If Putin lobs bombs an alert will make no difference. Im a fully functioning adult. ( well mostly 🙂 )
I don’t even know why someone wouldn’t want it on.
I suppose if the warning was... 'several Nukes incomming' I'd probably rather not know, And if it's 'traffic jam on the M25', it kinda makes the whole thing pointless.
I honestly think it's just a data mining exercise and more than likley yet another erosion of privacy.
I don’t even know why someone wouldn’t want it on.
looks at the state of the current administration
I have absolutely no faith whatsoever that this functionality would be used correctly by the authorities.
That said, while I have just turned it off, I intend to turn it back on after the mass test.
I check the weather, I don’t live in an earthquake or tsunami zone. If Putin lobs bombs an alert will make no difference.
It won't give weather updates nor will it give you earthquake or tsunami warnings, so you don't have to switch it off for fear of that.
The most likely reason you might get an alert is in connection with something important which might affect you, such as an out of control fire near you which is releasing toxic fumes, for example.
What advantages do you feel that you are giving yourself by switching off the alerts....... saving the massive inconvenience to your life of very occasionally, perhaps never, recieving a 10 second alert on your phone?
The most likely reason you might get an alert is in connection with something important which might affect you, such as an out of control fire near you which is releasing toxic fumes, for example.
I have windows! I can see.
How are they going to alert people without mobile phones?
What advantages do you feel that you are giving yourself by switching off the alerts
Privacy
I have absolutely no faith whatsoever that this functionality would be used correctly by the authorities.
That said, while I have just turned it off, I intend to turn it back on after the mass test.
Ah, it's because you don't trust "the authorities".
In which case your second paragraph makes to sense at all. You want to be informed of any emergencies after April 23rd by authorities with whom you have no faith?
And you don't want a dry run to know what to expect?
How are they going to alert people without mobile phones?
How about you tell me?
Privacy
What privacy do you believe that you will be protecting? No one will know whether or not you have received the alert, so switching it off will not make one iota of difference.
It's an intrusion into your day - your private life @ernielynch.
They can **** off. There's nothing they can tell me that's remotely useful.
Yeah a 10 second intrusion on your enormously important private life.
Remind me again why it's an intrusion...... because it makes a noise for 10 seconds?
I honestly think it’s just a data mining exercise and more than likley yet another erosion of privacy.
Privacy
Can you explain that?
Given it's a send only function that only goes to phones around a given mast I don't know how you think it's going to accomplish that. Do you not think that if "they" wanted to hack your phone there would be an easier way to do it?
FFS this forum probably has more things data mining and manipulating us than anywhere else if you're that concerned!
I have windows! I can see.
Good luck seeing a toxic cloud if, for example, a chemical tanker tipped over in your vicinity. There are a lot of nasty chemicals like ammonia that can really ruin your day and the best bit is by the time your realise it's already too late. TBH if I was out and about and that sort of thing happened I'd like to be warned.
It’s an intrusion into your day – your private life
Once in a blue moon you might get a message that could save your life and you're getting that bent out of shape about it?
Wow.
What advantages do you feel that you are giving yourself by switching off the alerts……. saving the massive inconvenience to your life of very occasionally, perhaps never, recieving a 10 second alert on your phone?
A good night's sleep?
Having been woken up in the middle of the night by completely irrelevant, screeching alert messages related to "events" (or, more accurately, non-events) many 100km away on more than one occasion, the authorities here can f++k right off as they can't be trusted to understand what a "proportionate" response is...
This thread is a timely reminder to switch ALL "emergency" alerts off on my newish phone. Thanks
The most likely reason you might get an alert is in connection with something important which might affect you, such as an out of control fire near you which is releasing toxic fumes, for example.
Or more likely, a missing person alert. And, yes, I've had multiple alerts of this type...
so far nobody on here has provided an example which would make me opt-in
Well, it mentions wildfires among other things, and as there’s been at least one wildfire event that started when someone had a barbecue in their back garden, which then set light to a field behind, as well as destroying most of the neighbouring row of houses, it could quite possibly have some merit. There have been other, extensive wildfires across the U.K. over the last couple of years, much more likely events than earthquakes, with the warmer, drier weather we’ve been experiencing.
a loud warning sound that will ring for about 10 seconds, even if the phone is set to silent.
Set it to Airplane mode.
Alternatively, stop clutching your pearls like some on here, and act like a sodding grown up! It’s no invasion of anyone’s privacy, any more than a siren on a fire engine or ambulance or police car, all of which are acting locally as a warning to people and which last about as long.
Yet another example would be a sudden blaze in a warehouse or a waste disposal/recycling yard containing flammable materials which could easily be harmful to people inhaling the smoke. There have been numerous instances of fires like these -a warning to local cell masts to alert people to the fire, and the need to close windows and stay indoors would be advantageous, because it’s unlikely to be announced on every radio station available.
Yet another example would be a sudden blaze in a warehouse or a waste disposal/recycling yard containing flammable materials which could easily be harmful to people inhaling the smoke
Very true.
There was an enormous factory fire in my town last year. Nasty chemicals. You could see it for miles around and the fire brigade were telling folks to stay indoors I think knocking on doors and local radio etc.
I only knew about it as I happened to go outside and see the smoke plume and then Google what a gwan.
A text would have been useful in that instance.
It’s an intrusion into your day – your private life @ernielynch.
They can **** off. There’s nothing they can tell me that’s remotely useful.
The rectangle in you pocket already inundates you with information of varying veracity, and just like that you have the option to opt out if you really want.
We've long had the ability for "the authorities" to send emergency broadcasts over radio and TV, and we don't seem to use that very often in the UK. So your concerns about abuse of this feature seem a little unfounded.
It's neither as sinister or intrusive as you seem to want to believe.
Unless of course this is really all about activating those 5G nano brain chips they injected with the COVID vaccine! Best get working on a tinfoil hat to keep the signals out. The fools have even told you when they're doing it...
I'd switched off the alerts, but at 7.11am my phone started wailing in my pannier bag. As above an emergency number switching alerts back on and unblocking the dodgy numbers I had blocked. I was moving at the time.
The question I have is why on earth are we at least 10years behind most other countries in introducing this. Stuff like this is basic functionality in emergency planning and communication in many societies now, but we are so slow in getting our act together. This was something that was originally scheduled to be introduced in time for 2012 Olympics.
More bothered about it unblocking dodgy numbers without my permission.