Mobile Operators to Test UK Wide Emergency Alerts Later in 2025
Get ready to jump out of your skin.. again. The UK Government recently announced that mobile network operators will conduct a second nationwide test of the Emergency Alerts service later in 2025, which is normally only intended to be used if there’s a “danger to life nearby” (e.g. severe flooding, fires and extreme weather).
The government has not yet agreed a firm date for the new Emergency Alerts test, which will usually only show-up on modern 4G and 5G capable Smartphones. But it’s expected to follow the same format as the last one, and you will not get the alerts if your device is turned off or in aeroplane mode.
In other words, recipients (most of us) can expect to suffer 10 seconds of an annoyingly loud siren suddenly blaring out at you while your phone vibrates and displays a message to say that all is actually well, it’s just a test. Small comfort if you happen to be driving down a busy motorway at the time it hits, or using a public toilet. The latter is at least usually more amusing than dangerous.
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The alerts themselves are broadcast from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency (they don’t need your phone number for this to work) and will only ever come from the Government or emergency services. Such alerts are a free one-way secure communication and do NOT reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.
You can opt out of the emergency alerts system in your phone’s settings, which is normally possible by search the settings section for “emergency alerts”, and turning off “severe alerts” and “extreme alerts”. But we have found that these specific options don’t always exist, even on modern handsets. Alternatively, Android users could try this method (further details):
- Open your phone calling app
- Use the keypad to enter *#*#2627#*#*
- Search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off ‘test alerts’, ‘exercise alerts’, ‘operator defined’ and ‘operator alerts’
Hopefully it goes without saying that you should NOT read or respond to an emergency alert when you are driving or riding a vehicle. Find somewhere safe and legal to stop before picking up your phone and reading the message.
The last national test occurred in 2023, although it was most recently used in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland during January 2025 (as well as Storm Darragh in part of Wales just before that), which came as part of a response to the red weather warnings issued ahead of Storm Éowyn.
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At the end of the day this is a useful system and it is important to test such services in order to ensure that they work properly. For example, the 2023 test revealed problems with Three UK’s implementation.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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I don’t see the point in these then to gain a scope of activate smartphone user count. A 4 min warning from Nuclear war would do nobody any good.
Very useful if flooding is happening up stream. Gives you time to get to higher ground or get out.
Ideally they’ll stop first responders/rescuers having to collect so many people sitting on car roofs etc when it inevitably happens. Also could warn of having to cut power to an area for safety for example. It’s more than just “nuclear war”.
If you’re connected to the cell tower, it already knows roughly where you are and if the device is active so your theory doesn’t really add anything.
@Matt good point about the flooding downstream. Where I used to live me had the highest ever recorded rainfall in a 24 hour period in the UK (over 340mm) and a couple of old Victorian railway bridges (now cycle paths) washed away. Further downstream I don’t think they had much rain at all and it seems to have taken them completely by surprise when a major road bridge was washed away with loss of life. Had the alert system been in place back then (10 years ago) it could have saved lives.
If I get floodeed where I am then the majority of the city would be underwater and i would need a boat.
They use it in Ukraine to warn of incoming air-raids doesn’t need to be the end of the world.
It is important we regularly test the alerting system to make sure the technology works and people know about it.
I disabled mine the last time, it is still disabled.
The last time this was used, it was giving 24-48 hours advance notice of a major storm: hardly something that needs a “drop everything now” type of alarm, even if it it *was* important to prepare. Something like a push notification would have been fine.
Yeah and then then headlines will be “Man dies after emergency alert was lost amongst 30 other notifications. Left home hours before devastating blizzard. Family call for reform.”
As long as they’re not overused (i.e. crying wolf) they’re fine. 48 hours is a good thing gives you chance to stock up with supplies and what not. A test every two years is not a big deal.
Exactly, and the government already texts people about floods through Floodline (although I turned that off because realistically it’s unlikely that we’ll get flooded since it didn’t happen in 2007 and I don’t expect it to now) which is probably a lot more logical option rather than loud alarms.
I also really don’t get some of the other uses of it that they’ve used it for to be fair.
Maybe 3uk alert system will Work this time
I remember this not working on 3 mobile as i was awaiting this and never got a notification or alert.
It’s probably because I’ve been to the US in the past and have experienced alerts similar to this, but most of the complaints I’ve heard about this system just feels like moaning.
Realistically they have to test it at some point and even as an end user I’d like to know if this works or not on my device/area
Just curious Mr Jackson, will it still work if I got a device that has no sim but is still receiving “Emergency calls only” signal, thanks
The system is incomplete in the absence of TV, streaming, landlines and websites as means of delivery. The system should also be non-blockable in order to meet the objectives.
If it was a big enough event, the TV and radio stations would break into programming, eg the Queen’s “health concerns” followed by death. It’s the same argument as to why the US never activated the EAS during 9/11 as every TV station was covering it anyway.
But a lot of the stuff the UK EA system is used for is regional or local in nature. The first “proper” use was to warn people in Plymouth of the route that an unexploded WW2 bomb would take on its way to the sea, and that they should evacuate for a few hours. That doesn’t need national news coverage, though I believe it ended up getting some since it doesn’t happen every day
I suspect they intentionally allowed it to be disabled because there are instances where people need to keep a phone hidden away.
@Ivor: It is a solution for Emergencies; this is not currently handled by the broadcasters.
If its only a test then why dont they test it within a small group of their employees? instead they want to shock people especially the elderly.
They want to test the whole system works, that all transmitters send it. The truth is they don’t really care if you get it (Phone is off etc.) they want to be sure all transmitters work.
They will have completed the functional testing. This is about at at-scale operation and to exercise the fault points from the last test.
It’s never annoying if it saves lives
Blast away until your heart’s content, I’m all for it
If it saves a single life or life changing injury then it’s worth it. Especially with weather getting more extreme and unpredictable. The moaning that goes on over anything that anyone tries to do do is unbelievable…
Oh Dear, there’s not ONE person on here understanding why they’re testing this Alert Message System. It seems that everyone has and is still walking around with bubbles on their heads, completely oblivious to what is happening around the rest of the world, and in Europe on our doorsteps. The UK, EU, and NATO are, and have been on a War Footing for the last 18 months, the EU advised 450 million European’s to ‘PREPARE’, and, are people actually thinking that the purpose of all this is to warn each other about Floods and Fire?????????? You lot are absolutely finished when the SHTF, none of you can even see what’s happening, not one of you…!
You really think this system will save us if Russia decided to send a nuke over? I doubt it very much.
By all accounts we would have 15 minutes more or less, so what can you do in 15 minutes, we don’t have any shelters and even then, I doubt it will do any good.
No point in worrying about it, if it comes it comes, hopefully our defences, if we have any due to all the cuts, will take of it or them.
I am more bothered about having to rely on the U.S to fire nukes from aircraft. Come to think of it, with Mad man Trmup in power, I wopuld be more worried about what he would do.
You’re absolutely right. In my mind, this is the modern equivalent of the old air raid sirens of times gone by. I imagine old systems like that have probably all been removed by now anyway.
Meh, since I have no Vault to go into, I’d rather die in the initial blast than to become a Ghoul whilst dealing with giant Rats.
What’s the point anyways? Not as if there’s really any underground protection these days and I’m probably in one of the worst areas to be in anyways (GCHQ and NATO barracks nearby) if something broke out so I’m screwed either way.
Not everyone has a mobile phone anyways, I keep mine powered off at night personally so I really don’t see how it’s going to make much difference.
The fiasco of mobile operators taking days to send millions of SMS during COVID announcing lockdown revealed the UK needed such a system.
It’s a useful system and could potentially save lives in the future.
Stuff like this always brings out the weirdos who will complain about anything.
A system like this will only work if everyone can receive the notifications, particularly if underground or in a tunnel, looking at you TfL/Thameslink.
Granted Network Rail are looking to increase mobile signal in tunnels, but like everything no one has looked at the full picture at the beginning and gone “OK, here are the blind spots and here’s how we’re going to sort them within x number of years”.