Millions of mobile phone users across the UK will be part of an 'armageddon alert' system trial in a few weeks. It will see extremely loud alarms go off on devices, accompanied by an alert message.
The alarms are designed to warn people if they are in proximity to a "danger to life nearby". Successful live tests of the service have already taken place in East Suffolk and Reading, with plans to roll it out to the rest of the UK on April 23.
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But what if you don’t want to participate in the trial run or for some reason don’t want the alarm to play through your phone? Well if this is the case, there is a way to disable the alert - and it’s simple to do.
The system is free to use and those who wish to receive them do not need to sign up for anything.
The alerts will be sent automatically to all compatible mobile devices in the affected area. However, people can opt-out of receiving the alerts if they do not wish to receive them.
Overall, the Emergency Alerts system is designed to help keep people safe and informed during emergencies and is part of the UK government’s efforts to improve its emergency response capabilities.
From then on, the alerts will be used very rarely – only being sent where there is an immediate risk to people’s lives.
Many people may not receive an alert for months, or even years.
The service has already been used successfully in a number of other countries, including the US, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan, where it has been widely credited with saving lives.
Alerts have gone off during severe weather events and in the UK, alerts could be used to tell residents of villages being encroached by wildfires, or of severe flooding.
They operate by broadcasting from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency. The alerts are secure, free to receive, and one-way. It also does not affect your battery life.
It’s important to note that they don’t reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data and can only be sent by authorised Governmental and Emergency Services users.
If there an alert goes off in a real scenario, Unified World Communications says: “When you get an alert, stop what you’re doing (when it is safe to do so) and follow the instructions in the alert.
“If you are driving, as when receiving any phone call or message, do not look at or touch your phone until it is safe to do so.”
They also added that emergency alerts work on all 4G and 5G phone networks widely used by smartphones.
“This will not include older ‘non-smart’ phones but the 3G technology that they use is being switched off next year.
“If you do not have a compatible device, you’ll still be informed about an emergency as the emergency services have other ways to warn you when there is a threat to life,” they said.
If you wish to unsubscribe for the free service, you can opt out of the system in your phone’s settings, just search for “emergency alerts”, and turn off ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.
You can find this under the 'Notifications' tab on your iOS device.
You will not receive alerts if your device is turned off or in airplane mode.
However, Unified World Communications says “these alerts are potentially life-saving so we recommend you keep them switched on.”
Some UK domestic abuse charities, such as The Lighthouse Centre, have offered to help victims switch off the notifications, should they have a secret or hidden phone from their partner.
In a post on Instagram, the charity located on the Wirral said: "This is great for most of the population; however, the alert could prove dangerous if you have a secret phone for your safety.
"You can turn off these emergency alerts in your notification settings. If you can't find the emergency alerts section, head into advanced settings.
"If you need help turning off wireless emergency alerts, visit the Centre. We'll be more than happy to turn them off for you."
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