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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Julia Banim & Mya Bollan

Why didn't I get Government emergency alert? The reasons some devices did not sound

Around 3pm on Sunday afternoon, millions of phones across the UK sounded as the Government sent a nationwide emergency alert during a test for the new system.

The 10-second siren saw devices throughout Scotland and the UK vibrate one minute earlier than planned, with users required to acknowledge the alert before continuing to use their phones as normal.

However, there were a number of people who did not get the alert with some left wondering why their phone did not sound. Lots took to Twitter in a bid to find out the reason behind the issues.

One wrote: "My phone didn't receive the emergency siren. Neither did my partners. So we'd be screwed in an emergency then."

While another asked: "Am I the only person who didn't receive this #emergencyalert? Just heard lots of my neighbours' going off."

According to the gov.uk website, the new system "works on 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK", with users not required to connect to mobile data or WiFi in order for the alert to come through, reports the Mirror.

But if devices are on airplane mode or connected to either a 2G or 3G network will not sound as well as phones only connected to WiFi.

Additionally, a number of Three customers were left wondering why they did not receive the alert.

The provider has since announced that it is working alongside the Government to figure out what exactly went wrong.

A Three spokesperson stated: "We are aware that a number of customers have not received the test alert. We are working closely with the government to understand why and ensure it doesn't happen when the system is in use."

Following Sunday's test, the system will be used in potentially life-threatening situations to warn people locally or nationally of things such as severe flooding and wildfires.

Ahead of the test, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden conceded the drill could be “annoying” but urged that the system had the potential to save lives once rolled out.

A new system will give the Government and emergency services the capability to send an alert directly to mobile phones (UK Government)

The test message read: "This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there's a life-threatening emergency nearby.

"In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

"Visit gov.uk/alerts for more information.

"This is a test. You do not need to take any action."

However, following the issues a Government spokesperson said: "We have effectively completed the test of the UK-wide Emergency Alerts system, the biggest public communications exercise of its kind ever done.

"We are working with mobile network operators to review the outcome and any lessons learned."

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