Exact date emergency alert to be sent to every smartphone in UK

The date has been set

The system was introduced in 2023 and is intended to warn the public of imminent danger nearby.

It has so far been used four times, most recently during Storm Darragh.

The last alerts were sent in January.

At that time the 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.”

The government has now announced the date for the next test, and it will happen at 15:00 BST on 7 September.

"Just like the fire alarm in your house, it's important we test the system so that we know it will work if we need it," Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said.

A previous nationwide test in 2023 revealed many faults with the system, with some people getting notifications earlier or later than expected, and users on the Three mobile network receiving no notification at all.

Not all phones will receive the alert, as it will only be received by smartphones on 4G or 5G networks.

Going forward, it is likely to be testing once every two years.

The alarm still sounds regardless if a person has their phone on silent.

The phone sounds with a loud alarm and vibrations, distinctly different to a normal notification tone.

This said, it is possible to turn these alerts off, if you decide you'd rather not know about the impending end of the world and enjoy Armageddon in full HD.

On Apple devices, go to settings, notifications, then scroll down to the bottom where it says extreme and severe alerts. Tap the toggle to either turn them on or off.

On Android, go to settings, search 'emergency alerts', then turn off alerts for extreme and severe threats.