Emergency alert test UK: phone alarm sounds early for some users but others don’t receive it – live updates - The Guardian

From 1h ago

In a statement, a Three spokesperson said:

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.

The mobile network Three said it was investigating why many of its users failed to receive an emergency alert from the government, the first nationwide test for the UK’s new national warning system.

The alarm was scheduled to sound at 3pm on all mobile devices connected to the UK’s 4G and 5G networks, but while the piercing, ten-second tone did arrive for millions of people, and up to a minute early for some, Three users reported en masse that they did not receive it.

Read the full report here:

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.”

A very small proportion of users on some mobile networks didn’t receive the message, a government source said, and that failure will form part of the review.

Three has acknowledged that some of its customers did not receive the alert.

Most of the reports we have heard of non-arrivals have been from Three customers. It’s not yet clear why that’s the case.

The text of the alert that arrived on (most) mobile phones at around 3pm BST read:

Severe Alert

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.

Knowing the alert was coming, organisers of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield had planned to pause play for the 3pm moment. But the erratic delivery meant attempts to resume play were not straightforward. Mark Selby and Gary Wilson were forced to take their seats again … and again:

Here is PA’s report on the alert received by millions – but not everybody:

Millions of phones across the UK sounded with a siren on Sunday as part of a test for a new national emergency alert system.

The loud alarm was planned to ring at 3pm on all devices that were using 4G and 5G networks in the UK.

The alert rang for 10 seconds and displayed a message notifying phone users that no action was needed in response to the test.

Some smartphones also read out the message to recipients.
Following the test, some users reported receiving the message a minute or so early.

However, others said their phone did not display the message or make a sound.

Phones that were powered off or switched to airplane mode were not expected to sound.

The emergency alert system is designed to warn the public if there is a danger to life nearby.

In future, a similarly loud notification and message will be sent to those the UK government is seeking to reach.

Once established, the system is intended to be used in life-threatening situations including flooding and wildfires.

They even warned Darth Vader – at the Scarborough Sci-Fi weekend:

In a statement, a Three spokesperson said:

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.

The UK’s rolling news channels were all surprised by the alert arriving a few seconds before the allotted time:

Paul Chin, 70, a bookseller and engineer, was coming out of the underground in Stratford with his wife, who declined to give her name, as the alert went off.

“We heard loads of phones going off all around us but with tannoys going off most people ignored it or were confused.”

They had left the theatre 20 minutes before the alert was scheduled to go out. “I wondered what would have happened if we were still there. That would have been a bit of a mess. I don’t know if they thought about that or not.”

Paul thinks the alert would be more useful for those outside London. “ If there really is an emergency, it’s not going to affect London the same way as it would say some remote parts of the countryside where flooding might occur.

“I mean let’s say the Russians decided to come and do something in London. Having a phone bleep at you ain’t gonna help is it?”

There were fewer disruptions due to the alert than I expected, but it did briefly affect the UK commentators for today’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege bike race in Belgium apparently. Anyone else?

Three certainly wasn’t expecting to not deliver the alert to large numbers of customers. Their social media accounts were giving users notice of the upcoming alerts just like everyone else:

But the replies tell a different story, with hundreds of customers telling the network that their phone didn’t sound the alarm.

Emma, 30, a teaching assistant, was aware and ready for the alert. “My phone was ready but it didn’t come through but other people’s went off.”

She thinks it’s a good idea. “They’re trying to keep us safe. Alerts, in one form or another, have been around for hundreds of years, just in different ways.

“Now they’re just adapting to the present. Everybody has a phone.

“The world is a horrible place somedays and with everything going on around the world, you never know what might happen in the UK.”

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2023-04-23 15:47:28Z
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