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Original poster

What were you doing when the alarm went off?

163 replies

GunpowderSmoke · 23/04/2023 18:22

I was at my daughters birthday party. It went over the entertainers blue tooth speakers as well as everyone's phone.

OP posts:
Meadowflower2023 · 23/04/2023 19:51

Shouldbesleeping8 · 23/04/2023 18:28

Walking through the rain at a national trust property. How very mumsnet.

Same as me.
IOS at 14:59 expected it to be much more alarming than it actually was. DH's didn't go off (android)

weathervane1 · 23/04/2023 19:52

I have an iPhone 6+ which is stuck on iOS 12.7.4 and as such didn't receive / give off an alert. Neither is there the facility to turn one on / off in notifications. My partner's iPhone SE bought seven years ago did work properly (iOS 15.5.4) BUT only after she finished her phone call at 3:07pm. Good job it wasn't a real alarm although the presence of a mushroom cloud etc might have forewarned her...

ailsamaryc · 23/04/2023 19:52

Same here , did see that apparently you had to have 4G or 5G

slashlover · 23/04/2023 19:52

On here hiding either the 125th or 126th thread about the alarm.

LittleMrsPerfect · 23/04/2023 19:53

Im with three so it never came

smilingthroughgrittedteeth · 23/04/2023 19:54

Putting washing away and DP was ironing, mine went off at 3, hes went off at 3.05 both on EE

Calyx72 · 23/04/2023 19:55

Studying

CuriousMoo · 23/04/2023 19:56

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 23/04/2023 18:33

Driving.
I want to know what is the real reason for this alarm. I don’t accept that it’s for flood or wildfire, I don’t accept that.

Is there impending attacks that the government know about, and if we are attacked, what’s the fucking point in an alarm going off on a phone? What can we do? Where can we go? How the fuck do we protect ourselves?
It’s like the bomb warning in the war.

So you don't believe it exists for the reasons the government says it is.

You think it's there for a different yet apparently pointless reason instead.

Can you explain this logic please because it's gone right over my head.

pizzaHeart · 23/04/2023 19:56

In the car on the way to a shop. I was holding my and DH’s phones, looking at them and waiting patiently. They went off at 15.01.

RaininSummer · 23/04/2023 19:57

If something truly massive was going to be happening I doubt we would be informed at all.

tapdancingmum · 23/04/2023 19:58

Standing in a field watching football. Mine (Android) went at 2.59 with everyone else's going after mine. I thought it wasn't too loud but considering we were in a field probably accounted for that 😀

CuriousMoo · 23/04/2023 20:01

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 23/04/2023 18:33

Driving.
I want to know what is the real reason for this alarm. I don’t accept that it’s for flood or wildfire, I don’t accept that.

Is there impending attacks that the government know about, and if we are attacked, what’s the fucking point in an alarm going off on a phone? What can we do? Where can we go? How the fuck do we protect ourselves?
It’s like the bomb warning in the war.

Also "it's like the bomb warning in the war".

Do you mean the air raid warning sirens? They were warning people that planes were about to fly over and drop bombs on their heads.

It gave you a chance to get into the local bomb proof shelters, or your cellar, or an underground station etc so you would have much more chance of surviving.

NeverTrustAPoliceman · 23/04/2023 20:01

Honestly, some people will make up a conspiracy theory about anything. Do they lack the imagination to realise that a toxic cloud after an industrial fire, an abducted child, a severe flood warning, a gunman on the loose might be something worth being warned about?

The most worrying thing is how slow the government has been in rolling this out. I write as someone whose relative is alive due to an alert in another country.

I was walking into town. There was a family ahead of me who had stopped and got their phones out in readiness. The children, aged about 7 and 9 were really excited when the alert sounded.

Florissant · 23/04/2023 20:04

Reading.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 23/04/2023 20:06

VariousVeins · 23/04/2023 18:24

Same 🙄

Show quote history

Same here too.

I've come out from under the bed now, I just thought Sod It, nothing's going to happen after all.😞

Tiredandannoyed2023 · 23/04/2023 20:06

On the phone at work so missed it!! I saw the message on my phone after the event.

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 23/04/2023 20:10

Every phone in the U.K. being sent an alarm in case of flooding or wildfire, are we expecting there to be devastating wildfire burning down towns and cities then?

Flooding does occur here but it’s the ground floor of houses (devastating enough for those poor people) but it’s not life threatening, is that why there is the alarm? To warn of catastrophic flooding coming our way?

My question stands, what do we do? It’s ok having s warning alarm but what is in place if any of these things were to occur? (Unlikely)

Forgive me, but I have ZERO trust in the government, zero. I just think what on Earth are they up to now?

Choice4567 · 23/04/2023 20:13

@Mightyouandiconfabulate but it’s not UK wide generally. The test was. But normally it will be a local warning

flooding was one of the examples. Another that I gave was to alert to a missing person

Can you suggest what you think it’s for if you’re not happy with the logical answers?

Alwayswonderedwhy · 23/04/2023 20:15

@APseudonymNeeded I'm not sure why the alarm didn't go off on mine. I've just googled and it should still go off. Strange.

Qilin · 23/04/2023 20:15

Sat at home doing some lesson planning whilst waiting for the alarm to go off.

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 23/04/2023 20:18

local warnings I get. Completely.
missing people/kids I also get 100% but after all the just awful horrendous goings on over the last missing person, surely that needs to be avoided.

I just don’t get the catastrophes with no plan B.

With Ukrainian and now Sudan, I am not trusting that we are being told enough. My mistrust of the government makes me immediately think “what are they up to???”.

Twospaniels · 23/04/2023 20:22

Putting up our caravan awning in the rain

MsRinky · 23/04/2023 20:26

I was talking to my Mum on the phone from my mobile to her landline. Heard my Dad's phone go off in the background, hers didn't go off for another 10 minutes and mine didn't go off until I'd finished the call 20 minutes later. So try not to be on the phone during a disaster...

CuriousMoo · 23/04/2023 20:28

Mightyouandiconfabulate · 23/04/2023 20:18

local warnings I get. Completely.
missing people/kids I also get 100% but after all the just awful horrendous goings on over the last missing person, surely that needs to be avoided.

I just don’t get the catastrophes with no plan B.

With Ukrainian and now Sudan, I am not trusting that we are being told enough. My mistrust of the government makes me immediately think “what are they up to???”.

What "catastrophes without plan b" do you mean?

And what's the reference to Sudan? (I know there's currently fighting in the capital which is terrible for the people there. What is the relation to the UK emergency alert?)

VoluptuaSneezelips · 23/04/2023 20:30

I was gaming online with friends, alarm only went off for 3 of us, two on time and the other about 10 minutes later. 4th friend her's didn't go off at all even though she hadn't switched off the option.