To wonder about the government warning to our phones.

[TarasHarp55]

Does anyone know much about this emergency warning thing on our phones. Can't remember the exact day but in April they're going to test it out. Is it fear mongering again. I'm going to switch it off, anyone else.

You just made me giggle! Thoughtless cheats would probably disable them though.

As far as I'm aware it comes up as a broadcast and you have to click on it. If your phone is locked it still shows up and once you've clicked it you can unlock your phone.

I've disabled it.
It's rare we get extreme weather in the UK, so rare that it literally doesn't happen.
Earthquakes, tsunamis and tornadoes...nope, and if we do, they're so mild that they practically pass unnoticed.
We can tell if it's snowing or raining just by looking out of the window.
Failing that, we have things called weather forecasts.
Terrorists attacks? Rubbish. Do you really think that terrorists inform the authorities of when they're going to attack so we can be forewarned?
Nuclear attack? That will be the four minutes warning then, which will serve no purpose whatsoever. Mainly because no one will be anywhere near a bunker that they haven't made yet.
Understandable that some countries who do suffer extreme weather events have it, but there's no reason for it in the UK.
More big brother crap.

I'll keep it on for a bit. If it starts to get irritating with things like 'heavy wind' I'll disable it.

@SixPenny the IRA used to give warnings, not always, but they did sometimes.

There are several responses specifically saying that they don't want to receive warnings due to anxiety and related MH issues.

I've had three flood warning texts already this year. So the argument that there's no need for a warning system seems a little odd/out of touch. You could say, "But you're getting the warning texts so why do we need an alert system?" - but I only get them for the areas I've subscribed to not the area I am in. A geographic-based warning system (rather than a personal subscription system) reduces the amount of information you need to give to authorities to get warning of urgent and developing situations.

I know. Usually telling us that the bomb was at one end to get everyone to run to the other end, where it actually was.
That....was the purpose of the warning.!
I say this from bitter experience.

So the wildfires last year were just a dream?
Boscastle has never flooded?
etc. etc.

Do we really have that many 'disasters' in this country to warrant it; natural or otherwise?

Given that most people that have phones seem to be permanently attached to them wont they know about anything that's occurring as it happens.

If it were a case of nuclear war it would all be over in minutes, no one would survive and it would just cause unnecessary distress and panic in the populations last moments, better we don't know really.

Given that not everyone has a smart phone, what happens to those people if it were something that required everyone to congregate in a certain place, for instance?

Would it just be a case of well you're too old, or too poor, or whatever, to have a smart phone so you can just be crushed or poisoned or whatever; seems a bit harsh.

@DogInATent As I say, a rarity.
The wildfires are hardly on par with those in other countries, nor is flooding.

I was in Exeter on the day there was a nail bomber. All office buildings, shops etc were evacuated in quite a wide area. The police were running in and out of buildings telling people to evacuate. A warning on phones would have been easier, and those who didn’t have phones would have heard the warnings on other people’s phones.

Assume if there was a large gas leak or similar event requiring a large evacuation a mass message would also be useful

When there is 'extreme' weather here the news and papers are full of it for several days, I don't need a wailing phone to tell me this as well. Anyone worried about floods can sign up to flood alerts.

You can guarantee it will be used for the weather as it is so OTT here when it diverts slightly from the norm.

I think a lot of people just think that this government are so inept that they will end up making a cock-up of it in one way or another.

Look at the Test and Trace app. I know it's not exactly the same thing but that's about the level of competence they have.

In any event we are already one of the nations with the highest level of CCTV surveillance in the world and people are eagerly using Alexa, Ring doorbells and other smart technology without even thinking about it.

A friend of mine lives in an area that always floods and unfortunately so does her house.
Over the years she's had many warnings of floods and has taken the necessary steps to o protect her home which unfortunately don't really work.
She's never needed the government to send an alert to her phone to warn of the floods.

France has a similar alert system, and I assume from types of emergencies they are a similar country to us

How do you disable it? My autistic dd is going to be petrified if her phone starts warning her about some kind of national emergency.

It sounds very controlling

I don't want an unwanted text or alert

I also don't appreciate being told what to do

I'll block the number

@KateAusten so if you were told to evacuate an area because of a gas leak would you ignore it. Or a forest fire was going to destroy your home you would sit tight because you don’t like being told what to do. Are you a toddler?

Obviously don't want to tell you what to do but that's not how you disable it from your phone. You need to turn it off in your settings.

iPhone its settings > notifications then scroll to the bottom

I can't see the point of it. It will just set off mass panic and if it's bad, like a nuclear fallout, then if I'm close I'd rather just be in it and die immediately. It's not going to be possible to get away far enough in that time frame to make a difference anyway.

Not all of us live near forests. And imagine living for so many years with out this technology, to suddenly need this warning system now. 🙄

@Jonei jut think how many other countries have similar systems and their population cope with having it without getting all het up about it. A number of posters have said how it works in their country and have no problems with it. We are quite an embarrassing nation sometimes.

That's why it's going to be location targetted, so if you don't live near a forest your not going to get an alert about a fire.
The UK hase had a warning system in place for years and years that can role out alerts in the case of threat to life or similar on the bbc, this is just essentially an adapted version as people move away from live TV and radio.

It will just make some people even more attached to their phone than they already are, already people can't seem to go to bed without it by their side. It's like an extension of ones being