Emergency alert test 2025: can you turn-off emergency alert text? Rules explained
You can opt out of the emergency alert in September 🚨
- Millions of Brits will receive an emergency alert in September.
- The nationwide test is set to take place in just over a week.
- But can you turn it off and not receive it?
A test of the government’s emergency alert system is set to take place in just over a week. Millions of phones across the country will get the text in September.
It is the second nationwide test, following the one in spring 2023. Mobiles will get the message and it will be accompanied by a “siren” sound lasting a few seconds.
If you don’t want to be disturbed by the noisy alert, you might be wondering if you can switch it off. Here’s all you need to know:
When is the Emergency Alert test?
The government has confirmed that the second nationwide test of the Emergency Alert system is set to take place in just over a week’s time. It will be sent at 3pm next Sunday (September 7).
Even if your phone is set to silent, it will still make a loud noise. The test will be accompanied by a message that will appear on your screen, making it clear the alert is only a test.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, explained: “Emergency Alerts have the potential to save lives, allowing us to share essential information rapidly in emergency situations including extreme storms. 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.
“This test is part of our action plan to build resilience across the whole country and secure the nation under the Plan for Change - from the £1 billion we’re investing in a new network of National Biosecurity Centres to the £4.2 billion we’re investing to build a new generation of flood defences to protect local communities.”
How to switch off the Emergency Alert text?
If you don’t want to be disturbed by the text next week, it is possible to opt out. On the government’s website, it explains that while it advises they should be kept on, they can be turned off.
For example, victims of domestic abuse with a concealed phone may find it appropriate to turn off alerts. But others can also take the decision to switch them off.
If you have an iPhone or Android device, you can opt out by taking the following steps:
- Search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’.
- Turn off ‘severe alerts’ and ‘extreme alerts’.
Depending on the manufacturer and software version of your phone, emergency alerts settings may be called different names, such as ‘wireless emergency alerts’ or ‘emergency broadcasts’.
The settings can usually be found in one of the following ways. Go to:
- ‘message’, then ‘message settings, then ‘wireless emergency alerts’, then ‘alert’
- ‘settings’, then ‘sounds’, then ‘advanced’, then ‘emergency broadcasts’
- ‘settings’, then ‘general settings’, then ‘emergency alerts’
Then turn off ‘severe alerts’, ‘extreme alerts’ and ‘test alerts’.
Who will receive the Emergency Alert text?
Since the initial test two years ago, the system has been used on a handful of occasions - particularly around extreme weather. Alerts were sent out during Storm Darragh in 2024 and again in early 2025 for Storm Éowyn - the latter being its largest use so far.
The alerts can only be sent by the emergency services, government departments, agencies and public bodies that deal with emergencies. And you may get them in the event of severe flooding, fires and extreme weather - for example.
The test on September 7 will be sent to all phones in the UK, the government has confirmed. It adds that there are approximately 87 million mobile phones in the country.