Brits have made the same complaint after sounds blared from mobile phones across the UK in a test of the national emergency alert system. At around 3pm on Sunday, mobiles connected to 4G and 5G networks vibrated and sounded for about 10 seconds in the second test of the system. Mobile phone users received a message making clear that the alert was a drill. Individual mobile phones may not have received a message if they were turned off, were out of signal, were in airplane mode, had the emergency alerts settings disabled or were not enabled for 4G and 5G.
Within seconds of the alert sounding for the millions who did receive it, Brits took to social media to share their shock after the bleeps blared out. An X-user tweeting from an account called lacey pole wrote: “Scared the s*** outta me lol forgot all about it”. Fellow X-user, Matt Goldstein, tweeted: “Absolutely freaked me out. Jesus Christ”.
Curious Claud commented: “[W]as sure the emergency alert thing was off on my phone; nearly s*** myself when it went off. Didn’t have a clue they were testing it”.
A fourth X-user, Edgar Blamm, said: “Wonder how many people just crashed their car due to the emergency alert”.
Another X-user tweeting from an account called evelyn chimed in: “[F]orgot about the emergency alert and almost had a heart attack”.
While today’s alert was just a drill, the Government has used the system to issue real warnings five times, including in January during Storm Eowyn to warn people in Scotland and Northern Ireland about severe weather.
About 3.5 million people across Wales and south-west England received an alert during Storm Darragh last December.
A 500kg unexploded Second World War bomb found in a Plymouth back garden triggered a warning to some 50,000 phones in February last year.
While some Brits shared their shock at the alert, others said their phones didn’t go off at all.
X-user, Miss Mac, wrote on the platform: “My emergency alerts are turned on, but I still didn’t receive an alert, even though I got a notification of a planned test days ago”.
Fellow X-user, Gav Cass, joked: “Whole house got the emergency alert… except me. Either my phone’s broken or the government’s decided I’m simply not worth saving”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said tens of millions of phones successfully sounded during the test. He posted on X saying: “Tens of millions of phones successfully sounded across the country during today’s Emergency Alert test.
“This is an important step in keeping people safe during national emergencies.”
Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, said in a statement: “Thank you for taking part in today’s test, which saw tens of millions of phones successfully receive the message across the country.
“The test took just seconds, but will help the government keep the country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The next time you hear the siren, it may be a real emergency, so remember to stay calm and follow the advice in the emergency alert.”
