Brits complain they 'didn't get emergency alert on time' as not all received it

Brits have complained they did not receive the emergency alert broadcast by the Government to phones today.

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 – after the first in 2023. But some are concerned that their alert was late or did not sound at all.

One person wrote: "The government telling us the emergency alert would go off at 3:00pm but it actually went off at 3:01pm." "The emergency alert looms," replied another.

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Others complained they hadn't received it at all. "Did anyone else not get the emergency test alert? no message, no noise, nothing," someone wrote.

Before the test, the Government said alerts would be sent to "all compatible 4G and 5G mobile phones and compatible tablets across the UK".

Approximately 95 per cent of the population will have had the 4G or 5G access required for today's test, while those with older phones connected to just 2G or 3G, or WiFi only, won't have received a message.

People won't have been alerted if their device was switched off or in aeroplane mode at the time. Having had it on silent wouldn't have made a difference, as domestic abuse survivors with secret phones were previously warned.

It's understood that the emergency alert will only have worked on iPhonesrunning iOS 14.5 or later, as well as Android phones and tablets running Android 11 or later. If a phone or tablet isn't running the latest software updates, then its user may not have been alerted.

Sporting events reportedly had to adjust for the alert, with England’s third ODI cricket match against South Africa scheduled to pause and the kick-off for the Super League derby between Hull KR and Hull FC pushed back.

Meanwhile, theatre-goers were advised to turn their phones off and drivers urged not to be distracted behind the wheel.

Mobile phone users received a message making clear that the alert was 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.

Approximately 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.

Messages can be targeted to relatively small areas to pinpoint those at risk.

Around 15,000 phones were alerted during flooding in Cumbria in May 2024, and 10,000 received a warning during flooding in Leicestershire in January this year.

The system is designed for use during the most likely emergencies to affect the UK and warnings would also be transmitted on television, radio and locally by knocking on doors.

Government officials also met with domestic violence charities and campaigners for discussions on helping those who needed to opt out of the test.