Emergency Alert

[Mel]

Presumably you have all heard about this. Being sent out on 23rd April on 5G and 4G phones. Clearly if you have a 3G phone or below you are not worth saving.😀

Public emergency message released ahead of UK test

An alert will be sent to most smartphones at 15:00 BST on Sunday 23 April as part of a new warning system.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hope no one is towing when it goes off.
Dunno what it will sound like but I am hoping for Frazer’s voice saying “We’re Doomed”
Mel

 

[otherclive]

Presumably you have all heard about this. Being sent out on 23rd April on 5G and 4G phones. Clearly if you have a 3G phone or below you are not worth saving.😀

Public emergency message released ahead of UK test

An alert will be sent to most smartphones at 15:00 BST on Sunday 23 April as part of a new warning system.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hope no one is towing when it goes off.
Dunno what it will sound like but I am hoping for Frazer’s voice saying “We’re Doomed”
Mel

I gather it will even override a phone set to ‘silent”…….spooky. I gather you have to acknowledge the alert otherwise you will not be able to use the phone. Stand by fir a multitude of driving offence charges. Devil if you are navigating a town using Apple or Google navigation. 😱

 

[Buckman]

I gather it will even override a phone set to ‘silent”…….spooky. I gather you have to acknowledge the alert otherwise you will not be able to use the phone. Stand by fir a multitude of driving offence charges. Devil if you are navigating a town using Apple or Google navigation. 😱

I would like to think that the alert will come over the car's system, but not sure how I would acknowledge the alert? I would think that in some cases and depending on your location even if you were in France you may get the alert.

 

[Jcloughie]

Some people have a secret phone. For example, if they are in an abusive relationship. They need to know that the alert can be disabled. (Don’t ask me how). The last thing they want is the alarm going off giving away the phone’s location.

John

 

[Buckman]

Some people have a secret phone. For example, if they are in an abusive relationship. They need to know that the alert can be disabled. (Don’t ask me how). The last thing they want is the alarm going off giving away the phone’s location.

John

If you are being nuked I don't think anyone is going to be bothered with the location of a phone. 😆

 

[Jcloughie]

If you are being nuked I don't think anyone is going to be bothered with the location of a phone. 😆

I understand the humour. But obviously, this is to be used for local emergencies. Evidently, it will only be sent to certain areas. However, my Alexa device often warns me with ‘Flood Alert’. Even though we are not near a flood plain.

John

 

[Hutch]

I gather it will even override a phone set to ‘silent”…….spooky. I gather you have to acknowledge the alert otherwise you will not be able to use the phone. Stand by fir a multitude of driving offence charges. Devil if you are navigating a town using Apple or Google navigation. 😱

On an Android phone, go into settings, then Sounds, and then Emergency Alert Setting, you can then choose what alerts to receive.

 

[Buckman]

I understand the humour. But obviously, this is to be used for local emergencies. Evidently, it will only be sent to certain areas. However, my Alexa device often warns me with ‘Flood Alert’. Even though we are not near a flood plain.

John

TBH given the current situation I think flood warnings etc are a secondary useful option.

 

[otherclive]

On an Android phone, go into settings, then Sounds, and then Emergency Alert Setting, you can then choose what alerts to receive.

In iPhones they are defined as Extreme and Severe alerts. I set my phone off on Emergency call when I fished it out of my pocket, quite a surprise when some one asked 'which service do you require". Very apologetic reply from me.

 

[Dustydog]

As a Flood Warden on the Upper reaches of the Thames I hate these type of warnings. Flood alerts often come through at 3.00 am by way of a phone call. You always think the worst that time of morning.
Sadly I really can’t see what emergency I need to know about whilst driving . And as Buckman say if it’s a Nuke it won’t help me!

 

[ProfJohnL]

If you are being nuked I don't think anyone is going to be bothered with the location of a phone. 😆

I think Jcloughie's comment is highly relevant, and certainly not a matter for humour. The test could reveal the whereabouts of a secret phone, and that could endanger someone's safety.

I do suggest if anyone does have phone that needs to be protected from discovery (for safety reasons) it would be wise to turn it completely off (not just turned to silent) over the relevant period of the test.

 

[Buckman]

I think Jcloughie's comment is highly relevant, and certainly not a matter for humour. The test could reveal the whereabouts of a secret phone, and that could endanger someone's safety.

I do suggest if anyone does have phone that needs to be protected from discovery (for safety reasons) it would be wise to turn it completely off (not must turned to silent) over the relevant period of the test.

Millions of phones are being sent the alert at the same time and the alert will be very brief i.e. milliseconds and in the form of a text message so highly unlikely that any phone can be traced at that specific time.

 

[Jcloughie]

Millions of phones are being sent the alert at the same time and the alert will be very brief i.e. milliseconds and in the form of a text message so highly unlikely that any phone can be traced at that specific time.

Not so.

Your mobile phone or tablet may:

• make a loud siren-like sound, even if it’s set on silent
• vibrate
• read out the alert

The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

Read this.


John

 

[Dustydog]

According to Mel’s OP phones on silent still receive the message and it seems it can be overridden. Switched off phones get nothing.
But what message is so important that I need my privacy invaded by HMG 1984! Humour , Satire , Rhetoric, Informative, what the heck. If it’s a nuke perhaps I don’t want to know.
IMO just more so high called tech trying to invade my quiet peaceful life. 10 seconds won’t help me🍺🍺🍺

 

[Mel]

My feeling is that we live in such an anxio-genic culture with the media predicting and exaggerating awfulness at every turn; this is just one more thing for people to get worried about.
Once you have a system like this, the operators are open to criticism if something happens and they haven’t put the fear of God in everybody. Hence the threshold for what constitutes an emergency gets further and further lowered. So sooner or later it won’t be nuclear bomb or extreme flash flood, it will degrade to “windy enough to blow some branches down” or “quite snowy” as the threshold for alerts becomes more and more risk adverse.
No system means no risk of “ you didn’t warn us” winging.
Mel

 

[otherclive]

According to Mel’s OP phones on silent still receive the message and it seems it can be overridden. Switched off phones get nothing.
But what message is so important that I need my privacy invaded by HMG 1984! Humour , Satire , Rhetoric, Informative, what the heck. If it’s a nuke perhaps I don’t want to know.
IMO just more so high called tech trying to invade my quiet peaceful life. 10 seconds won’t help me🍺🍺🍺

I already receive weather and flood warnings from Met Office and EA, as previously we lived in a town susceptible to flooding. I get info notifications from the Council, so other than war I cannot really think what HMG will be informing me on, even at a regional level. But I think that I might be aware if war was upon us.

 

[ProfJohnL]

As far as I understand the emergency signal could be limited to just 1 mobile phone mast and any phone within its transmission range would respond. This could be useful, for example if the was local fire which was producing toxic fumes, or a gas main leak. or a warning about a rampant gun or knife suspect.

I can see some potential for the system. As it does not track position or your details it don't see it as an invasion of privacy.

 

[Sam Vimes]

I think the idea is good but the timing of the alerts is of key importance.

A couple of weeks ago when I was in NZ visiting the family, my UK phone was the only one to go off for an Earthquake warning. Having never seen the alert before I showed it to my daughter. A few seconds later the house shook. So timing from alert to potential problems was just a couple of seconds. Not enough time to take action..... fortunately not needed in this instance.

 

[otherclive]

As far as I understand the emergency signal could be limited to just 1 mobile phone mast and any phone within its transmission range would respond. This could be useful, for example if the was local fire which was producing toxic fumes, or a gas main leak. or a warning about a rampant gun or knife suspect.

I can see some potential for the system. As it does not track position or your details it don't see it as an invasion of privacy.

Hope it is better than the broadcasts in 2007 when the River Severn flooded and we had made it from Coventry to Moreton but the town was flooded so we headed towards Evesham, but no joy there. The local radio said the M5 was open so we routed back towards Worcester and joined the M 5 southbound. Only then to find that just north of Strensham the motorway was closed due to field run off. It had taken us five hours to get from Coventry to M5 Worcester and the severity of the rainfall had completely overtaken the ability of the various bodies to provide factual information. Needless to say it was a very British occasion with three southbound lanes all spending the night together.

 

[otherclive]

I think the idea is good but the timing of the alerts is of key importance.

A couple of weeks ago when I was in NZ visiting the family, my UK phone was the only one to go off for an Earthquake warning. Having never seen the alert before I showed it to my daughter. A few seconds later the house shook. So timing from alert to potential problems was just a couple of seconds. Not enough time to take action..... fortunately not needed in this instance.

Earthquakes don't give much notice, perhaps it would fare better with a volcanic eruption

 

[Mickyjb]

I think Mel has hit the nail on the head - from now on everything gets catastrophised with associated warnings: -

1) Unless a plug is attached to a wire by a qualified electrician an alert sounds for three streets around said property.

2) Bins to be monitored such that organic waste in the green bin alerts all within 2km radius, non-organic in the blue bin ditto and inorganic material in the brown bin results in 'extinct rebels' being alerted.
Note: Other bin colours may be relevant.

3) Me looking at 'Car and Classic' website alerts my wife's phone very loudly - that might be a bit niche...

...and finally: -

4) future cars and caravans will have axle-sensors such that when attached together at a ratio of 86% all drivers within 5km get alerted.

Other scenarios are possible...

 

[Woodentop]

If you read HMG notes on the test it says that if you switch off 'extreme' and 'severe' you will not receive the alert. It will also only work on smartphones with 4/5G - which probably rules out half the older population.

There is a higher level that cannot be switched off (without switching off your phone) and that is called 'Presidential' - I'll leave it to your imagination why it is called that!

 

[RogerL]

Some people have a secret phone. For example, if they are in an abusive relationship. They need to know that the alert can be disabled. (Don’t ask me how). The last thing they want is the alarm going off giving away the phone’s location.

John

It's a non-issue - anyone with a secret phone could easily be given away now if the phone receives a scam text or wrong number call - to maintain secrecy the phone needs to switched off except when in use - in that case the emergency alarm won't compromise their secrecy.

 

[Jcloughie]

It's a non-issue - anyone with a secret phone could easily be given away now if the phone receives a scam text or wrong number call - to maintain secrecy the phone needs to switched off except when in use - in that case the emergency alarm won't compromise their secrecy.

But surely notifications would be turned off. Simple.

John

 

[Jcloughie]

I fully understand the scepticism some have for this technology. Particularly as I am a sceptic myself. But on the other hand I am all for the use of technology. Many of the inovations made in recent times have faced such resistance, particularly where smart phones are involved. But gradually such things as making payments by tapping our cards or phones. Online banking, facetime, security cameras, home smart systems etc. Have become the norm for many.

Personally I feel development of such things equals enhancement. But there has to be checks and balances within our banking policing.

But then there are driverless cars!!! Not so sure about them.😳

John