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Topics: UK News, Technology, Phones, Money
Joe Harker
This coming Sunday (23 April) pretty much every phone in the UK is going to get an alert as part of a test run for an emergency warning system.
Similar systems have been put into place in other countries like the US and Canada, but the first time it happens might be a bit startling for Brits unaccustomed to having their phones yell at them.
The public alert system is meant to warn Brits about 'danger to life' situations in their area, such as flooding or fires and when it's tested at 3pm, your phone will make a noise and vibrate for up to 10 seconds.
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You won't need to do anything except let the alarm time itself out, though you'll get a notification which you need to acknowledge before you can keep using the phone.
It shouldn't be little more than a minor inconvenience for most, but there have been some concerns raised over the possibility of disruptions to other services on your phones due to the test.
According to delivery service ParcelHero, the time the alarm is sounding may not be the best moment to be using services such as online banking.
They told Birmingham Live that the alert system will 'undoubtedly save lives in the future' but the massive scale of the test could mess with some financial transactions when the alarm comes through.
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David Jinks, their head of consumer research, said the alert from the test and the likely subsequent flurry of messages from people all rushing to discuss it, could cause overcrowding on the network. This could disrupt your attempts to pay for something with your phone.
The alert will be broadcast through mobile phone masts and lots of devices all using the same signal can really slow things down.
It might be best that you either get your online spending done before 3pm or leave it some time afterwards for everyone to have received the alert to stop WhatsApp-ing each other about it.
There are also some concerns for victims of domestic abuse.
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Charities have warned that many victims have a secret phone stashed away and the last thing they need is it blaring out a notification. The alarm will still sound even if the phone is on silent, so people would need to take extra precautions to make sure they don't receive the message.
Putting your phone onto airplane mode should stop you from receiving the alert at 3pm on 23 April, while switching it off altogether would be the safest option.
You should also be able to go to your smartphone settings and turn off emergency alerts to ensure you don't get the test alert or any subsequent messages.