Brits left scratching their head at 'fail' emergency alert that didn't go off for many

The UK government sent out an emergency alert today, but not everyone received it.

The alert was supposed to sound at 3pm today (7 September) to everyone with a mobile phone. Described like a sound you’d expect to hear in The Purge, most people were left scrambling to turn off every phone to escape the siren noise.

As for why we were even getting a notification in the first place, the afternoon tests were designed to trial how the government sends out emergency alerts in situations where danger is apparent. This could be severe weather events or a terror attack.

Most phones and tablets across the UK received a text message and a loud, siren-like sound that lasted approximately 10 seconds.

The message alert read: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.

The UK government's test-ran their emergency alerts today (Getty stock images)

“You do not need to take any action. In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.

“Find simple and effective advice on how to prepare for emergencies at gov.uk/prepare.”

While it might be a little annoying to have a pop-up on your phone, the government calls it a ‘small price’ for a safety system 'that could one day help save lives'.

Pat McFadden, the new Work and Pensions secretary, added: "It is a vital tool for keeping the nation safe when lives are on the line – and every minute matters."

But what you might not know is that it didn’t go off for everyone.

Eighty-seven million phones were supposed to vibrate, but a good chunk of those who didn’t get the alarm have taken to social media to ask why.

Teacher Katie Lathan told Metro: “Well I guess I’m out. No-one thinks to tell me anything any more.”

Meanwhile, Austin Wellbelove also said to the outlet: “I received the message on my phone but there was no sound or vibration. My iPhone was set to silent, which was not overridden.”

A lot of people were worried about what would happen during a real emergency (Getty stock images)

Over on X, someone else posted: “Well, this emergency alert system is great. My phone is on Do Not Disturb, and it didn’t go off. So if there’s some big emergency, an impending nuclear attack, anyone who’s in a meeting or taking a nap wouldn’t get notified.

"What a waste of time.”

Another said: “The Emergency Alert has failed, or I successfully switched it off the accompanying text message has not appeared either,” while a third wrote: “Well that emergency alert test was an epic fail. 3 phones all on the same network in the same location and only 2 of them got it #EmergencyAlert #Fail #UK.”

The government said that not all devices would be receiving the alert, writing: "Older phones or those not connected to 4G or 5G networks may not be compatible with the system."

A government spokesperson told the BBC that the alert message 'was broadcast correctly and mobile operators have confirmed that the test ran as expected'.

They also addressed reports of messages in gibberish, adding that 'we have not identified any widespread issue with incorrect messages'.

The statement read: "We have not identified any widespread issue with incorrect messages. The alert message was broadcast correctly and mobile operators have confirmed that the test ran as expected. Where a message may have appeared incorrectly, this is likely due to issues with individual mobile handsets."

Good thing it’s just a test.