On October 4, your phone will make scary sounds: what is it and why you don’t need to panic

On Wednesday, October 4, at 14:20 p.m. Eastern Time, every television, radio and cell phone in the United States will emit a distinctive, sharp electronic emergency alert tone. This is just a test of the warning system, reports USAToday.

Photo: IStock

Officially it is called Nationwide Emergency Alert Test.

This warning system testing is an important way to ensure that if something really bad—and really big—happens, Americans can be warned quickly.

What is Emergency Alert Testing?

According to FEMA, the national review of the system consists of two parts. They are designed to test the Emergency Alert System (WEA) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (EAS).

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The WEA will be sent to all mobile phones, and the EAS will notify all radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers. The message will be heard and seen almost everywhere. The review involves radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio companies and cellular networks.

What will the emergency alert test message say?

Throughout the United States, television and radio broadcasts will be interrupted due to the release of emergency messages. It will say: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the United States from 14:20 p.m. to 14:50 p.m. Eastern Time. This is just a training test of the system. No public action is required."

Cell phones will receive an alert via beep, vibration and text message: “This is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action required."

Phones with the main menu set to Spanish will see the following: “ESTA ES UNA PRUEBA del Sistema Nacional de Alerta de Emergencia. No se necesita acción.”

When will the emergency preparedness review be conducted?

The alert will be broadcast simultaneously in all time zones across the country starting at 14:20 pm ET on Wednesday, October 4th.
Times will vary depending on time zones, so keep an eye on when your system will be tested:

• 14: 20 EDT
• 13 p.m. CDT
• 12:20 pm MDT
• 11: 20 PDT
• 10:20 ADT
• 8:20 hrs

The beep is planned to last about one minute.

Will you receive a message if your phone is turned off?

Only turned on mobile phones will receive the message. If your phone is turned on but the sound and vibration features are turned off, you will still receive a message.

If your phone is set to Wi-Fi mode or Airplane mode, it won't receive the alert because the message is sent over the cellular broadcast system.

How loud will the alert be?

The type of noise and overall volume of the alert is similar to the Amber Alert or warnings issued by the National Weather Service for severe weather.

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The WEA alert, which will be sent to all cellular devices, will be accompanied by a unique sound and vibration, according to FEMA. This will ensure that alerts are accessible to the public, including people with disabilities.

Why a National Emergency Alert System Review is Necessary?

Federal Emergency Management Coordinators need to ensure that the National Alert System continues to be an effective way to warn Americans about national emergencies, natural disasters, attacks and accidents.

How the emergency alert will sound

This is unknown. The people who are testing the system want to be sure that you will hear a warning signal that you should pay attention to.

For this reason, federal law prohibits the playing or recording of an emergency alert signal under any circumstances other than an actual emergency or an authorized test.

In 2021, The Doug Bashman Radio Show was fined $20 for playing an emergency alert system "in the absence of any actual emergency." In 000, the CBS television show Young Sheldon was fined $2019 for playing a tornado warning sound effect.

Using an audible alarm in the absence of an actual emergency or drill can lead to “alert fatigue,” where the public becomes desensitized to warnings and stops paying attention to them.

Here is the official description of the alert tone: “The attention audio signal must have a temporal structure consisting of one long tone lasting two seconds, followed by two short tones lasting one second each, with an interval of one-half second of a second between each tone. The entire sequence must be repeated twice, with an interval of half a second between each repetition."

How is an emergency alert checked?

Wireless emergency warning is transmitted over the Internet. FEMA distributes it over virtual private networks to television and radio stations, as well as to US cellular companies. Each of these organizations then sends a message to their customers.

There is a backup system. It includes the Public Broadcasting System (PBS - Public Broadcasting Service).

“We have placed an emergency alert signal on our satellite and in our interconnected system. We can broadcast every alert to every public television station across the country,” said Dana Golub, vice president of technology business operations and executive director of the WARN system.

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Each of the more than 330 PBS stations across the country is connected to the data centers of cellular carriers in its region and also sends them alert messages. This means that cell phone companies receive two text messages, but the system's design ensures that only one is sent. If for any reason the Internet fails and the first alert does not reach the cell phone carrier, an alternative alert from the local PBS station is available as a backup.

Can the test cause harm to people with hearing aids?

Many people who have hearing aids now connect them to their mobile phones so that the sound of phone calls is sent to the hearing aids via Bluetooth. There have been reports online that a loud warning tone can be harmful.
However, this isn't really a problem, says D'Ann Rudden, doctor of audiology at Longmont Hearing and Tinnitus Center in Longmont, Colorado.

“Hearing aids have power limiters. So even if you get a louder alert, there is a volume ceiling. The alert will not exceed levels that could potentially damage your hearing,” she said.

Emergency Alert Checking Is Not a Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy theories are spreading on social media suggesting that the warning signal will somehow turn on technology implanted in Americans' bodies, putting them under some kind of "control."

These statements are not true. The test cannot harm people and is only intended to test the operation of the national alert system.

How long have these checks been going on?

The first National Emergency Broadcast System in the United States was created in 1951 as a way for the government to use radio networks to warn the country of an enemy attack during the Cold War. It was further refined and expanded as fears of nuclear attack grew in the 1950s and '60s.

The first nationwide test of the latest version of the Emergency Alert System took place on November 9, 2011 at 14:00 pm Pacific Time. The October 4 test will be the seventh nationwide test for radio and television, the third for consumer mobile phones and the second for all cellular devices.

Are there false positives?

Over the years, erroneous messages were sent out that caused false alarms locally, especially in the 1950s when the system was new and communications were more sophisticated.

The most recent false alarm occurred in 2018 in Hawaii, when the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's system mistakenly sent an alert to the islands about a ballistic missile threat. During a shift, someone selected the wrong item on the computer.

The message read: “Ballistic missile threat is approaching Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill."

It took 38 minutes to determine that the warning was due to user error.

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