The UK government launches a new Emergency Alerts service

Don't panic if your phone suddenly starts to make strange noises while you are walking through the streets of London. These noises might be coming from the all-new Emergency Alerts service the UK government recently introduced.

That's right, when there is an incident or emergency that endangers people's lives in the UK at a local or national level, the service will send a loud siren-like sound to your phone along with additional instructions. The service might be warning you of an emergency such as severe flooding, a fire, a health emergency, an industrial incident, or a terror attack.

The broadcasting system that sends these alerts utilizes 4G and 5G masts and broadcasts directly to compatible devices in a specified area. The system doesn't use personal information like a telephone number, identity, or location. The alerts are free, and you don't have to do anything to receive them.

However, in order to receive emergency alerts, you will need a 4G or 5G-compatible device. If you have an iPhone, it must be running iOS 14.5 or later, and if you have an Android phone or tablet, it must be running Android 11 or later to receive the alerts. You can choose not to receive emergency alerts by just turning them off from your device, but it's needless to say that you should not disable them since they can literally save your life.

But what if you don't have a 4G or 5G-compatible device? Well, in this case, feel free to check out our best Virgin Media phone deals, best O2 phone deals, and best Vodafone phone deals articles, where you can find amazing deals on some of the best smartphones on the market.