Don't panic when your phone starts ringing on April 23 if you are in the UK

If you live in the UK, you should not panic when your phone starts ringing and vibrating on Sunday, April 23, 2023. At 3pm on this date, the UK government will test the all-new Emergency Alerts service throughout the entire country.

Lasting only about 10 seconds, the test will start and end automatically, so you won't need to take any action. Additionally, all 4G and 5G phones will receive the alert, regardless of the mobile carrier.

To avoid any disruption to the major events scheduled for the day, the government has carefully selected the timing of the test. As you may know, the London Marathon is taking place on the same day.

The UK's all-new Emergency Alerts system was designed to warn people when there is an emergency that represents an imminent danger to their lives. For example, the service might be warning about severe flooding, a fire, a health emergency, an industrial incident, or a terror attack in your area. The warning will also contain additional instructions to help you save your life.

The alert broadcasting system uses 4G and 5G masts to directly broadcast notifications to compatible devices. The system doesn't collect personal information such as your phone number or location. Also, the alerts are free, so you won't be charged for the notifications.

However, in order to receive emergency alerts, you will need to have a 4G or a 5G phone. So if you want to get yourself a new powerful 5G smartphone, feel free to check out our best Vodafone phone deals, best Virgin Media phone deals, and best O2 phone deals articles. There, you can find amazing deals on some of the best 5G smartphones on the market.