[IndigoTucker]

It's not a 'current government' thing - it's a long-vaulted replacement for air raid sirens and the old emergency interrupt system on broadcast television. Its simply to do the same job now that everyone has a mobile but not everyone watches television at once - ie inform residents of natural disasters, floods, nuclear bombs, big gas explosions, crazed gunmen on the loose. The conservatives haven't got a plan to keep you scared with alerts all the time.

[JAS84]

Or you could drop to 3G instead.  The alerts are only being sent to those with 4G/5G enabled.

Going off-topic slightly but 3G is in the process of being permanently switched off by the networks. Vodafone this year, with EE and Three confirming switch off next year. I suspect this may be why they're not bothering to test it on what remains of the 3G network.

Worth noting that the emergency alert feature is apparently works on devices running iOS 14.5 onwards, and Android 11 onwards. Also apparently Apple watches using WatchOS 8.5. (Info taken from Three support website.) I believe all of these operating systems were launched longer after 4G support became standard on phones/SIMs.

Wait, does that mean I won't get it? My phone, only a year old, is an Android 10 one.

[James2001]

And other countries already have them, I've been in the US when they've gone off on people's phones.

[m_in_m]

Going off-topic slightly but 3G is in the process of being permanently switched off by the networks. Vodafone this year, with EE and Three confirming switch off next year. I suspect this may be why they're not bothering to test it on what remains of the 3G network.

Worth noting that the emergency alert feature is apparently works on devices running iOS 14.5 onwards, and Android 11 onwards. Also apparently Apple watches using WatchOS 8.5. (Info taken from Three support website.) I believe all of these operating systems were launched longer after 4G support became standard on phones/SIMs.

Wait, does that mean I won't get it? My phone, only a year old, is an Android 10 one.

I bought my phone in 2019 and it is running Android 12. Having checked Android 10 was released September 2019. The latest version is 13 released August last year. 

I presume you've checked there are no software updates available? I've been preparing myself for the need to replace mine but not set on what to get.

[i.h]

I'd bet money on it working on older phones anyway. The technical standards are not that new and I can't imagine why they are saying you need to be running an OS from the 2020s

The 4G/5G cutoff is likely correct though, no point doing the work to enable alerts on 3G which is largely going away soon anyway, or on 2G which hardly anyone would be using at this point.

As for the UK's timeline on this, it seems to be post-COVID. I think they saw how long it took to send out that COVID text and realised they needed something better. It was looked into about 10 years ago too but they decided not to proceed.

If you're in airplane mode or out of cellular coverage (or in the UK's case, disabled the alerts - other countries don't allow an opt out) then you won't receive it.

[Moz]

I genuinely don’t get the sort of people who don’t want this.

They are the sort of people who don’t believe in community and who’s “ever family for their selves” attitude is ruining the world.

[JAS84]

Wait, does that mean I won't get it? My phone, only a year old, is an Android 10 one.

I bought my phone in 2019 and it is running Android 12. Having checked Android 10 was released September 2019. The latest version is 13 released August last year. 

I presume you've checked there are no software updates available? I've been preparing myself for the need to replace mine but not set on what to get.

It automatically checks for updates and has been updated a few times. Seems to be just small security patches though (I can never tell that anything's changed), the OS version doesn't seem to be updatable. You think yours needs replacing? Sounds like they're still selling stuff that'll go obsolete faster. No wonder there's so much e-waste...

[i.h]

One of the major issues with Android is that Google doesn't have control over software updates (except for their own devices ofc), and so it depends entirely on the manufacturer and their own update policies.

Google has made some strides in this area, for example splitting out key components into separate packages that they can update through the play store without needing the manufacturer's assistance, and the Android One programme which requires manufacturers to commit to a period of updates.

But none of that really beats Apple, where all eligible devices get the update at the same time, and usually they do security updates for a lot longer than anyone else. The 5S got one last year and they pushed one out to enable the COVID exposure thing on devices as old as the iPhone 6

[Nobby]

"Mary will have a reminder of that phone alert at five to three" - ITV News.

I assume a newsflash of sorts during a break in Masked Singer US

[TheGregmeister]

I genuinely don’t get the sort of people who don’t want this.

They are the sort of people who don’t believe in community and who’s “ever family for their selves” attitude is ruining the world.

There are of course people in abusive relationships that might have a secondary phone hidden away from their abusive partners.