US cell phones will get noisy alarms tomorrow (overriding silent mode)

[cellio]

If you are someone in the US who needs to keep the existence of your mobile phone a secret -- for example, someone in an abusive relationship who might need to be able to call for help -- then you might want to turn your phone off for an hour or so tomorrow. A test of the national emergency alert system will hit all phones (and TVs and radios), making a loud noise even if you have it in silent or vibrate mode. Scheduled start time is 14:20 Eastern time (UTC 18:20) and alerts could come for half an hour after that time.

Also:

Smartwatches, tablets and other connected devices might also receive the alerts depending on how they are set up and if they’re connected to cellular service directly or tethered to another device that is.

Comments

[madfilkentist]

Who on Earth thought that was a good idea? Oh, I know, the same people in Washington who have so many "good ideas" for us.

Here's a non-paywalled article with the information.

[cellio]

Thanks for the link. I tested the WaPo one in a private window, so I thought I was clear of paywalls.

[elbren]

it could've saved lives in the lahaina fires