# Phone alert tests this week



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

A heads-up, your phone may blast a test emergency alarm this week (possibly Monday)
https://www.alertready.ca/

Quebec gets a test alert today, Monday May 7 @ 9:55 AM
Ontario gets a test alert today, Monday May 7 @ 1:55 PM

BC & Alberta are on May 9 @ 1:55 pm


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

The test failed in Quebec this morning


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I received nothing in Ontario...


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

It worked on Rogers cable television. I had to turn it off with the digital box as it kept repeating.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Out of curiosity what would any following announcement be to involve such a broad scale alert.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I was out and didn't have my phone with me. But my wife said she heard a siren and it was coming from my phone. Interesting because although we are in Ontario, the phone has a US number. But it is no doubt live on one of the Canadian networks. Just looked at it. There is a full screen with a flashing Exclamation mark . The message is titled "* Presidential alert*" What President ???? Is this to warn us about something Trump has done?? It then goes on to say "This a test of Ontario's alert ready system" etc etc


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Canada launched wireless public alert capability on April 6th 2018. I was surprised after the tsunami warning in BC that we didn't have this

When I was in the US during recent hurricanes my Canadian smart phone got the public alert. I wouldn't have got any alert otherwise

When I was in Canada during a potential tornado the car radio and TV had public emergency information but my Canadian cell had nothing

It has to do with the network you're connected to and whether your phone is wireless public alert compatible


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## Mookie (Feb 29, 2012)

Today was the day for the test in BC, and although several of my colleagues got the test alert, others including myself got nothing. Turns out my phone isn’t on the compatible devices list, even though I’m on TELUS, and have a Samsung phone that’s only 6 months old.

If there is such a high standard for compatibility, then I’m starting to wonder how effective this AlertReady system really is… 

Wouldn’t it make more sense to use a “lowest common denominator” technology such as plain SMS text? That way the message could reach virtually every mobile device out there.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Worked on both our Galaxy A5 and S7 phones....


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm surprised they aren't using a lowest common denominator, SMS alert. That seems like an obvious broadcast mechanism to me.

Living where I am (in an earthquake zone) I've been hoping that in case of an imminent earthquake being detected, that at the very least, SMS would get sent around. Maybe there is no such thing in the works.

I've seen my US phone blare with an Amber Alert once. On my Moto phone, the settings are under: Settings -> More -> Emergency Broadcasts


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## Dilbert (Nov 20, 2016)

I have IPhone 6S and it worked in GTA. Wife has IPhone 5, nothing. We were sitting beside each other at the time, so she joked that I will have to phone her when there’s a real emergency!


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## stantistic (Sep 19, 2015)

*In Manitoba*

​http://winnipegsun.com/news/provincial/emergency-alert-test-shows-need-for-improvement


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

GVA 8Plus on Bell, TV on Shaw Direct both got it. 4s on Rogers nada.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Alberta. Both on Koodo (telus). Mine worked, hers did not.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

If your compatible smartphone was connected to a compatible LTE network (that worked for others).. maybe you didn't update your OS and/or carrier settings?


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## tored (May 15, 2018)

guys, thanks for this info


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

Well, it worked on my wife's phone yesterday, but not on mine. In Ottawa, she received multiple loud alerts about a child in Thunder Bay taken by his mother.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...o-wide-following-thunder-bay-amber-alert.html

I don't want to diminish the seriousness of the Amber alert, and if it helps find even one abducted child, then it's worth the annoyance. But.... was there any indication that they were headed towards Ottawa? He was found within 3 hours, 30 Km away. If this system is designed to localize the alert to affected areas, and that decision is left up to the police, then they should be given some guidance as to when it's appropriate to issue such a wide area alert.

“There is no opt out,” said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao when contacted by the Star on Monday. “Given the importance of warning Canadians of *imminent threats to their safety*, life and property, it will not let you opt out of receiving alerts.”


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

It worked on my phone yesterday - the Amber alert. It broadcast the message that was also on screen in text. Still says Presidential Alert! Phone was in my golf bag and this happened just as partner was hitting a drive!


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Userkare said:


> Well, it worked on my wife's phone yesterday, but not on mine. In Ottawa, she received multiple loud alerts about a child in Thunder Bay taken by his mother.
> https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...o-wide-following-thunder-bay-amber-alert.html
> I don't want to diminish the seriousness of the Amber alert, and if it helps find even one abducted child, then it's worth the annoyance. But.... was there any indication that they were headed towards Ottawa? He was found within 3 hours, 30 Km away. If this system is designed to localize the alert to affected areas, and that decision is left up to the police, then they should be given some guidance as to when it's appropriate to issue such a wide area alert.
> “There is no opt out,” said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao when contacted by the Star on Monday. “Given the importance of warning Canadians of *imminent threats to their safety*, life and property, it will not let you opt out of receiving alerts.”


^+1 Yes, we should definately be using technology to assist in such emergencies, but surely the hell they can target something less than Ontario-wide? What's to say they weren't on their way to Winnipeg?
If Google can shove lawn mower ads 'down my throat' moments after I search for 'lawn mower', surely this technology can be improved. But I say that while owning a phone that didn't work in last week's test, and I'm personally hoping that will continue to be the case. :shame:


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

It doesn't matter what province your address is. You get messages based on what tower you're connected to

Hence I get US alerts when connected to a US network with a compatible smartphone in an alert region


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Yes, understood. Based on UserKare's article it sounds like the OPP alert went out to all cell phone towers in Ontario, so anyone connected to one of those towers would receive the alert. My point was, why is a tower in Cornwall, ON for example, transmitting an amber alert related to an incident in Thunder Bay? A relevant radius around the incident and perhaps towers some distance along main highways would seem more beneficial.
We all know what happened to the boy who cried wolf. After a while people will just ignore them and/or someone will develop a popular app to block/mute the alerts.


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

People are going to start to ignoring these alerts. An office full of "alerting" phones on full volume!, you'd think the world was ending. If they can figure it out, it will be a valuable service. Perhaps they can create different alerts, like emergency codes in a hospital. Different sounds, colors, etc...


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

This may make me a horrible monster, but on my US phone, I've disabled Amber alerts. There were too many of them being sent. (On Android this can be selected under Settings -> More -> Emergency Broadcasts)

I've only left the other emergency alerts. I'm concerned about things like major natural disasters and in 3 years of having those enabled in the US, I have not yet seen a single false alarm.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

UserKare's Star article link does say"


> _"the issuing government authority of the alert decides which areas it’ll be sent to. OPP spokesperson Sgt. Carolle Dionne confirmed that the police form sent to the alert system has a checkbox to specify whether or not the incident warrants a provincial alert. "People need to remember that it’s a quick alert that may potentially save a child’s life", Dionne said. _


Sounds to me like its just easier for the OPP to check one box and be done with it than actually using any discretion or worrying about pissing off 90% of the provinve. Oh well, like I said, someone will develop an app to mute or block it. 

Telus says:


> _Wireless service providers will only receive and broadcast alerts that are issued for threat-to-life situations.
> Emergency alerts intended for wireless devices are issued to a defined geographic area, which can be as small as a few city blocks, so that only people in the defined area receive the emergency alerts. The defined area is selected by the alerting authorities. Compatible wireless devices in the targeted area, including devices that are roaming, will receive the emergency alerts within seconds of alert issuance, provided the devices are powered on and connected to the LTE cellular network. If you are travelling outside of Canada to a country that has a functional wireless alerting service, you may receive alerts issued to the geographic location you are in.
> You cannot opt out of receiving threat-to-life emergency alerts._


My phone is not capable of receiving these (according to the list). Hopefully it is not possibile to 'fix it', or at least they are not in not hurry to fix it?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

james4beach said:


> I've only left the other emergency alerts. I'm concerned about things like major natural disasters and in 3 years of having those enabled in the US, I have not yet seen a single false alarm.


Other than that ballistic missile false alarm in Hawaii. I'll try not to repeat that mistake when I'm on shift


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> My point was, why is a tower in Cornwall, ON for example, transmitting an amber alert related to an incident in Thunder Bay? A relevant radius around the incident and perhaps towers some distance along main highways would seem more beneficial.


Ah gotcha. I believe the test was province wide, whereas the actual alert should be contained to relevant geographical towers I agree. I believe FM transmitter towers and cable TV alerts are already geographically contained. Do you get annoyed by false alarms on FM radio and TV? Have you ever even seen a real one before?


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

m3s said:


> Do you get annoyed by false alarms on FM radio and TV?


Being as we subscribe to satellite TV, I realize that it would be impossible to isolate these alerts to a small geographic area. It is still, however, annoying to have these alerts pop up even not when watching live TV - for events that are from across the entire country.

I think the concept of a public alert system using new technologies is a good idea - better than the air-raid sirens of old. I just hope that it doesn't become so ubiquitous that nobody even bothers to look at them.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Well this is Canada after all - you're free to ignore them if you so chose

Just don't cry to the government for not risking the lives of our responders to save your ignorant ***

A little natural selection would probably do the gene pool some good anyways


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

m3s said:


> Well this is Canada after all - you're free to ignore them if you so chose
> 
> Just don't cry to the government for not risking the lives of our responders to save your ignorant ***
> 
> A little natural selection would probably do the gene pool some good anyways


Where did I say I was going to ignore them? I just said they could be annoying when they refer to something nowhere near me that totally doesn't affect me. 

If the alert was for anything that was going to jeopardize my ignorant ***, I'd be well prepared, or long gone before any first responders ever made it to where I live....

Jan 1998, after several days of freezing rain - one tree fallen on top of house, several fallen across the 200' driveway, even more blocking the road. Before power & phones went out, we filled lots of jugs with drinking water. Once power went, we used buckets in sump hole to get toilet-flushing water. We drained water from the water heater to wash. We used camp stove, and propane BBQ to cook. We had 2 12V marine batteries with large inverter to power some small appliances. TV and radio were useless wrt any information about assistance on the way. We burned wood in the fireplace for warmth. After rain ended, we went out with chainsaw to clear driveway. Met neighbours in road also with chainsaws to clear the road together. One neighbour came around with coffee they made on their camp stove coffee-maker. At no time did any gov't person show their face. If you think I'd just sit on my sorry *** and wait to be saved, you're sorely mistaken.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I'm sorry but now you not only reaffirm an ignorance but add egocentricity

Ignorance - Ice storm is only a weather advisory. I lived through the ice storm and I don't remember any requirement for emergency broadcasts. It's not a like tornado, tsunami, earthquake, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosives, ballistic missile, alien invasion etc that could endanger lives with little warning.

Egocentricity - Emergency response services are for more than just your capable but ignorant ***. Not everyone is able bodied to look out for themselves during an unforeseen crisis. It sounds to me like you looked after yourself just fine but failed to consider if there could be others in need.

You could always go live off the grid if you don't want any annoying emergency warnings & services that you don't seem to respect


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

m3s said:


> I'm sorry but now you not only reaffirm an ignorance but add egocentricity
> 
> Ignorance - Ice storm is only a weather advisory. I lived through the ice storm and I don't remember any requirement for emergency broadcasts. It's not a like tornado, tsunami, earthquake, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosives, ballistic missile, alien invasion etc that could endanger lives with little warning.
> 
> ...


Well, lets go for the trifecta - see what other insult you can hurl at me. Frankly, though, I don't give a flying fig what some anonymous internet person thinks.

Yes, I can look after myself just fine. Ice storm was just an example of how people can cope, and help one another without waiting for gov't help. And BTW there were 16,000 Canadian Forces troops deployed for that "only a weather advisory". You sound like the CEO of the company I worked for at the time, who lived in a downtown condo, and said the "ice storm was just an excuse for people to take a few days off work". 

As a general rule, I don't go putting myself in stupid situations where I might need to be rescued. Others may be less capable of looking after themselves, or priority may be given to the more densely populated areas than my sparse rural area; that's fine by me. If I were so egocentric, I'd insist that I be given priority. If something were to happen, though, over which I had no control, like a plane crash, I surely would be grateful for the 1st responders.

Now, if you can tone down your hyperbole and remember what we're talking about here, it's annoying loud alerts multiple times on a cell phone for an 'Amber Alert' from about 1500 km away. How you turned this into life threatening scenarios is beyond me.

Turns out, the Android phone has settings to select what type of alerts to receive. I've turned off Amber Alerts, but left the life-threatening perils like alien zombie invasions.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

Userkare said:


> Turns out, the Android phone has settings to select what type of alerts to receive. I've turned off Amber Alerts, but left the life-threatening perils like alien zombie invasions.


Likewise, but I'd turn Amber Alerts back on if they were confined* to my geographic area (recognizing I'd still get such an alert if I was traveling off somewhere).

* May or may not be difficult to do unless a sort can be prioritized by billing address. After all, many (most?) Canadians now have Canada wide plans and don't change their cell phone number even if relocating between provinces.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

AltaRed said:


> Likewise, but I'd turn Amber Alerts back on if they were confined* to my geographic area (recognizing I'd still get such an alert if I was traveling off somewhere).
> 
> * May or may not be difficult to do unless a sort can be prioritized by billing address. After all, many (most?) Canadians now have Canada wide plans and don't change their cell phone number even if relocating between provinces.


They can easily restrict alerts to geographical location based on cell towers, regardless of the phone's plan or carrier. If you go to the US and connect to a US tower with a Canadian phone you can get US alerts regardless of your Canadian based plan

I think they broadcast amber alerts province wide because a person can travel far in a day. I usually get amber alerts from Montreal via CBC or weather network if I remember correctly. I didn't find them that annoying.. I like to be well informed


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I got an Amber alert tonight (for an abduction over 900 km away) but I'm not sure the alert system is coding these alert types properly. I had disabled Amber alerts.

The story and alert is regarding: https://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/236680/Girl-6-abducted



> Police say the suspect is believed to be driving a dark grey 2010, Mercedes Benz GL350 Bluetec SUV with Saskatchewan license plate 897 HMX.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Userkare said:


> Jan 1998, after several days of freezing rain - one tree fallen on top of house, several fallen across the 200' driveway, even more blocking the road. Before power & phones went out, we filled lots of jugs with drinking water. Once power went, we used buckets in sump hole to get toilet-flushing water. We drained water from the water heater to wash. We used camp stove, and propane BBQ to cook. We had 2 12V marine batteries with large inverter to power some small appliances. TV and radio were useless wrt any information about assistance on the way. We burned wood in the fireplace for warmth.
> 
> After rain ended, we went out with chainsaw to clear driveway. Met neighbours in road also with chainsaws to clear the road together. One neighbour came around with coffee they made on their camp stove coffee-maker. At no time did any gov't person show their face. If you think I'd just sit on my sorry *** and wait to be saved, you're sorely mistaken.



you did good. I had friends on a farm in the ottawa valley who had no power for 3 weeks. They lived in the basement apartment they kept for guests, it had wood-burning stove for cooking & heating. They got water by melting snow in cauldrons top of stove. I didn't ask if they had bottled water for drinking but they probably did.

we were spoiled in downtown montreal. Mother nature was merciful, temperatures remained mildish for days. House pipes did not freeze or burst. Authorities collaborated magnificently, leadership was warm & wonderful. Relatives in florida kept phoning with news - there were still plenty old-fashioned Bell copper lines that worked back then - which news they, the relatives, were getting from florida radio & TV. We ourselves had no news after we ran out of batteries, which happened pretty quick.

water kept up since evidently hydro quebec was able to maintain a tiny voltage of power into montreal & they decided - wisely - to use it to run the water treatment plants, although nothing else, not even the hospitals, which were able to survive on their own generators.

the army came to town & they were a godsend. 

the weirdest thing was having to go to bed at 5 pm because it was so dark & so cold. Nothing to do except crawl underneath 6 blankets. Reading underneath 6 blankets w flashlight is not a joyous experience.

.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

james4beach said:


> I'm not sure the alert system is coding these alert types properly. I had disabled Amber alerts.


Yea there are known coding errors

There are National Wireless Emergency Alert tests across the US this month


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

BIG question... did the phone alert system work properly for the Ottawa tornadoes? This is exactly what it's meant for.

Hope everyone in Ottawa-Gatineau is doing alright.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Good question

In 2016 I was driving towards Kingston on the parkway and the radio cut over to the emergency alert system to warn of possible tornadoes. We decided to stay in Gananoque instead of Kingston and the TV was on the emergency alert system as well.

Nowadays I often just stream my phone to the car radio so we wouldn't have gotten the alert if so, unless mobile devices got the alert notification


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

According to this article at least 2 families credit the system. https://www.theweathernetwork.com/a...-tornado-ef3-ef2-quebec-warning-system/112914


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

james4beach said:


> BIG question... did the phone alert system work properly for the Ottawa tornadoes?
> This is exactly what it's meant for ...


According to friends, most of their cell phones received multiple alerts. The one exception was where the phone was bought at a different place than the cellular provider.


Cheers


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Eclectic12 said:


> According to friends, most of their cell phones received multiple alerts. The one exception was where the phone was bought at a different place than the cellular provider.


That could be a matter of updating carrier settings. I get prompted to update carrier settings shortly after I swap sim cards. I get alerts outside of Canada even though the phone was bought in Canada.

These alerts go by local network. If they went by where you bought the phone they would be useless because people move and travel and sell phones


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

If the alerts go by local network - what other reason would an Ottawa network with an Ottawa purchased phone not receive an Ottawa alert, while in Ottawa?


Cheers


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Eclectic12 said:


> If the alerts go by local network - what other reason would an Ottawa network with an Ottawa purchased phone not receive an Ottawa alert, while in Ottawa?


Carrier settings are my guess because you said they swapped carriers. My phones always prompt me to update carrier settings when swapping carriers (you could opt out)

You need to be connected to LTE network on a WEA capable smartphone. You can also turn off these alerts on some phone settings, mine has the option to turn off Amber alerts or Emergency alerts


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Sorry if my wording implied carriers were swapped. 

What was expressed was the phone was purchased at one local store while the SIM/cellular plan was bought at another local store. I would have to ask whether this was a swap or not.

The phone settings is another possibility.


Cheers


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

james4beach said:


> BIG question... did the phone alert system work properly for the Ottawa tornadoes? This is exactly what it's meant for.
> 
> Hope everyone in Ottawa-Gatineau is doing alright.


Both our Android phones (one on Virgin Mobile and one on PC Mobile) sounded the alert. Our neighbour said that her iPhone ( on Rogers ) did not; but maybe that has something to do with the settings on the phone?

We did get a lot of wind and rain, but luckily no damage. We lost grid power from 6 pm Friday to 5:30 am Saturday, but we have a 10kW standby N.G. generator that we had installed after the 1998 ice storm, so no problems.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

All the Canadian carriers are required by CRTC to relay Wireless Emergency Alerts since April

Was the iPhone on LTE? Is it WEA capable? The government alerts are set to on by default


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

A close friend of mine in Ottawa said he lost power for nearly 48 hours. The event is a good reminder to keep charged flashlights (and spare water) around. If you have a car, you can also use its electrical system to recharge devices -- make sure you have the right adapters.

Last year I bought a portable USB charger that runs on AA batteries. This is pretty handy since my flashlights and AM/FM radio also use AA, so I can keep a large stock of those batteries around to handle: flashlights, radio, and cell phone charger. Also works for camping and hiking trips.


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## Userkare (Nov 17, 2014)

They had a story on the local Ottawa news about how some people did not get the alert. They mentioned the LTE requirement, but if you look at the service area map of the major carriers, they claim LTE service pretty much throughout Ottawa; so not sure why it didn't work. The interesting thing is that even people who did get the alert admitted that they ignored it. 

Here's the thing... unless the alert comes several days before the event, those people who are always completely unprepared for something bad happening wouldn't have the time to make all the necessary preparations, so better to be ready well ahead of time. The alert just means it's time to take care of the few details that need to be done - like filling jugs with fresh water, packing a "go bag", etc. I can't say that I've got absolutely everything covered; I might not be all that prepared for my brick house to blow right off the foundation, but considering that a fire is a much more likely occurrence, I have all important documents digitally scanned and stored in an encrypted archive (zip) fie. A copy is on a cloud server, and another is on a USB stick on my key-chain with my car keys. If we have to hunker down in-place for an extended period, I think we have enough camping sleep and cooking equipment to keep warm and fed. If the NG supply should fail, or the generator dies, we have 2 deep-cycle boat batteries powering a 1750W inverter; at least we would have some light and be able to power radios, charge phones, etc.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

For LTE you not only need to be in LTE coverage but have an LTE capable phone and maybe an LTE plan as well (some discount plans are limited to legacy 3G data)

You have a matter of minutes on a tornado warning.. this is the time to seek shelter or whatever the alert directs you to do! These alerts are supposed to be for imminent threats to life such as tsunami/earthquake, fire, terrorism, biological/chemical/nuclear, bomb/missiles rather than say ice storms. This is no time to prepare

There's a lot of simple prep you can do anytime in advance. Don't wait for an emergency alert!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Note, there will be more tests today. From their web site:

November 28, 2018 Public Awareness Test

Today, all provinces and territories will be conducting a test of the Alert Ready system. At 1:55 pm local time (2:55 pm ET in Quebec), a test message will be distributed on TV, radio and wireless devices.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Mine said "Please hold tightly onto your wallet and evacuate or take cover, JT has another announcement to make."

(Actually, I didn't, and never have gotten one. But that's fine with me, everyone else coming and going swerved on the road. I'll just take my cue from them)


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

LOL.... the test came through on my phone right on time.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

It worked on both of ours this time. Koodo (telus) network. 

Last time it only came through on one of our phones.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I set my phone to silent pretty much always and do not disturb is on when I sleep. SMS alerts would get silenced

The emergency alerts are treated differently in that they have their own settings which should override do not disturb/silence settings

The emergency alerts are also based on location, although I suppose SMS could be as well


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

It was kind of funny. I was in a meeting with about a dozen people when the message came in and everyone's phones vibrated on the table. Nice short break from the agenda to chat about the alert messaging.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

Strange, the alert triggered twice but I didn't notice my phone. Maybe it was because I had a smartwatch and that buzzed instead.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Just got a real alert. 6.7M in the NW


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

If you're in BC, you should have seen an emergency test alert through your smartphone around 2 pm.

If you did not see that, check your phone's settings in case the alerts are disabled.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

james4beach said:


> If you did not see that, check your phone's settings in case the alerts are disabled.


Sadly, even with alerts turned off I still get the stupid test messages.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

AB just had a test too. I am glad it didn't send the loud buzzing for it, but it worked on both my phone and surprisely my ipad which is linked.


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## londoncalling (Sep 17, 2011)

SK as well


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

cainvest said:


> Sadly, even with alerts turned off I still get the stupid test messages.


I don't think there is an easy way to turn off this crap.

The government doesn't believe you actually own your phone. They feel they have the right to use it how THEY want.

I'm glad that there are groups working on free/libre devices. They're not ready for mainstream use yet, but hopefully they will be.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

MrMatt said:


> I don't think there is an easy way to turn off this crap.


You can turn it off completely but that involves using some dev level tools. I find it odd that the settings are there in the OS but they don't actually work.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

cainvest said:


> You can turn it off completely but that involves using some dev level tools. I find it odd that the settings are there in the OS but they don't actually work.


The government forced the carriers to disable the option.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

MrMatt said:


> The government forced the carriers to disable the option.


Not true from what I read. It appears the gov sends all test messages with the highest level of alert (presidential) which can't be blocked.


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## HappilyRetired (Nov 14, 2021)

MrMatt said:


> The government forced the carriers to disable the option.





cainvest said:


> Not true from what I read. It appears the gov sends all test messages with the highest level of alert (presidential) which can't be blocked.


Matt is right. If alerts can't be blocked, it's because the government forced the carriers to disable the option.

I want the option to block alerts. It's my phone and I should get to decide how it's used.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

HappilyRetired said:


> If alerts can't be blocked, it's because the government forced the carriers to disable the option.


Not from what I read when searching on how to disable it.

I any case, I might just disable it myself .. only takes a few minutes on Android with ADB.


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## Covariance (Oct 20, 2020)

@james4beach There are two test alerts sent out each year (in Canada). One in May and the other November. They publish a schedule, should it be important to know for planning purposes.

@cainvest In Canada, the CRTC/Gov't of Canada requires all carriers to distribute the alert to devices on their LTE (wireless) networks. In a real situation the alerts are geographically specific and delivered to the devices turned on and connected to the network in that area. The make/model of handset one has may be more or less obvious in its delivery of the alert based on how ring tones and notifications are implemented and your settings.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Covariance said:


> In Canada, the CRTC/Gov't of Canada requires all carriers to distribute the alert to devices on their LTE (wireless) networks. In a real situation the alerts are geographically specific and delivered to the devices turned on and connected to the network in that area. The make/model of handset one has may be more or less obvious in its delivery of the alert based on how ring tones and notifications are implemented and your settings.


Seems to be various opinions (surprise!) on what you can and can't opt out of for emergency alerts in Canada. I did find one news blurb stating CRTC doesn't allow you to "opt out" of these messages.

Guess I'll fire up the dev tools and see if I can take care of it myself.


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## TomB16 (Jun 8, 2014)

The alert system is working well in SK. When Jack Sparrow was killing people with a machete, we were getting manybalerts per day.

Lots of amber alerts.

Oddly, I haven't received an alert in weeks. All quiet, these days.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

cainvest said:


> Seems to be various opinions (surprise!) on what you can and can't opt out of for emergency alerts in Canada. I did find one news blurb stating CRTC doesn't allow you to "opt out" of these messages.
> 
> Guess I'll fire up the dev tools and see if I can take care of it myself.


The real problem is there is no way to offer feedback.

I don't want people to waste emergency resources, but I don't blame people for calling 911 to report an issue.
Their devices were taken over, and the messages typically say to contact 911.

I just want to unsubscribe from these spammers.


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## Gator13 (Jan 5, 2020)

Have they ever shared the results of the program?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I remember the guy on the beach collecting shells in Thailand as the tsunami approached, and the guy lounging in the pool watching everyone run past.

May they both RIP. If you don't want to hear the alerts, at least when you see people running you might want to join them........even if you don't know why.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

sags said:


> May they both RIP. If you don't want to hear the alerts, at least when you see people running you might want to join them........even if you don't know why.


And this is why we have the "herd behaviour" instinct.


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