A nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System was conducted on October 4, 2023, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . The test was intended to alert all Americans across all time zones at once in the event of a national calamity. The test went off without a hitch, and millions of cell phones, TVs, and radios in the United States blared distinctive emergency alert tones for about a minute at 2:18 p.m. EDT. If your phone didnt receive the test, it may be because it was turned off, on airplane mode, or out of range of an active cell tower. You may have also been on a call at the time.