Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are emergency messages sent by authorized government alerting authorities through mobile carriers to compatible mobile devices in the affected area. The alerts are geographically targeted, so only those in the threat area will receive the alert. There are three types of warnings that will trigger a WEA: Presidential Alerts, Imminent Threat Alerts, and Amber Alerts. The alerts appear on the screen of the recipients handset as a text-like message accompanied by a unique attention signal. The WEA system is an essential part of Americas emergency preparedness and has been used more than 84,000 times to warn the public about dangerous weather, missing children, and other critical situations.

Authorized public safety officials send WEA alerts through FEMAs Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to participating wireless carriers, which then push the alerts to compatible mobile devices in the affected area. The FCC does not send alerts, and WEA alert originators include other federal agencies (such as the National Weather Service) and state and local government authorities.

WEAs can be sent to mobile devices when individuals may be in harm’s way, without the need to download an app or subscribe to a service. Government bodies use wireless emergency alert technology, enabled by default on Android and iOS devices, to deliver instant critical updates to its people. The service will mostly be used in emergencies to keep citizens informed and safe. Users can disable wireless emergency alert notification settings to stop receiving these updates, but it is recommended to keep this feature enabled to receive key updates from the relevant authorities.

To turn on or off wireless emergency alerts on Android devices, users can go to Settings > Notifications > Wireless emergency alerts and select the alerts they want to receive. On iOS devices, users can go to Settings > Notifications > Government alerts and select the alerts they want to receive.