AT&T introduces Wireless Emergency Alerts for iPhone 5 & iPhone 4S

RaduTyrsina · Jun 17, 2013


Going on a trip into the wild might be safer than you actually think... if you own an iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S that is. AT&T has just released a soft update for the above mentioned devices which allows the enabling of Wireless Emergency Alerts.

The Alerts are part of a government imposed program which features AMBER Alerts, natural disaster emergencies, manmade emergencies and Presidential alerts.

Apparently, the most important Alerts are the Presidential ones (issued by the President, naturally) which cannot be disabled. If you are annoyed about the other ones however, you can turn them off in a few simple steps. All users need to do is go to Settings>Notifications>Turn On/Off. We don’t really recommend making this move though, especially if you’re out and about, exploring some remote corners of nature.

Even if the update is aimed at iPhone 5s and iPhone 4S unite, some iPhone 4 users located in specific locations across the U.S. might end up getting the notifications as well. When the update arrives to the handset, users will be alerted by a message saying “Carrier Settings Update: new settings required for your device have been installed.”

For users who have iOS 6.1or later installed on their devices, the update will be sent over-the-air (OTA). Those with an earlier version of the operating system will have to connect to their iTunes account and get the update from there.

Since the software is mandatory and required to be implemented, users will not be charged for the Notifications or for the update itself.

Source: AT&T

scifan57 · Jun 17, 2013

I'm assuming that these alerts will be location based and the user will probably receive the ones affecting him at his current location.

xrayeyes · Jun 17, 2013

Greeeeeaaaat! Another way for the gummit to intrude on our lives!

bear7962 · Jun 17, 2013

AT & T is the last of the major cell companies to activate this. All the others have been doing this for at least 6 months and all let you opt out expect for the presidential ones and that is for things on the 9-11 level.

xrayeyes · Jun 17, 2013

bear7962 said:
AT & T is the last of the major cell companies to activate this. All the others have been doing this for at least 6 months and all let you opt out expect for the presidential ones and that is for things on the 9-11 level.

Haven't seen it on my Verizon phone. And yeah, I kinda figure they "say" its for the serious stuff... assumed it wouldn't be for giving us alerts on the annual Easter Egg hunt...