Android Emergency Alerts
Emergency alerts include AMBER Alerts, severe weather alerts, and national emergency alerts.
- Open Settings
, then tap Notifications 
. - Tap Wireless emergency alerts.
- Turn on the alerts of your choice.
Emergency alerts are part of the Wireless Emergency Alert system (WAE). These alerts are issued by agencies like the National Weather Service and other public safety agencies authorized by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Alerts include:
- Presidential alerts—cannot be turned off.
- Imminent threat alerts like tornadoes or tsunamis.
- AMBER alerts.
Alerts may also contain instructions such as evacuation orders or shelter-in-place orders.
The FCC issued rules (January 2017) that will require cellular companies to more accurately target the geographical area for alerts. These rules, which went into effect in May of 2019, reduce the number of alerts that are spread out to large areas that are not affected, thereby reducing the irritation of being awoken or disturbed by events that are nowhere near you. Alerts can now be issued in multiple languages, be longer, and support web links and multimedia.