On Wednesday, the new notification system for mobile phones will be tested. What does it mean?

It is no longer just the Norwegian Civil Defense’s tornadoes that will howl. Now the notification comes to your mobile phone.

This is almost what the new emergency alert looks like on your mobile phone, according to the DSB. Photo: DSB

Twice a year, the Social Security and Emergency Preparedness Administration (DSB) tests the so-called TornadoesTornadoesTornadoes are air horns that make a loud sound. Alarm systems can be used in both peace and war to alert the population in case of serious danger. all over the country.

Powerful compressed air horns have been placed in strategic locations and buildings across the country. With their characteristic roar, they alerted residents to “look for information.” The signal consists of three series of alerts with a one-minute pause between the series.

But as Aftenposten discussed earlier: about 2.2 million people live somewhere where they can’t hear tornadoes.

A tornado, colloquially called the Flight Alert, on the roof of Ostbahlen in Oslo. In peacetime, the civil defense tests all the country’s tornadoes twice a year, at 12 noon on the second Wednesday in January and June. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB

Therefore, DSB has now developed a more modern solution as a complement to the old Cold War technology.

When warning systems are tested between 11.55 and 12.10 on Wednesday 14 June, mobile phones and other digital gadgets across the country will also be involved in the cacophony.

Here’s what you need to know about what’s going on:

🔊 There will be a lot of noise

Notification means your mobile phone will make a loud notification sound for about ten seconds and vibrate. At the same time, a text warning will appear on the screen.

that happens Synchronized Hurricanes are also being tested.

If you are in a place with many cell phones and tornado systems nearby, it may be very loud for a few minutes.

The United States has had a similar solution in use for many years. This video gives an insight into what it’s like up there:

⛔ The notification overrides everything else on your gadget

It does not help if I set the phone to silent mode. As long as it is on and connected to the mobile network (through 4G or 5G), it will howl.

If you don’t want to take the test, you have to put the phone on airplane mode or turn it off completely before and after 12 on 14 June.

Both mobile phones and smartwatches can notify, but they need to be updated

According to the DSB, these units can receive notice:

Android phones running Android 11 or later
Android GO smartwatches and phones are supported from Android 13 and above
Apple phones with iPhone 8 or later and updated to iOS 16.2 or later
Apple Watch updated with watchOS 9.2 or later
Smartwatches using Wear OS (these include watches from Samsung, Google, Fossil, and TicWatch)

DSB asserts that you must have the appropriate software in order for the notification to work.

– In Denmark, they recently conducted a similar test. Then there were many who didn’t get the test because they didn’t update their phones. So remember to update your phone before testing the notification, DSB Director Elisabeth Arsatheer says in a press release.