Government, Emergency, and Enhanced Safety Alerts on iPhone

Learn how to receive and manage emergency, government, and enhanced safety alerts on your iPhone.

About Government and Emergency Alerts

You can receive emergency, government, and public safety alerts on your iPhone. In the event of an emergency, your iPhone might display:

  • Alerts issued by your country or region's government

  • Alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life

  • Alerts for extreme weather conditions

  • AMBER alerts (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response)1

  • Public Safety Alerts1

  • Additional information that the alert originator provides2

You can also receive emergency, government, and public safety alerts on your Apple Watch.

1. AMBER alerts and Public Safety Alerts aren't available in all countries or regions.

2. Some government alerts can't be turned off. Refer to your local government's emergency alert policy to learn more.

Manage your Government Alerts preferences

By default, Government Alerts are turned on for your device.3 When you receive a government alert, you hear a special sound that's similar to an alarm. If you want to turn these alerts on or off, follow these steps:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app, then tap Notifications.

  2. Scroll to the bottom of the screen.

  3. Under Government Alerts, turn the type of alert on or off.4

3. Government Alerts are supported when using a SIM card or eSIM from a supported carrier. For more information, contact your carrier.

4. In some countries or regions, you may not be able to turn off Government Alerts.

Choose to receive Test Emergency Alerts in the United States

When your iPhone is connected to a carrier in the United States—using a U.S. SIM, eSIM, or while roaming in the U.S.—you can enable Test Emergency Alerts. By default, this is turned off. When you receive this type of alert, you'll hear a sound that's similar to an alarm, and the alert will mention that it's a test.

Government test alerts are available with U.S. carriers, including Puerto Rico. Your local government is responsible for the content and the frequency of the test alerts. You can disable this feature anytime with the following steps. For more information, contact your carrier.

If you're using iOS 15.4 or later

To turn Test Alerts on or off:

  1. Make sure that your iPhone is using the latest version of iOS (iOS 15.6 or later).

  2. Open the Settings app, then tap Notifications.

  3. Turn Test Alerts on or off.

If you're using iOS 15.3 or earlier

To turn Test Alerts on:

  1. Open the Phone app and tap Keypad.

  2. Enter *5005*25371# and tap the Call button. You'll get an alert that says "Test alerts enabled."

To turn Test Alerts off:

  1. Open the Phone app and tap Keypad.

  2. Enter *5005*25370# and tap the Call button. You'll get an alert that says "Test alerts disabled."

About Enhanced Safety Alerts

Enhanced Safety Alerts are available in the United States and Taiwan and require iOS 26.2 or later.

Enhanced Safety Alerts can provide supplemental safety alerts for emergencies like earthquakes or floods based on information from alert originators. These alerts are sent over Wi-Fi and cellular data when available. These alerts are delivered by Apple and will appear and sound different than a Government Alert sent by your local government. Your iPhone can receive Earthquake Alerts and broadcast them anonymously to nearby Apple devices.

If you enable Improve Alert Delivery, your approximate location is shared with Apple to improve alert timeliness and reliability. For example, Earthquake Alerts received on iPhone in California, Oregon, and Washington (including bordering regions) might be delivered quicker and more reliably when Improve Alert Delivery is turned on. An active cellular data plan is required for Improve Alert Delivery to be effective when your Apple Watch is not connected to a companion iPhone or Wi-Fi network. Apple does not store your approximate location data.

If Government Alerts are enabled and issued by your local authorities via carrier networks, your iPhone might receive them in addition to Enhanced Safety Alerts. With Improve Alert Delivery turned on, Enhanced Alerts may be delivered faster than Government Alerts.

Not all safety features are available in every region or language. Network conditions might affect alert timeliness and reliability.

About bi-level earthquake alerts

In the event of an earthquake, bi-level alerts use separate notifications based on the severity of the earthquake and your proximity to it:

  • Awareness Alert: An awareness alert notifies you when an earthquake is detected nearby and that you should prepare to take action if necessary.

  • Action Alert: An action alert is labeled as critical and notifies you when you're in an area where strong shaking is expected and should take immediate action.

Both alerts provide the estimated magnitude of the earthquake and your proximity to it, as well as suggested actions to keep yourself safe.

Manage your Enhanced Safety Alerts preferences

Earthquake Alerts and Imminent Threat Alerts are turned on by default, and Improve Alert Delivery is turned off by default. To adjust any of these settings:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app, then tap Notifications.

  2. Scroll to the bottom of the screen.

  3. Under Enhanced Alerts, tap Enhanced Safety Alerts.

  4. Tap Earthquake Alerts, Imminent Threat Alerts, or Improve Alert Delivery to turn it on or off.

Learn more

Learn how to set up emergency alerts for Japan

Published Date: