Mobile phones across the UK literally sounded an alarm shortly before 3 p.m. (local time) today as part of a test conducted at the behest of the British government.
According to local media reports, the test involved a ten-second siren sound accompanied by a text message that explained the nature of the test and advised them to refrain from taking any action.
The signal was expected to be transmitted to all 4G and 5G devices across the country that were not turned off or switched onto airplane mode at the time of the test, with the UK government warning the public beforehand about the nature of the test and when it was going to be carried out.
However, at least one UK media outlet pointed out that many customers of British mobile network operator Three “did not receive any alert.”
The company itself has confirmed that they are aware of this issue and are working with the British government in order to figure out what went wrong.
“We have effectively completed the test of the UK-wide Emergency Alerts system, the biggest public communications exercise of its kind ever done,” a spokesman for the British government said. “We are working with mobile network operators to review the outcome and any lessons learned.”