Heads Up Michigan: Nationwide Emergency Alert Test set for August 11

A Nationwide Emergency Alert test will be coming to t.v., radio, and mobile devices Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

A friendly heads up that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be conducting a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 11.

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The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. With both tests taking place simultaneously, according to FEMA.

The Wireless Emergency Alert portion of the test will be directed only to mobile devices where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages.

This will be the second nationwide WEA test, but the first nationwide WEA test on a consumer opt-in basis. The test message will display in either English or in Spanish, depending on the language settings of your wireless device.

The Emergency Alert System portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the sixth nationwide EAS test.

It is easy to opt-in for the Wireless Emergency Alert. Go to Settings on the home screen of your mobile device, select notifications, scroll to the bottom, then you will see a Government Alert section. There you can personalize the types of alerts you receive.

You can also follow the above steps to verify you have opted in for the alerts or, if you wish to, you can also opt-out from receiving such alerts.

The alerts sent to mobile devices will come with a loud tone and vibration that will be repeated twice followed by a special text message that appears on the mobile device screen.

You can view frequently asked questions and answers by clicking here.