Maine, Here’s Why The Federal Gov Will Take Over Your Phone On Oct 4th

If you have a smartphone (who doesn't these days?), you are going to want to make a note about Wednesday, October 4th.  It is nothing bad, but we want to make sure that you are prepared for what is scheduled to happen.

Based on what our phones did when they tested it a few years ago, what's going to happen could possibly make you poo your pants.

That is the date of the next scheduled national test of the Emergency Alert System.

The Test

Sometime after 2:20 PM on Wednesday, October 4th your phone will make a shrill tone and a message will pop up on your lock screen.

According to the National Weather Service, the message will read:

THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.

A similar test will also run on the radio and TV.  That test will have similar messaging and will happen in a similar timeframe.

That message will read:

This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.

If, for some reason, the test needs to be delayed, the test will happen on Wednesday, October 11th, 2023.

Once the alert comes through, you can swipe it away.

The Emergency Alert System

In the mid-1990s, the Emergency Alert System replaced the aging Emergency Broadcast System.  The new system was much more versatile than the EBS system, which had been around for decades.

The original purpose of the EBS system was to warn the public of an impending nuclear attack.  The EAS was designed to warn people about attacks, extreme weather events, missing children, and more.

While it initially started out utilizing radio and television stations, the ability to send messages to smartphones was added over the last few years.