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Android: Turn Wireless Emergency Alerts On or Off

If your phone keeps buzzing with Child Abduction, Extreme Danger or Severe Weather alerts at the worst possible moment, the Wireless Emergency Alerts service is behind it. These government broadcasts bypass silent mode and Do Not Disturb, which is why many users want to turn specific alert types off, or switch them back on after a reset.

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Step 1 of 4: Tap on **Settings**

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Android 14 · Android 14
Turn Wireless Emergency Alerts On or Off – Android 14: step 1 – Tap on Settings
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Android

Turn Wireless Emergency Alerts On or Off auf Android

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) is a government-run broadcast system built into Android, not a regular app notification. It delivers Child Abduction (AMBER), Extreme Danger, Severe Threat and Presidential alerts directly through the carrier network, which is why the messages arrive with a distinct siren tone and vibration pattern that ignores Do Not Disturb and silent mode.

This behavior is intentional. The alerts are designed to interrupt you regardless of your ringer settings, since they carry time-critical public safety information. If the tone disrupts meetings or sleep, you can switch the whole category off without touching notifications for other apps.

Open Tap on SettingsTap on Safety & emergencyTap on Wireless emergency alertsEnable or disable Allow alerts. Turning off the main toggle here disables all wireless emergency broadcasts, including AMBER and extreme weather warnings.

Turning alerts off does not affect regular weather app notifications or news pushes, those are managed separately inside each app. If your phone was recently reset or moved to a new SIM, check this setting again, since it can revert to the enabled default after a factory reset.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Disabling the main Allow alerts toggle under Wireless emergency alerts turns off every alert category, including Child Abduction (AMBER) notifications.