If your cell phone randomly goes off this afternoon, there is nothing to worry about.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, are conducting a nationwide test of the country’s Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts.
The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests will begin at 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 11th.
The EAS national test is very similar to regular monthly tests typically originated by state authorities.
During the test, radios and televisions across the country may interrupt normal programming to play the EAS test message. The message may be delivered in English or Spanish.
The WEA test will be directed only to consumer cell phones where the subscriber has opted-in to receive test messages, which will be in either English or Spanish, depending on the device’s language settings.
Most mobile phones will not display the test message.
In contrast, consumers will automatically receive real emergency alerts on compatible phones (even if they do not receive the test message).
