# Canadian phones to get emergency alert tests this week



## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

*Canadian phones to get emergency alert tests this week, here's when to expect yours*
by Terry Pedwell , _CBC News_
May 7, 2018

 

Mobile  devices hooked to LTE service will sound, vibrate as emergency  management officials test a new national public alert system.

Mobile devices across Canada will be buzzing a little more than  usual this week as emergency management officials test a new national  public alert system.

Test signals are to be sent to millions of mobile users in Quebec around mid-morning today and across Ontario in mid-afternoon.

Cellphones, tablets and other devices will receive the signal in most of the rest of the country on Wednesday.

Depending  on settings, users with compatible devices connected to an LTE network  will hear a tone similar to an ambulance alarm or feel a vibration for  eight seconds.

Devices that are turned off won't receive the  signal but phone users will hear their conversations interrupted by a  sound similar to a call waiting tone. There is no charge for the alert,  as it is not an SMS and does not use data like a text message.

*Preparing for the worst*
The  tests are being conducted after the Canadian Radio-television and  Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ordered wireless providers to  implement the system to distribute warnings of imminent safety threats  such as tornadoes, floods, Amber Alerts or terrorist threats.

Radio and TV stations will also run the tests.

Mobile users will get the pings on their phones at different times depending on their province. 

A similar system is already used in the U.S., and made headlines earlier this year when an emergency official in Hawaii mistakenly sent an alert about a potential incoming ballistic missile.

A  report issued last month by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission  said the false alarm, which went uncorrected for 38 minutes after being  transmitted and caused widespread panic across the Pacific islands  state, was a result of human error and inadequate safeguards.

"The  CRTC has no insights with respect to what occurred in Hawaii, other  than what has been reported in the media," the regulator said.

"But  Canada has safeguards in place" to prevent false signals from being  distributed to mobile devices, said CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao.

*Not a text message*
Unlike  wireless emergency alerts issued in the U.S., Canada's system requires a  specific vibration cadence, alert tone and banner to notify users of an  emergency.

As well, the emergency alerts are not text, or SMS,  messages, but are distributed using what's known as cell broadcast  technology. The messages can't be tracked by service providers so they  can't tell who has or has not received the alert, the CRTC said.

Some  Canadian service providers sent text messages to subscribers last week  alerting them to the tests, which are mandatory and may require users to  acknowledge a message before they can resume normal use of their  devices.

Here are the scheduled times for the tests. All times are local:

*Monday*


Quebec 9:55 a.m. 
Ontario 1:55 p.m. 

*Wednesday*


Yukon 1:30 p.m. 
Northwest Territories 1:55 p.m. 
Alberta 1:55 p.m. 
British Columbia 1:55 p.m. 
Saskatchewan 1:55 p.m. 
Manitoba 1:55 p.m. 
Newfoundland and Labrador 1:55 p.m. 
Nova Scotia 1:55 p.m. 
Prince Edward Island 1:55 p.m. 
New Brunswick 6:55 p.m.


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## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

Yikes!

I just got the emergency test alarm. Scared the bejesus out of me!


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## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

*Mobile phones stay silent as test of new emergency alert system in Quebec fails*
_CBC News _
May 7, 2018

Signals  for a nationwide public alert system test were meant to be sent to  millions of mobile phone, tablet and other device users starting in  Quebec at 9:55 a.m. ET, but no one got them.


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

David Baxter said:


> Yikes!
> 
> I just got the emergency test alarm. Scared the bejesus out of me!



You posted the heads up and times the tests will (or should) run... Kind of thought you'd be expecting it 
Thanks big time! I will set my alarm for 1:50 pm Wednesday as a reminder of what should be coming!


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## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

I misread the article I posted and thought it wouldn't be until Wednesday.

But even if I had read it correctly, when you receive the test you'll see what I mean. The sound that plays is unique and quite "alarming". I thought my iPhone was about to explode. 

On the positive side, now that I've heard it, I can tell you that it is an unmistakable sound. In the event of an actual emergency, I don't think anyone woul;d be able to miss it.


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## Daniel (May 7, 2018)

David Baxter said:


> I misread the article I posted and thought it wouldn't be until Wednesday.
> 
> But even if I had read it correctly, when you receive the test you'll see what I mean. The sound that plays is unique and quite "alarming". I thought my iPhone was about to explode.
> 
> On the positive side, now that I've heard it, I can tell you that it is an unmistakable sound. In the event of an actual emergency, I don't think anyone woul;d be able to miss it.


Sounds like free therapy of some sort.  Primal scream I guess ?


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## gooblax (May 7, 2018)

Disappointed that no one's posted a youtube "____ reacts to test Canadian emergency alert tone" video yet.
Maybe in 24hrs.


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

I warned a couple neighbors of the upcoming TEST. Told them it would be quite distinct and loud. I'd turn off my phone but would rather have a heads up as to what to expect if ever there is an emergency broadcast.


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## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

gooblax said:


> Disappointed that no one's posted a youtube "____ reacts to test Canadian emergency alert tone" video yet.
> Maybe in 24hrs.



I didn't even think of doing that. I'm not a young man anymore.  I was trying to focus on breathing and relaxation issues to bring down my heart rate and blood pressure.


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

Daniel said:


> Sounds like free therapy of some sort.  Primal scream I guess ?



Or... Wednesday evening news : Thousands of Canadians die from a friggen heart attack from emergency test...
I got a bad heart so I'm very happy I got the heads up and know what to expect!


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

David Baxter said:


> I didn't even think of doing that. I'm not a young man anymore.  I was trying to focus on breathing and relaxation issues to bring down my heart rate and blood pressure.



AS my previous post mentioned that's what I'm afraid of


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## Daniel (May 7, 2018)

Canada's New National Alert System Failed Spectacularly During Its First Test - Motherboard

Alerts didn’t make it to mobile devices in Quebec and Ontario...

The morning test window came and went in the province of Quebec, but residents’ phones didn’t light up. In Ontario—the home of Canada’s most populous city, Toronto—it appears as though for many people the advertised test time of 1:55 PM passed by without incident unless you happened to be watching TV or listening to the radio.

Ontarians are tweeting about not receiving alerts on their mobile devices, but there are scattered reports of alerts getting through to some mobile devices. One man documented on Twitter how he pointed TV cameras at three different phones to catch the big moment only to be let down. “Four phones. Two android. Only the one Android on Rogers received the #AlertReady message,” he tweeted. One colleague who received the alert described it to me as looking similar to Apple’s terms of service and sounding “ambulance-y.” I wouldn’t know, because nearly an hour after the scheduled test time I haven’t received any alert...

“A space incorrectly included in the coding prevented the Alert Ready System from sending the Quebec test message to compatible wireless devices earlier this morning," the company told The Canadian Press. Tests for most of the rest of Canada, excluding Nunavut, will continue on Wednesday...


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## David Baxter PhD (May 7, 2018)

Whether or not the message was received in Ontario depends on the wireless provider.

*Those with Rogers received it.*

Those with Bell did not (no surprise - Bell rarely gets anything right).

Those with smaller providers like Koodoo did not.


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## Retired (May 7, 2018)

I did not, although my provider piggybacks on the Rogers network.  If there's an emergency (incoming missiles etc) , please be sure to let me know..:hide:


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

Steve said:


> I did not, although my provider piggybacks on the Rogers network.  If there's an emergency (incoming missiles etc) , please be sure to let me know..:hide:



Honestly I think I would rather not know if a missile is coming in. When you have anxiety issues seconds can seem like months! Why add more worry to all the ones I have for nothing... and as if having a panic attack while I wait for it to hit would make a big difference


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## Daniel (May 7, 2018)

And if everyone had "news OCD" and checked the news every five minutes, there would be less need for these alerts


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## GaryQ (May 7, 2018)

Daniel said:


> And if everyone had "news OCD" and checked the news every five minutes, there would be less need for these alerts



It's all "Fake News" anyway...says someone in your country


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## GaryQ (May 9, 2018)

Emergency alert test came in at 1:55pm as scheduled on the BellMTS network here in Manitoba.

Well that was booooring... Was expecting something to make my heart jump. I think my alarm makes more noise 
Maybe because I was prepared


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## Daniel (May 9, 2018)

> Was expecting something to make my heart jump. I think my alarm makes more noise



Hopefully it's been fixed then to keep the fish unaware during ice fishing season.


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