You can disable Amber Alerts in Settings without turning off other emergency notifications

Amber Alerts are emergency broadcasts about missing children, and your iPhone receives them through the same system that sends weather warnings and emergency alerts. Unlike those other alerts, Amber Alerts are optional — you can turn them off while keeping earthquake warnings, extreme weather, and public safety messages turned on. The setting is buried in the Notifications section of your phone's Settings app, not in the obvious emergency alerts menu.

This guide walks you through finding and disabling Amber Alerts on any iPhone model running iOS 13 or later. The steps are the same whether you have an iPhone 15 or an older model.

Key Takeaways

  • Amber Alerts are optional and separate from other emergency notifications like weather and earthquake warnings.
  • You disable Amber Alerts in Settings > Notifications > Government Alerts, not in the main Emergency SOS menu.
  • Turning off Amber Alerts does not affect other critical alerts your phone receives.
  • If you change your mind later, you can turn Amber Alerts back on using the same menu.

Finding the Government Alerts menu

Open the Settings app on your home screen — it has a gray icon with white gears. Scroll down and tap Notifications. This menu controls which apps can send you alerts and how they appear.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Notifications menu. You will see a section labeled Government Alerts. This is where emergency broadcasts live, including Amber Alerts, emergency alerts, and public safety messages. Tap on it to open the full list.

Turning off the Amber Alert toggle

Inside Government Alerts, you will see three toggles: Emergency Alerts, Extreme Weather Alerts, and Amber Alerts. Each one can be turned on or off independently. Find the toggle next to Amber Alerts and tap it once to turn it off. The toggle will turn gray, indicating it is now disabled.

You can leave Emergency Alerts and Extreme Weather Alerts on if you want to keep receiving those notifications. Many people disable only Amber Alerts while keeping the others active, since those alerts warn of immediate threats like tsunamis or severe storms.

What happens after you turn off Amber Alerts

Once you disable Amber Alerts, your phone will no longer receive notifications when a child is reported missing in your area. You will not see the alert on your lock screen, and you will not hear the emergency alert sound that normally accompanies these broadcasts.

The change takes effect immediately. You do not need to restart your phone or confirm the change anywhere else. If you ever want to turn Amber Alerts back on, return to Settings > Notifications > Government Alerts and tap the Amber Alerts toggle again to enable it.

Why Amber Alerts are separate from other alerts

Apple and other phone makers treat Amber Alerts differently from weather and earthquake warnings because they are not technically emergencies affecting your immediate safety. An Amber Alert warns about a missing child in your region, but it does not pose a direct threat to you or your property the way a tsunami warning or extreme heat alert does.

This is why the toggle exists at all. Emergency Alerts and Extreme Weather Alerts cannot be turned off on most iPhones — they are considered critical public safety information. Amber Alerts, by contrast, are considered important but optional, so you have the choice to disable them.

Controlling how Amber Alerts appear if you keep them on

If you want to receive Amber Alerts but do not want them to interrupt you with sound and vibration, you can adjust how they appear. In the same Government Alerts menu, look for options to change the alert style. Some iPhones let you choose whether alerts appear as banners, sounds, or silent notifications.

Not all iPhone models offer the same customization options for Government Alerts. Older iPhones may only let you turn alerts completely on or off. If you do not see additional options in the Government Alerts menu, your phone does not support finer control over how these alerts behave.

Troubleshooting: Amber Alerts still appearing after you disabled them

If you turned off the Amber Alerts toggle but your phone is still receiving them, restart your iPhone. Sometimes the setting does not sync immediately. Hold down the power button and volume button together until the power-off slider appears, then slide to power off. Wait a few seconds and turn the phone back on.

If alerts continue after a restart, go back to Settings > Notifications > Government Alerts and confirm the Amber Alerts toggle is actually off. The toggle should be gray, not green. If it is green, tap it again to disable it. If the setting keeps turning itself back on, contact Apple Support, as this may indicate a software issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will turning off Amber Alerts affect my Emergency SOS or emergency contacts?

No. Disabling Amber Alerts only stops you from receiving notifications about missing children. Your Emergency SOS button, emergency contacts, and the ability to call 911 are not affected. You can still use all emergency features of your phone normally.

Can I turn off Amber Alerts for only certain times of day?

Not through the built-in settings. Your iPhone does not have a scheduling option for Government Alerts. You can only turn them completely on or off. If you want to avoid alerts during sleep hours, you would need to disable them entirely and turn them back on manually when you wake up.

Do I need to turn off Amber Alerts on each device, or does it sync across my iPhone and iPad?

Each device has its own settings. If you have multiple iPhones or an iPad, you must disable Amber Alerts separately on each one. The setting does not sync through iCloud, so changing it on one device does not affect the others.

What if I disabled Amber Alerts by mistake and want them back?

Go back to Settings > Notifications > Government Alerts and tap the Amber Alerts toggle to turn it back on. It will turn green, and you will start receiving Amber Alerts again immediately. There is no waiting period or confirmation needed.

Why do some people get Amber Alerts and others don't?

Amber Alerts are broadcast to all phones in a geographic area where a child is reported missing, but only if the person who set up the phone did not disable them. If someone else set up your iPhone for you, they may have already turned off Amber Alerts. Additionally, some carriers or regions may have different alert systems, though most U.S. iPhones receive the same alerts.