How to Disable Emergency Alerts on Android and iPhone
Emergency alerts — those sudden, jarring buzzes that blast through your phone even on silent — serve a real public safety purpose. But there are plenty of legitimate reasons someone might want to control or disable them: shift workers who sleep during the day, parents managing a child's device, people in areas where frequent test alerts disrupt daily life, or anyone who simply wants finer control over their notification settings.
Here's what you actually need to know about how these alerts work, what you can and can't turn off, and what factors shape your options.
What Emergency Alerts Actually Are
Emergency alerts on smartphones are part of a broadcast system called Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) in the United States, or equivalent systems in other countries (such as EU-Alert in Europe or Cell Broadcast in the UK). Unlike a text message, these alerts are broadcast by cell towers to every compatible device in range — they don't require a phone number or data connection, and they're designed to bypass Do Not Disturb and silent modes by default.
There are typically three or four categories of alerts:
| Alert Type | Description | Opt-Out Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Alerts | National emergency broadcasts | ❌ No |
| Extreme Threat Alerts | Imminent life-threatening weather or hazards | ✅ Yes (varies by OS) |
| Severe Threat Alerts | Serious but less immediate threats | ✅ Yes |
| AMBER Alerts | Child abduction emergencies | ✅ Yes |
| Public Safety Messages | Local safety information | ✅ Yes (on some devices) |
Presidential alerts cannot be disabled on any consumer smartphone — that's a federal requirement baked into the WEA standard, not a manufacturer choice.
How to Disable Emergency Alerts on iPhone (iOS)
On an iPhone, alert settings are buried in the Notifications menu rather than the main Settings home screen.
- Open Settings
- Tap Notifications
- Scroll to the very bottom
- Under Government Alerts, toggle off the alert types you want to disable (e.g., AMBER Alerts, Emergency Alerts, Public Safety Alerts)
The specific options visible depend on your iOS version and carrier. Older iOS versions may show fewer toggles. Some carriers in certain regions also suppress or modify these settings at the network level, which means the toggle may appear but have no effect — or may not appear at all.
🔔 Note: Disabling "Emergency Alerts" on iOS turns off Extreme and Severe threat alerts together — there's no granular split between those two tiers on most iPhone models.
How to Disable Emergency Alerts on Android
Android is more fragmented, so the exact path depends on your device manufacturer and Android version. The general route on stock Android (like Pixel phones) is:
- Open Settings
- Tap Notifications (or Apps & Notifications)
- Tap Wireless Emergency Alerts (sometimes listed as Emergency Alerts or Cell Broadcasts)
- Toggle off specific alert categories
On Samsung devices running One UI, the path is slightly different:
- Open Messages
- Tap the three-dot menu → Settings
- Tap Emergency Alerts
- Toggle individual alert types on or off
Samsung's implementation often gives more granular control than stock Android, including separate toggles for alert sounds, vibration, and spoken alerts.
For older Android versions (Android 9 or earlier), settings may be located inside the Phone or Messaging app rather than in the system Settings menu.
Key Variables That Affect What You Can Disable
Not every user has the same options, and that's not a bug — it's by design. Several factors determine what you can actually turn off:
- Operating system version: Newer iOS and Android versions generally offer more granular controls. An iPhone running iOS 15 may show different toggle options than one on iOS 17.
- Carrier restrictions: Some mobile carriers lock or limit alert settings at the network level, overriding device toggles. This is especially common on carrier-branded Android devices.
- Device manufacturer: Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and others implement the alert settings menu differently. A setting that's easy to find on a Pixel may require digging through a sub-menu on a Galaxy.
- Country and region: The WEA system is U.S.-specific. In other countries, equivalent systems (like Cell Broadcast in the UK or JP-Alert in Japan) have their own rules about which alert categories are mandatory and which are optional.
- Emergency alert frequency in your area: Users in regions prone to frequent severe weather may see more alerts — and have stronger reasons to customize their settings carefully.
What Happens When You Disable These Alerts ⚠️
Turning off emergency alerts means your phone won't buzz or sound — but you'll still be in the same physical danger that prompted the alert. This is a meaningful distinction for weather events, active threats, or AMBER alerts where timing matters.
Some people manage this by disabling audio and vibration but keeping visual alerts on (a setting available on some Android builds), or by only disabling lower-priority categories like Public Safety Messages while keeping Extreme Alerts active.
Others accept the full trade-off — particularly if they're in a low-risk area, work in environments where unexpected loud sounds cause problems, or are managing a device for someone else.
The Settings Are There — But So Is the Context
The controls exist and are relatively straightforward to reach on most modern smartphones. What varies significantly is which categories you can disable, how your carrier and OS version affect those options, and what trade-offs make sense given where you live, how you use your phone, and whose device you're managing. Your specific combination of those factors is what shapes which path actually applies to you.