Wireless Emergency Alerts: Turn On/Off on Samsung

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are short, urgent messages sent by authorized government agencies to warn about imminent threats like severe weather, AMBER alerts, and public safety emergencies. On a Samsung Galaxy phone, these alerts are enabled by default, but you can control which types you receive or turn them off entirely. This guide walks you through the exact menu path to manage them on current One UI versions (Android 11 and newer).

What You’ll Need

• Your Samsung Galaxy phone (any model running One UI 3.0 or later)
• About 2 minutes of time
• No special apps or tools required

Step-by-Step

1. Open the Settings app. Find the gear icon in your app drawer or swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the gear icon in the notification shade.
2. Scroll to “Notifications.” Depending on your One UI version, this may be near the top of the Settings list, right below “Connections” and “Bluetooth.” Tap it.
3. Tap “Advanced settings.” This is usually the last item in the Notifications menu. If you don’t see it, your phone may place Wireless Emergency Alerts directly under Notifications—look for the entry labeled “Wireless emergency alerts” and skip to step 5.
4. Find “Wireless emergency alerts.” Scroll down within Advanced settings until you see it. It’s typically listed below “Notification history” and above “App icon badges.” Tap it.
5. You’ll see a toggle at the top labeled “Allow alerts.” This master switch turns all WEA messages on or off. If you want to disable everything, toggle this off. If you only want to customize which types you receive, leave it on and continue.
6. Below the master toggle, you’ll see individual alert types:
   • Extreme threats: Imminent, extreme danger to life or property (e.g., tornado warnings, tsunami warnings).
   • Severe threats: Severe weather warnings that are less critical than extreme (e.g., severe thunderstorm warnings).
   • AMBER alerts: Child abduction emergency alerts.
   • Public safety alerts: Non-weather emergencies (e.g., evacuation orders, 911 outages).
   • Test alerts: Periodic tests from your carrier or government (often optional).

   Toggle each one on or off according to your preference. Note that some carriers or regions may not allow you to disable Extreme or Severe threats for safety reasons—this is normal.

7. Optional: Adjust alert sound and vibration. Some One UI versions include a “Alert sound” or “Alert vibration” option in this same menu. Tap it to choose a specific sound or set it to “Silent” if you want the alert to appear without making noise.
8. Exit Settings. Your changes save automatically. There is no “Save” button.

Common Mistakes

• Looking in the wrong place: Many users search for “Emergency” in the Settings search bar and tap the first result, which leads to “Emergency SOS” or “Medical info” instead of Wireless Emergency Alerts. Always navigate via Notifications > Advanced settings.
• Confusing the master toggle with individual toggles: If you turn off “Allow alerts,” all individual toggles become grayed out. To re-enable specific alerts, you must first turn the master toggle back on.
• Assuming restart is needed: Changes take effect immediately. No reboot required.
• Turning off alerts permanently: Some carriers force re-enable alerts after a software update or SIM change. You may need to revisit this menu after major updates.

Tips

• Keep Extreme and Severe threats on: These alerts are genuinely life-saving. Even if you find them annoying, consider leaving them enabled—you can set the sound to silent so they don’t startle you.
• Use Silent mode for alerts: Instead of turning alerts off, set the alert sound to “Silent” or “Vibrate only.” You’ll still see the notification banner but won’t be disturbed by the loud siren tone.
• Check after carrier updates: Carriers occasionally reset alert preferences during network configuration updates. If you notice alerts coming through again after an update, revisit this menu.
• Test alerts: If your region runs WEA tests (often announced in advance), you can temporarily disable “Test alerts” to avoid the interruption, then re-enable them later.
• Use the search bar: In Settings, tap the magnifying glass at the top and type “Wireless emergency alerts”—this takes you directly to the menu, saving several taps.

Troubleshooting

You turned alerts off, but you still receive them.

Some governments and carriers legally mandate that certain alert types (usually Extreme and Severe threats) cannot be disabled on consumer devices. If you’ve toggled everything off and still get alerts, check which type is coming through—if it’s an Extreme or Severe threat, your carrier may have locked it. You can contact your carrier to confirm, but in most regions, these cannot be disabled.

The Wireless Emergency Alerts menu is missing entirely.

This can happen on some older One UI versions or on devices purchased through certain carriers. Try updating your phone via Settings > Software update > Download and install. If the menu still doesn’t appear, your carrier may have removed it—contact them for guidance. Alternatively, check if your phone has a separate “Emergency alerts” app in the app drawer (some carriers use their own app).

You turned alerts on, but you’re not receiving any.

First, confirm you have a cellular signal and are not in Airplane mode. WEA messages rely on cell towers, not Wi-Fi. Next, check that your phone’s date and time are set to automatic (Settings > General management > Date and time > Automatic). If you’re in a region where WEA is not broadcast (e.g., some rural areas or certain countries), you may not receive them. Finally, ensure your carrier supports WEA—most do, but some smaller MVNOs may not.

Alerts are coming through but with no sound.

Check the “Alert sound” setting in the Wireless Emergency Alerts menu. If it’s set to “Silent,” change it to a sound. Also, check your phone’s overall volume—WEA uses the notification volume, not the media volume. Press the volume down button and tap the down arrow to expand the volume sliders; make sure “Notifications” volume is not at zero.

You see “Cannot update alerts” or an error message in the menu.

This usually indicates a temporary network issue. Toggle the master “Allow alerts” switch off, wait 10 seconds, then turn it back on. If the error persists, restart your phone. If it still fails, your carrier’s alert configuration may be outdated—contact them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will turning off Wireless Emergency Alerts affect my regular text messages?
A: No. WEA is a separate system from SMS/MMS. Your normal text messages, group chats, and RCS conversations are completely unaffected.

Q: Can I receive alerts when my phone is on silent or Do Not Disturb?
A: By default, WEA messages override Do Not Disturb and silent mode, producing a loud siren-like sound. However, on some Samsung models, you can allow Do Not Disturb to suppress them by going to Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb > Allow exceptions and unchecking “Alarms & reminders” (though this may not work for all carriers). The safest way to silence them is to set the alert sound to “Silent” in the WEA menu itself.

Q: Do Wireless Emergency Alerts use my data plan?
A: No. WEA messages are broadcast over a dedicated channel and do not count against your cellular data or text message limits. They are free to receive.

Q: Why did I get a “Presidential Alert” that I couldn’t turn off?
A: The Presidential Alert is a separate, highest-priority category that federal law requires to be enabled on all phones. It cannot be disabled by users or carriers. It is reserved for truly national emergencies (e.g., an attack on the U.S.).

Q: I turned off AMBER alerts, but I still got one. Why?
A: Some states or carriers may override user preferences for AMBER alerts due to local laws. If this happens repeatedly, contact your carrier to see if they enforce mandatory AMBER delivery in your region.

Q: Will these settings carry over if I back up and restore my phone?
A: Generally yes, if you use Samsung Smart Switch or Google’s backup, the alert preferences are included. However, after a major OS update (e.g., Android 13 to 14), settings may reset to defaults. It’s worth checking this menu after any significant software update.

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