Android: Disable Emergency or Amber Alert Sound

I was walking along, enjoying a mild February day, when all of a sudden I heard an awful alarm sound. I scrambled to find the source and found that it was coming from my phone. Convinced my phone was malfunctioning, I rushed to pick it up and realized it was only an emergency alert. Apparently it’s a feature your wireless provider provides. It will also do the same thing for Amber Alerts or Presidential Alerts.

The Emergency and Amber Alert on the phone is a nice feature, but I don’t want it interrupting me in the middle of the night. I struggled to find the place to turn this feature off. Depending on your device, it can be located in different places.

Here are a few places to check:

Option 1 – Messenger App

Android 7 & 8

1. Open the “Messages” app.
   
2. Select the “Menu” icon at the upper-right corner, then choose “Settings“.
   
3. Select “Advanced“.
   
4. Select “Wireless alerts“.
   
5. Select the “Menu” icon at the upper-right corner, then choose “Settings“.
   
6. Uncheck or check the following options as desired:
   • Show extreme threats
   • Show severe threats
   • Show AMBER alerts
   • Vibrate
     

Older Android Versions

1. Open “Settings” icon on the Home screen.
2. Tap “More“.
3. Select “Wireless & Networks“.
4. Choose “Cell Broadcast settings“.
5. Uncheck or check the following options as desired:
   • Show extreme threats
   • Show severe threats
   • Show AMBER alerts
   • Vibrate

Option 2 – Emergency Alerts App

Many other devices like the Samsung Galaxy S6 have a separate “Emergency Alerts” app.

1. From the Home screen, tap the app slider, then open the “Emergency Alerts” app.
2. Select “Menu” > “Settings“.
3. Select “Receive alerts“.
4. Uncheck the alerts you don’t want to hear.

Option 3 – Weather App

This is very rare, but if you have a weather app, it may be configured to display and sound emergency alerts. Open the weather app, then access the settings to see if any emergency notifications are enabled.

 

Did this post help you find the Emergency Alerts setting on your phone? Did you find it somewhere else? Share your experience in the comments section.