Millions of phones in the United Kingdom rang on Sunday, with a siren as part of a test for a new national emergency alert system.
The loud warning was scheduled to sound at 3 p.m. on all devices in the UK using 4G and 5G networks.
The warning rang for 10 seconds before displaying a message informing consumers that no action was required in response to the test.
Some cell phones will also read the message to the receiver.
It’s a bit irritating at the time but in the future people could be grateful for it in a real emergency
Following the test, some individuals claimed to have received the notification a minute or two earlier.
Others, however, claimed that their phone did not display the message or make any sound.
Phones that were turned off or in aeroplane mode were not intended to make any noise.
The emergency alert system is intended to notify the public if there is a threat to life in the area.
In the future, people the UK Government wishes to reach will receive a similarly loud notification and message.
Once operational, the device is designed for life-threatening events such as flooding and wildfires.
Before the test, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden admitted that the drill could be “annoying,” but that it had the potential to save lives once implemented.
According to Sky News, the trial run felt “bit like when the fire alarm goes off at work”.
“It’s a bit irritating at the time but in the future people could be grateful for it because in a real emergency, this could be the sound that saves your life,” he told Sky News.
The Cabinet minister claimed that the new system amounted to nanny state meddling, telling the BBC that he did not accept “that characterization.”
People who do not want to receive future notifications can opt-out using their device settings, but officials hope that the messages’ life-saving potential would entice users to keep them on.
The entertainment and sports industries had been strategizing to avoid major event disruption.