People with secret ‘safe phones’ advised to turn off devices during national test of AusAlert emergency warning
Ten-second ‘siren’ to blare on most phones on Monday as part of national test despite reservations from some states An unsilenceable siren will blare out of most phones in Australia on Monday afternoon for ten seconds, with the federal government confirming a...
People in Australia who keep hidden “safe phones” for personal security reasons are being advised to switch off those devices ahead of a national test of the new AusAlert emergency warning system on Monday.
According to a monitored public feed from The Guardian World, an unsilenceable siren will sound on most phones for about ten seconds at 2pm AEST as part of the first nationwide test of the alert. The federal government has confirmed the exercise will proceed despite reservations from some state governments.
Domestic violence campaigners and the National Emergency Management Agency have repeated a precautionary warning for people who rely on secret phones to protect their location or privacy. They say those users may want to turn off their devices for up to 24 hours after the test.
The alert is expected to reach compatible devices across the country, including iPhones 11 and later running iOS 26.4 or newer, Apple Watch SE2, SE3 and Series 6 or later running watchOS 26.4 or newer, and Android devices running Android 12 or later.
The test is intended to check how the new emergency warning system performs at scale, but it has also raised concern among some state authorities. The feed summary does not specify which states expressed reservations or what those objections were.
For people with ordinary phones, the test is expected to be brief and unavoidable. For those with concealed devices used in safety planning, however, even a short alert could risk exposing a hidden phone’s presence or location. That is why campaigners and emergency officials are urging extra caution in the hours around the test.
This report is based on a monitored public feed and summarizes information attributed to The Guardian World. Source attribution: The Guardian World.
Source: The Guardian World - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/22/people-with-secret-safe-phones-advised-to-turn-off-devices-during-national-test-of-ausalert-emergency-warning
