GREENSBORO, N.C. — You're going to hear it and see it on October 4, 2023, at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Everyone in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Guam will get the same alert.
It's going to be on your TV, your cellphone and your radio. It's going to be loud and it comes with a message:
National Alert. This is a test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.
The IPAWS National Test stands for Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
"This test is important to access the capability to get a message out on a national scale to make sure every pocket of the country, both urban and rural gets the same level of communication should there be any type of national level emergency," said Conor Baker, Operations Coordinator, Guilford County Emergency Management.
This alert is again only a test issued by FEMA, covering millions and millions of devices in the U.S.
Most folks will get it at 2:20 p.m. on the dot, the test is given some time to be delayed as your device gets the signal.
All cell phones, regardless of what kind you have or your provider, will get the alert. It will come on your television, no matter what channel you're watching, and on your radio, no matter what station you're listening to.
"There's no way to opt out of this, this is a Presidential alert, there is no way to opt out of this on your device unless you turn them off," said Baker.