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The world of smart devices can be a noisy place. Between the beeps, buzzes, whistles, and vibrations that keep coming from your devices, it can feel like you never get any peace or quiet. This is especially true when it comes to AMBER alerts.
AMBER Alerts are law enforcement-issued messages sent out in cases where a child has been abducted, but the messages are often accompanied by loud sounds that many find annoying.
AMBER alerts are designed to sidestep your local sound settings. That means your phone could be in silent mode but still let out a loud, jarring sound as soon as law enforcement agencies send out a new alert.
But are you really powerless against these alerts? Luckily not.
Almost all modern communication devices come with an AMBER alert toggle switch to help you disable them if you don’t want them to interrupt your peace and quiet.
In this article, we’ll show you how to silence AMBER alerts on a variety of devices.
What are AMBER Alerts?
AMBER Alerts are a dissemination method used by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in collaboration with law enforcement. It sends information about an abducted or missing child to broadcasters and commercial mobile service providers.
AMBER Alerts are named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl abducted and murdered in 1996 in Arlington, Texas. The alert system has since been implemented in all 50 states across the U.S.
AMBER alerts are designed to bypass “Do Not Disturb” settings in all the devices used by the authorities to mobilize as many people as possible.
In addition, AMBER alerts do not use the usual notification sounds on your device. Instead, they’ve got a unique emergency tone that utilizes the maximum volume on your device.
So by their nature, AMBER alerts can be shocking and disruptive, especially if they happen when you’re driving or sleeping, or otherwise in the middle of a task that requires total concentration.
On the upside, you can disable them and ensure they don’t spook you ever again.
Let’s see how this is done depending on the type of device you’re using.
How to Disable AMBER Alerts on an iPhone
If you don’t want to receive AMBER alerts on your iPhone, here’s how to disable them:
- Navigate to the settings section on your device.
- Tap on “Notifications” and then scroll all the way down to “Government Alerts.”
- Tap on the green button next to “AMBER Alerts” to switch them off.
And just like that, all AMBER alerts will be blocked on your iPhone. However, you may still receive other types of emergency alerts, including emergency, presidential, and public safety alerts.
How to Disable AMBER Alerts on an Android
It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, the only way you would know about an AMBER Alert was if you happened to be watching TV at the time.
Nowadays, these urgent messages are blasted out through your mobile device’s speakers as soon as they are issued. This is great for people who want to keep apprised of all emergencies but not so great for those who dislike loud noises or find them highly disruptive.
Fortunately, it is relatively easy to disable AMBER Alerts on Android devices.
Here’s how to go about it:
- Open the Settings app and navigate to “Apps & notifications.”
- Tap on “Advanced Settings.”
- Select “Wireless Emergency Alerts.”
- Tap on the blue button next to “AMBER Alerts.” This should turn off all AMBER alerts on your Android phone.
Although AMBER alert settings may be found in different places depending on the type of Android phone you’re using, the themes used are almost identical. If you don’t see a “Wireless Emergency Alerts” section, look for “Cell Broadcasts” or “Emergency alerts.”
How to Disable AMBER Alerts on a Samsung Device
Ideally, you should keep AMBER alerts turned on because you can help save a life and restore peace of mind to a friend or neighbor.
But due to their blaring, disruptive nature, you might want to switch them off.
To disable AMBER alerts on your Samsung phone, you can use either the Messages app or the Settings app.
Here’s how to go about it using the Messages app:
- Open the Messages app.
- Tap on the ellipsis (three dots) next to the search button.
- Select “Settings” from the popup menu to open a menu where you can tweak various chat settings.
- Tap on “Emergency Alert History.”
- Tap on “Settings.” This should take you to the “Wireless Emergency Alerts” section.
- Tap the “Allow Alerts” toggle.
- Toggle off the blue button next to “AMBER Alerts.”
This will immediately block all AMBER alerts on your device.
To disable AMBER alerts via the Settings app, here are the steps:
- Navigate to the Settings section on your device.
- Tap on “Notifications.”
- Select “Advanced settings.”
- Tap on “Wireless Emergency Alerts.”
- Tap the Allow alerts toggle.
- Toggle off the blue button next to “AMBER Alerts.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are more of your answers to questions you may have about turning off emergency notifications.
How do I turn off Amber Alerts on my Apple Watch?
If you have an Apple Watch older than the Series 3, or one that isn’t connected to cellular data, you won’t receive any Amber alerts if you turn them off on your iPhone (as shown above).
However, if you do have an Apple Watch Series 3 or newer with cellular data you need to contact your cell phone provider with help turning the alerts off. Of course, you can also put your Apple Watch in Do Not Disturb for a quick fix.
Can I turn off Silver and Blue alerts too?
Following the success of the Amber alert, other agencies have created Silver alerts when adults go missing and Blue alerts when the police need to issue urgent information. When you turn off Amber alerts, Silver and Blue alerts should be silenced too.
However, if the alerts still come through, you may need to turn off all Emergency alerts as shown above.
Keep Things Quiet
In today’s world, it’s essential to be aware of your surroundings at all times. If a child goes missing in your area, you want to do everything you can to help find them and bring them home safely.
AMBER alerts can be a useful emergency measure and are certainly effective in getting people’s attention in such situations.
As important as they may be, occasionally turning these alerts off can help you stay invested in a task that requires silence and 100% focus. You can then turn them back on when you no longer find loud notifications bothersome.
What’s your experience with AMBER alerts? Have you tried disabling them using the steps discussed in this article?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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