A few hours after lunch on October 4, every cell phone and television in America will play a tone and show a message. It’s a test of the U.S. Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alert Systems, the federally run programs that warn people of national disasters like, say, a nuclear attack.
Why is the October 4th FEMA test happening?
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The tests are run by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “The purpose of the October 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” FEMA said in a blog about the tests. “In case the October 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the back-up testing date is October 11.”
You’ve more than likely heard the screeching tone of the EAS before. A federal law passed in 2015 requires the agency to test the system every three years. Most people see the message, dismiss it, and move on with their day. For others, the routine event is the crux of numerous conspiracy theories, a moment when the U.S. government supposedly plans to send a brain melting signal out via the computer everyone carries around with them.
Again, the EAS has been tested multiple times and no one’s brain has melted. If you want to avoid hearing the noise or seeing the message, you can simply turn your phone off around 2PM EST on Wednesday. It’s also possible to go into the phone’s menu and opt out of the EAS all together.
What is going to happen on October 4th?
The test comes in two parts. The first will happen at about 2:20 ET. Cell towers will pump out the message to wireless phones for about 30 minutes. Even if your phone is silenced, it should play a tone and display the message “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
The second portion of the test will hit radios and televisions at the same time. Like with the phone test, radios and TVS will play a tone and display this message: “This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, covering the United States from 14:20 to 14:50 hours ET. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
And that’s it! When they say no action is required, they mean it. Your phone and TV (and radio, if you have one of those) will screech, and then stop screeching, and you will have to do nothing. If you want to avoid this, you can simply turn off your phone—although, you might want to know that your device is working properly in case of an emergency.
What about conspiracies?
For some particularly paranoid people, turning off the phone isn’t enough. For conspiracy theorists, October 4 appears to be a frightening time that raises a lot of questions.
Some people on social media have gone as far as wrapping their phones in aluminum foil or constructing crude Faraday cages to prevent a signal from reaching their phone in preparation for the event. As “evidence” of something nefarious, some are unironically sharing a clip from The Simpsons as proof of the conspiracy. Yes, really.
Needless to say, none of this is necessary or based in fact. It’s just a simple test of the Emergency Alert System, a routine ping of our communications infrastructure meant to warn us if something monumentally bad actually happens.
