From next Monday, October 24, our iPhone will be able to emit a high-pitched beep in addition to displaying a notification with its corresponding text. A bit strange behavior that is actually quite simple: the government is testing the new ES-Alert alert system.
ES-Alert is a mechanism through which the General Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergencies, belonging to the Ministry of the Interior, can quickly notify a large number of people
A system we hope never to have to use
As communicated by the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies itself, the tests will begin on October 24 and before them we have nothing else to do but confirm that we have indeed received the message, if it appears to us. The exact dates scheduled for the various tests are the following:
- October 24: Cantabria, Andalusia and Asturias.
- October 27: Extremadura, Valencian Community and Galicia.
- November 2: Murcia, Balearic Islands, Madrid, Aragon, Navarre and Catalonia.
- November 10: Basque Country, Castile and León, Canary Islands and Ceuta
- November 16: Castile-La Mancha, La Rioja and Melilla.
Initially, it was thought that this type of warning could arrive by SMS, but now we know that it is thanks to cell broadcast technology that civil protection can send us this type of warning. A warning, yes, that will our iPhone emits a high-pitched sound that will only stop when we confirm the reading
So, if we receive one of these messages on the appointed date, we can rest easy. Although the text itself is supposed to state that this is proof, it is good to be aware of this. It’s not common for the iPhone to produce sustained sounds like this, but in this case, it’s for a good reason. That of sending a message, both nationally and locally, in the event of an emergency and immediately. A resource that directly I hope I never have to use.
