Well, there you go. The UK's much-heralded National Alert System test just happened. I'd actually forgotten about it (though I think some roadside dot-matrix signs mentioned, when I passed the the other day... Dumfries, I think it was).
So, anyway, as predicted my "dumbphone" did nothing (it's supposed to be tied to 4G/5G things, this one apparently has 3G but I don't know what for as I've never had anything to do with data... One menu item is an "Apps Manager", but never used it for more than voice and SMS).
My tablet, running offline (was in the middle of an Idle-Game, while listening to some old radio recordings off of the computer) didn't make
any sound[1], despite the suggestion that it should. (I had Ring, Notification and Alarm on full-volume, only Media was slid down to zero... But the suggestion was that it was unmutable without changing a more in-depth setting that I'm fairly sure I've never bothered with.) The message that popped over the game (which froze, until I dismissed the overlay, and didn't even give me acces to the volume draw-down element so disabled UI-level stuff) had a URL to click but I didn't try it (would not connect, anyway, until I made either Wifi or Mobile[3] connectivity active), and dismissal resumed things. Should have tried a screenshot (for my own fun and amusement only), but don't know if it would have worked as I didn't think of it until right now.
So, perhaps we'll hear more about how it went in the news, tonight. And hopefully not have so much
idle or
erroneous uses of it. I already get far too many text alerts from my mobile provider saying that there's maintenance going to go on in a postcode area (near) where I sometimes have loitered in the past, just in case I happen to be going back there whilst it is ongoing.
[1] There was all the fuss about vulnerable people having to disable/turn-off their "secret phones" so that abusers/gaslighters couldn't discover their lifeline equipment, and I wonder how many awkward situations
have occured[2] because of not being heeded correctly, including contraband prison-phones and other less worthy exceptions)
[2] Also, a very short-term uptick in road-accidents, by those who couldn't
not illegally fiddle with their devices when driving. Just as others nearby are likewise distracted in that same window of misipportunity!
[3] I wonder if it's exempt from data-plan limits, like the service-provider "boost your plan"/etc pages are. ISPs/mobile companies ought to enable that for such addresses, if it's important, as it might catch some people out otherwise.