topic why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off? in Get Support

why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

sahands — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 12:31:22 GMT

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Lieux — Thu, 16 May 2019 23:14:43 GMT

If you don't want to receive them and will never...turn your data on 3G and not on LTE....that's a solution...

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

CellGirl — Thu, 16 May 2019 23:31:01 GMT

@sahands

under Apps and Notifications, Emergency Broadcasts

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

shskr — Thu, 16 May 2019 23:57:41 GMT

I'm on 3G and I still got the elerts.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Psygineer — Fri, 17 May 2019 00:18:51 GMT

While I admit getting woke up at 3:57 am and then again for the french version an hour later for an Amber alert around 2000 km away (at least a days drive) is a bit silly and they should localize them better, it's a newer branch of the system that they are likely working the kinks out of still. I know I have got Amber alerts telling me that the alert is over (but having never got the initial one, those ones are annoying when they happen in the middle of the night, I also don't think they should use the same jarring claxon to notify it is over as they do when they are announcing it. As for disabling it, I don't believe you can in Canada. If you are worried about being woke up in the middle of the night by it, turn off your phone or leave it far enough away that it is out of earshot. If you are sleeping its not like you can spot the victim, but if it goes off during the day and is in your general area, you never know, you might save a kid's life.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

cavemantoronto — Fri, 17 May 2019 01:34:59 GMT

@CellGirl wrote:
@sahands
under Apps and Notifications, Emergency Broadcasts

That won't work. Those settings will get overriden. The suggestion by Lieux to choose 3g network does work.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

cavemantoronto — Fri, 17 May 2019 01:37:08 GMT

@shskr wrote:
I'm on 3G and I still got the elerts.

People on 3g plan using LTE network will get the alerts. When on 3g network, you won't receive.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Dogbert — Fri, 17 May 2019 09:49:19 GMT

At times, it is many hours or even a day later before an Amber Alert is sent (a desperate call out for help). Amber Alert messages are not sent at a whim, but with careful consideration; too many and people start ignoring them. The individual could have hopped onto a local commuter plane with the child and travelled many thousand KMs away. Yes, it's "could have"; however, in emergencies one has to cover all the possibilites.

If it really bothers you, then turn off your phone before going to sleep or place it into airplane mode.

I myself are not inconvenienced by such emergencies alerts, as there is a child's well being at stake.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

stonechucker — Fri, 17 May 2019 16:00:46 GMT

Don't forget to turn off your radios, stereos and TVs too. They get the same things.

Honestly, if you're that upset about getting these messages, you need to change your morals. An Emergency message it just that - an Emergency. Amber Alerts are a portion of the system.

It doesn't matter how far away you are, as the most recent one was from Sudbury, and the child was located in Toronto with his mother, after taking a train and apparently not notifying the person who reported the child missing.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Anonymous — Fri, 17 May 2019 16:04:17 GMT

I mean really. It's a reasonable social responsibility to your fellow humans. Almost all of us don't live in caves out in the wilderness anymore.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

srlawren — Fri, 17 May 2019 16:18:06 GMT

@cavemantoronto wrote:
@shskr wrote:
I'm on 3G and I still got the elerts.
People on 3g plan using LTE network will get the alerts. When on 3g network, you won't receive.

@shskr you're looking for the Preferred Network Type setting in your network settings, similar to this:

If I were to change this to "2G/3G (Automatic)", I would stop getting the alerts.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

dabr — Fri, 17 May 2019 18:10:17 GMT

Thanks to everyone who have pointed out about weighing the annoyance of having to be woken up at an inconvenient hour versus the potential serious harm posed to a missing child.

Plus as others have already said very easily mitigated through setting changes/turning your phone off!

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

MandyJ — Fri, 17 May 2019 18:14:20 GMT

I was actually hoping my phone might finally get these kind of alerts when I recently switched from Lucky Mobile to Public Mobile, but still no luck on that front. My phone is just too old I suppose.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

shskr — Fri, 17 May 2019 21:33:12 GMT

i just turn my phone off at night. Nothing is that important that i cant wait til morning.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

sahands — Sat, 18 May 2019 00:05:45 GMT

my android 5.0.2 does not have any option to change network (2G,3G etc.)

I had already turned off the alert setting, but the amber alert overrides it

Not that it's anyones' business, but I have to keep my phone turned on at night because I have a family member in the hospital.

As far as the inconvenience of losing sleep, what's the worst that can happen? Well I work at a medical laboratory, worst case scenario is that I go to work with a lack of sleep, and being tired I make the mistake of supplying the wrong result or mismatching a report to the wrong patient, and as a result the physician administers the wrong diagnosis/medication/surgical procedure etc. and kills the patient, not a big deal right? Actually a few years ago another staff member had accidentally attached the wrong result to a patient, and the physician scheduled that patient for an unnecessary surgery, thankfully the patient didn't die, but he had his prostate taken out because the doctor thought that he had cancer.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Stormy — Sat, 18 May 2019 00:06:21 GMT

One thing to consider is that for all of these "Amber Alerts" that have come out so far, no one has actaully received an Amber Alert. What we have all been geting is a Presidential Alert (or extereme or whatever it may be called on some phones) that is the highest level of alert and CAN NOT be disabled uness you root your phone.

Sadly for whatever reason the genius' at the CRTC have decided that we in Canada should get all alerts at the same level; whether it is an Amber Alert or an alert about an incpme tornado or missle.

Even sadder is those that look at anyone that says anything about how the system is currently implemented, label them as a heartless and selfish you-know-what, without taking a moment to even think about how the alerts go out. If someone doesn't change how these alerts are sent out, one of these days soon they are going to send out an alert for a real emergency with the potential for major loss of life (think tornando, earthquake, etc), and most wil ignor eit because they think it ia just another Amber Alert.

Excellent opinion piece here about it,

https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/amber-alerts-1.5137889

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

Stormy — Sat, 18 May 2019 00:07:40 GMT

@shskr wrote:
i just turn my phone off at night. Nothing is that important that i cant wait til morning.

Great idea. Now what do you do if the system sends out an alert for an actual life and death emergency? By the time you get up in the morning it may be too late.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

cavemantoronto — Sat, 18 May 2019 01:34:11 GMT

@Stormy wrote:
One thing to consider is that for all of these "Amber Alerts" that have come out so far, no one has actaully received an Amber Alert. What we have all been geting is a Presidential Alert (or extereme or whatever it may be called on some phones) that is the highest level of alert and CAN NOT be disabled uness you root your phone.

Sadly for whatever reason the genius' at the CRTC have decided that we in Canada should get all alerts at the same level; whether it is an Amber Alert or an alert about an incpme tornado or missle.

Even sadder is those that look at anyone that says anything about how the system is currently implemented, label them as a heartless and selfish you-know-what, without taking a moment to even think about how the alerts go out. If someone doesn't change how these alerts are sent out, one of these days soon they are going to send out an alert for a real emergency with the potential for major loss of life (think tornando, earthquake, etc), and most wil ignor eit because they think it ia just another Amber Alert.

Excellent opinion piece here about it,

https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/amber-alerts-1.5137889

The phone manufacturers give is option to opt out of amber alert. You are correct. Thesre are all being sent as presidential so we can turn off unless we change network settings.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

dabr — Sat, 18 May 2019 02:16:56 GMT

@sahands wrote:
my android 5.0.2 does not have any option to change network (2G,3G etc.)
I had already turned off the alert setting, but the amber alert overrides it

Not that it's anyones' business, but I have to keep my phone turned on at night because I have a family member in the hospital.
As far as the inconvenience of losing sleep, what's the worst that can happen? Well I work at a medical laboratory, worst case scenario is that I go to work with a lack of sleep, and being tired I make the mistake of supplying the wrong result or mismatching a report to the wrong patient, and as a result the physician administers the wrong diagnosis/medication/surgical procedure etc. and kills the patient, not a big deal right? Actually a few years ago another staff member had accidentally attached the wrong result to a patient, and the physician scheduled that patient for an unnecessary surgery, thankfully the patient didn't die, but he had his prostate taken out because the doctor thought that he had cancer.

That's a tough situation to be in...not sure what you can do if you can't disable the alert in your phone settings. Hopefully some time in the not too distant future, there will be improvements to this important tool for people in your situation.

Re: why do I keep getting amber alters for other cities? how do I turn it off?

sahands — Sat, 18 May 2019 14:26:53 GMT

so much for having any support from publicmobile mods....