My old red iPhone SE 2, no AusAlert alert, much embarrassment

AusAlert is a new, nation wide, emergency warning system being rolled out by the Australian government. Should there be a crisis or disaster of some sort, authorities will be able to send warnings to mobile phones in the vicinity. The alerts, which will be heralded by a short, but loud siren sound, are designed to override both silent, and do not disturb (DND) modes. That’s a good thing, as I avail myself of both constantly. To test the system, an AusAlert message was to be sent to every mobile device in Australia, yesterday afternoon. It is unlikely nationwide broadcasts will occur regularly, if at all, as alerts are only intended to go only to phones in a specific region, if something is wrong. But saying every mobile device in Australia would receive the test warning was something of an exaggeration. At 2PM AEST yesterday, my phone sat silent, even though phones all around me wailed for about ten seconds. As it happens though, AusAlerts cannot reach every phone, or mobile device,…