AusAlert July 27 opt out

Introduction

Standard Android and iPhone devices offer no genuine off switch for Critical Alerts of the kind AusAlert will send. The only available method is temporary: powering the device off, or placing it in aeroplane mode, for the relevant period. GrapheneOS, a hardened alternative operating system for supported Pixel devices, includes a toggle that allows a permanent, settings based off switch for all alert tiers, including the highest. Tested with the AusAlert Critical Alert, and was effective, no alert received. See bottom of page for GOS instructions and where to get a GOS phone.

Confirmed – Graphene OS phones with wireless alerts turned off – did NOT receive the AusAlert test message.

Anyone seeking a GrapheneOS phone, more information here.

Verified against AusAlert.gov.au, Services Australia, NEMA, and the Department of Health, current as at 15 July 2026.

AusAlert: what the 27 July national test means for you, and how to opt out

On Monday 27 July 2026, the Australian Government will run a nationwide test of AusAlert, a new emergency warning system due to fully launch in October 2026. Every compatible mobile phone, and some tablets and smart watches, will receive a test message at the same moment. For men and women in Western Australia, the scheduled time is 12:00 pm AWST.

What AusAlert actually is

AusAlert replaces the old SMS based Emergency Alert system. It uses cell broadcast technology carried over active 4G and 5G mobile networks, the same method used for public warnings in more than 30 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan. Rather than being addressed to an individual phone number, the message is broadcast from mobile towers to every compatible device within range. The government states the system does not collect or store phone numbers or locations for this purpose.

A note on the siren’s purpose

The loud, sudden nature of the AusAlert tone is not incidental. It is the openly stated design purpose of the system: NEMA’s own published material states the sound is deliberately loud enough to override a device’s silent or Do Not Disturb setting, so that a man or woman cannot miss it. This is a genuine and well documented psychological effect, sudden loud sound triggers the body’s acoustic startle reflex, an automatic nervous system response followed by a short lived stress hormone response. Emergency warning systems worldwide are built around this effect for one reason: to force attention during a genuine threat to life. There is nothing hidden about this purpose; it is disclosed as the system’s whole function.

Some public discussion has raised the further possibility that such a signal could be engineered to have effects beyond an overt alert, for example through infrasound (sound below 20 Hz, inaudible to human hearing) or subliminal audio content. It is worth setting out what is, and is not, established on this point.

Infrasound is a genuine field of research. Recent work, including a 2026 study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, found that infrasound exposure raised cortisol levels and negative mood in participants who could not consciously hear the sound, and earlier research using a 17 Hz tone recorded similar unease in around a fifth of listeners. This is taken seriously as an explanation for some reported “haunted building” sensations caused by incidental low frequency noise from old infrastructure. However, producing genuine infrasound requires large speaker drivers moving substantial volumes of air, of the kind found in subwoofers or organ pipes. A standard mobile phone speaker is not physically capable of reproducing frequencies in that range with any meaningful output, which places this theory outside what the delivery method (a phone speaker) could plausibly achieve.

Subliminal audio messaging, meaning hidden verbal or symbolic content pitched below conscious awareness, is a separate and considerably weaker claim. Repeated testing since the 1950s has not produced reliable, replicated evidence that such content can influence behaviour beyond a marginal priming effect. No credible source known to date has been found asserting that AusAlert’s tone carries such content, and the underlying evidence base for the technique itself remains thin.

In summary, the siren’s disclosed purpose, to trigger an unavoidable, attention forcing response, is real, well studied, and openly acknowledged. Claims of a further, concealed purpose are not supported by verifiable evidence at this time, either as to intent or as to technical feasibility through a phone speaker.

What will happen during the test

At the scheduled time, compatible devices will vibrate and play a loud siren like sound for about 10 seconds, and display a message on screen clearly stating that it is a test. This is classified as a Critical Alert, the highest tier, which is designed to sound even if a device is set to silent or Do Not Disturb.

Reasonable, evidence based concerns

• Because the alert is not addressed to a specific number, it cannot be blocked using ordinary call or message filtering. It will reach every compatible device connected to a tower in range at the time, regardless of whether that device’s owner has opted into anything.
• The government itself has acknowledged that the test could cause distress for some men and women, including those experiencing domestic or family violence, or using a hidden or secondary device, since the loud alert may disclose the device’s presence or location to others nearby.
• Not every device will behave identically. Some will receive the alert later than others, some may not receive it at all, depending on software version, network connection and location at the time.

Far fetched, worst case scenarios (speculative, not evidence based)

It is worth being clear that these are not claims made by the government or supported by current evidence, but scenarios sometimes raised in public discussion. They are included here for completeness, clearly labelled as speculation:

• A concern that the same broadcast infrastructure could, in principle, one day be used for messages beyond emergency warnings. There is no evidence this is planned; the stated legal and technical framework restricts use to authorised emergency services and government agencies for warnings.
• A concern that the loud, unblockable nature of Critical Alerts sets a precedent for future systems to override device settings for non-emergency purposes. Again, this is not part of the current design, which is limited to critical and priority emergency warnings.
• A concern among men and women managing personal safety (for example, in family violence situations) that a hidden device could be exposed by the alert sound. This is the one scenario the government has itself flagged as a genuine, non-speculative risk, and it is the reason an opt out method has been provided for the test.

How to decline the test (Android and iPhone)

The alert cannot be turned off through ordinary notification or Do Not Disturb settings, because it is designed to override them. The only ways to avoid receiving it are:

1. Turn the mobile device off before the scheduled time in your location, and leave it off for at least one hour; or
2. Switch the device to aeroplane mode before the scheduled time, and leave it in that mode for at least one hour.

For Western Australia, this means the device should be off or in aeroplane mode from before 12:00 pm AWST on Monday 27 July 2026, and remain that way until at least 1:00 pm AWST. For other times, see table below.

In summary

The 27 July test is a one off national trial of a new, internationally established warning technology, not an everyday occurrence. No action is required from most men and women. Those who have good reason to avoid it, whether for safety, sensory, or personal reasons, have a straightforward and effective opt out available (see bottom of page, ie turn device/s off or remove the SIM card temporarily)

Verified against the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, NEMA, and Wikipedia’s AusAlert entry, all current as at 15 July 2026. The test is broadcast simultaneously across the nation (all times below fall at the same instant, 04:00 UTC); the local clock time simply differs by time zone.

AusAlert national test, Monday 27 July 2026, scheduled local times

If a man or woman wishes to opt out of the test, the device should be switched off or placed in aeroplane mode before the local time shown for their state or territory, and left that way for at least one hour afterward.

Update, Graphene OS phones

A further opt out option: GrapheneOS devices

The methods already described, powering a device off or placing it in aeroplane mode, remain the only verified opt out available to a man or woman using a standard, unmodified Android phone or iPhone. There is, however, one documented exception worth recording for completeness.

GrapheneOS is a hardened, privacy focused operating system that can be installed in place of stock Android on supported Google Pixel devices. Its developers have stated publicly that GrapheneOS includes a functioning toggle for every tier of wireless emergency alert, including the highest severity category, which stock Android and iOS both display in settings but do not allow a user to actually switch off. On a GrapheneOS device, the relevant setting is reached through Settings, then Safety and emergency, then Wireless emergency alerts, where each alert category carries its own working toggle.

This is a genuine, deliberate design choice by the GrapheneOS project, and is a materially different position to stock devices. It should be noted, however, that GrapheneOS only runs on Pixel hardware, requires the user to manually install the operating system in place of the manufacturer’s own software, and is not a straightforward option for most men and women without prior technical familiarity. It should also be noted that no documented, Australia specific test of this toggle against an AusAlert Critical Alert has been found at the time of writing, the confirmation available relates to equivalent alert tiers in the United States and United Kingdom. A man or woman relying on a GrapheneOS toggle for the 27 July test may wish to also use aeroplane mode as a precaution, given the low cost of doing so.

Instructions: disabling wireless emergency alerts on a GrapheneOS device

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll to Safety & emergency (this may appear nested slightly differently depending on the GrapheneOS release in use; if not immediately visible, use the search bar within Settings and type “emergency alerts” to be taken directly to the correct screen).
3. Tap Wireless emergency alerts.
4. A list of alert categories will be displayed. These may include entries such as Extreme threats, Severe threats, AMBER alerts, and the highest tier (labelled Presidential alerts under the naming convention GrapheneOS inherits from the underlying Android project, though the wording shown can vary by country according to the carrier’s country code).
5. Each category has its own toggle switch. Switch off each toggle individually to disable that category.
6. Unlike stock Android or iOS, all toggles on a GrapheneOS device, including the highest tier, are genuinely functional and will take effect once switched off.

As previously noted, this process has not been documented as specifically tested against an AusAlert Critical Alert broadcast in Australia. A man or woman wishing to be certain of avoiding the 27 July test entirely may wish to also place the device in aeroplane mode, or power it off, during the scheduled window for their state or territory, in addition to disabling the toggles above.
More information: GrapheneOS provider

What devices will be able to receive the alerts?

In a general sense, the broadcast will be to devices that have a cellular radio (4G or 5G) capable of receiving cell broadcast, regardless of whether that radio currently has an active SIM in it. Here is the verified breakdown, according to NEMA’s own published compatibility material.

Will receive AusAlerts

• Compatible mobile phones (Android 12 and later confirmed; older Android and non-Android non-iOS phones may still receive it, per NEMA).
• Compatible tablets and smartwatches, including children’s safety watches.
• Apple CarPlay, specifically, meaning the alert is passed through from a connected, compatible iPhone to the CarPlay display, not received independently by the car itself.

Confirmed as not requiring an active SIM

NEMA is explicit that a device does not need a working SIM card to receive an alert, because cell broadcast is a one way broadcast from the tower to any listening compatible radio in range, it is not addressed to a phone number. The device does, however, still need a working cellular radio capable of connecting to a 4G or 5G network, a device with no cellular hardware at all cannot receive it regardless of SIM status.

Confirmed as excluded, specifically

• Apple iPads are explicitly stated by NEMA as not receiving AusAlerts, despite being a tablet, this is a specific, named exception.
• Ordinary televisions are not mentioned anywhere in NEMA’s compatibility material as a receiving device, and there is no cell broadcast pathway to a standard TV, which typically has no cellular radio at all (only Wi-Fi or a broadcast tuner).
• A car’s own infotainment or radio system, independent of a connected phone via CarPlay, is not documented as a receiving device. The CarPlay case above is the phone’s alert being displayed on the car’s screen, not the car itself receiving a broadcast.

A future addition, not yet active

NEMA has stated an intention to extend AusAlert to send automated voice messages to landlines in future, this is confirmed but described as a future development, not part of the current test or October 2026 launch.

So the accurate summary is: phones (Android and iPhone – although it appears not Graphene OS if alerts are turned off), tablets, and smartwatches with a working cellular radio, whether or not a SIM is fitted, yes. iPads specifically, no. Standalone TVs, no. A car’s own systems independent of a connected phone, not documented as receiving it.

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