Jelly Bean added emergency alerts. I just got one

I was using the netflix app and suddenly there was an alarm and a warning popped up on the screen. Also, a voice started to read the alert to me. Something about a blizzard.

Emergency alert: Severe
Response type: Prepare
Severity: Extreme
Urgency: Take action within the next hour
Certainty: Likely
Blizzard Warniing this area til 6:00 PM PST Mon. Prepare. Avoid Travel. Check media.

I have to admit it startled me. I had no idea that there was an emergency alerts feature until I got that one. At the same time I am confused because I haven't heard anything about snow here, much less a blizzard (I'm in Eugene, OR).

So do these come from google? From the carrier? Is it based on my actual location or my billing address?

The alerts come from the National Weather Service and it looks like the support is included by the carrier.

As for where the alerts are sent:

Interestingly, the system doesn’t rely on GPS or a user’s registered location. Instead the carrier sends the signal out from towers in the affected area and all users with compatible devices that are connected to those towers receive the alert.

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Interesting. Well, I have a final exam tomorrow morning, so here's hoping that there is a blizzard tonight.

You can disable them in the settings in the messaging app. If you want to disable presidential alerts, you'll have to root and edit com.android.mms_preferences.xml

I used to get these all the time in Arizona during monsoon season. A few times I was out at a grocery store or restaurant, and so many people's alerts would go off simultaneously that it sounded like the alert buzzer was going off through the store's intercom.

MissJ84 said:

You can disable them in the settings in the messaging app. If you want to disable presidential alerts, you'll have to root and edit com.android.mms_preferences.xml

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So users of Google Voice for sms might not get them? I've never seen one of these...I'm under a Winter Storm Watch for the next two days.

Skripka said:

So users of Google Voice for sms might not get them? I've never seen one of these...I'm under a Winter Storm Watch for the next two days.

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I'm not 100% sure if people using google voice would get them, however I believe this function does not exist if you own any non carrier branded Nexus device.

Skripka said:

So users of Google Voice for sms might not get them? I've never seen one of these...I'm under a Winter Storm Watch for the next two days.

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Why wouldn't you? You won't get them through your GV number, but you still have a cell number that's still connected to the cell network, no?

It should be noted too that Presidential Alerts is for major events like we are at war or in a state of emergency, not for general events. Seen too many people freaking out because they think Obama is going to spam them with alerts every day or something.

Do you have Google Now enabled? There's a public alerts setting in there for "Storm warnings, earthquake alerts, and similar events" that you can enable/disable.

JapaneseGorilla said:

Interesting. Well, I have a final exam tomorrow morning, so here's hoping that there is a blizzard tonight.

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Nice. Final exam the next day. Watching Netflix. It seems a warning app prompting you to prepare for major events is definitely a good thing for you to have.