Find out how to turn on the Local Awareness option to ensure the emergency warning alerts you receive on your iPhone from the government are timely and accurate.
iOS 17.2 and later include a Local Awareness toggle that allows your iPhone to use your approximate geographical location to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and reliability of wireless emergency alerts (WEAs).
“For example, earthquake alerts received on iPhone in California, Oregon and Washington (including bordering regions) might be more timely or delivered with increased accuracy when Local Awareness is turned on,” Apple explains.
Turn on Local Awareness for more reliable Emergency Alerts
You can toggle the Local Awareness option in the Government Alerts section of your iPhone’s notification settings.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Notifications.
- Scroll down to the Government Alerts section and tap Emergency Alerts.
- Turn on Local Awareness.
By default, the Local Awareness option is off.
Keep in mind that this setting is only available in the United States. Government alerts are unavailable on the iPad and Mac.
Managing government alerts on your iPhone
Government notifications, such as AMBER, Emergency, and Public Safety alerts, are designed to keep you informed about important events. Your iOS device supports these alerts by default, ensuring you don’t miss crucial updates.
However, if you find them unnecessary or annoying, especially if you have multiple iPhones, you can always disable government alerts with a couple of toggle switches in the Settings app.