Your Apple Watch just got a lifesaving upgrade with Enhanced Safety Alerts

Apple Watch users can stay informed about critical situations through a variety of government-issued and enhanced safety alerts. These features are designed to deliver timely notifications during emergencies, helping users respond quickly to potential threats.
About Government and Emergency Alerts
Your Apple Watch can receive important alerts directly, including:
• Alerts issued by your country or region’s government
• Alerts involving imminent threats to safety or life
• Alerts for extreme weather conditions
• AMBER alerts (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response)*
• Public Safety Alerts*
*AMBER alerts and Public Safety Alerts are not available in all countries or regions.
When an alert arrives, it typically plays a distinctive alarm-like sound to grab your attention, even if your watch is in silent mode.
Managing Government Alerts Preferences
Government Alerts are enabled by default on compatible devices. To customize these settings:

On your paired iPhone, open the Settings app and tap Notifications.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen.
Under Government Alerts, toggle the desired alert types on or off.

Changes made on your iPhone automatically apply to your Apple Watch. These alerts require a supported carrier SIM and work when your iPhone is nearby, connected to Wi-Fi, or—with cellular models (Apple Watch Series 3 GPS + Cellular or later) — independently via a compatible cellular plan.
In certain countries or regions, some Government Alerts cannot be disabled for public safety reasons. Contact your carrier for details on compatibility.
Receiving Test Emergency Alerts on Apple Watch (United States Only)
U.S. users can opt into receiving test emergency alerts, which help familiarize you with the notification system. These are disabled by default and clearly marked as tests, accompanied by an alarm sound.
Test alerts are supported by U.S. carriers (including Puerto Rico), with content and frequency determined by local governments.
How to Enable Test Alerts

Ensure your iPhone is running iOS 15.6 or later.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Notifications.
Toggle on Test Alerts — this also enables them on your paired Apple Watch.

Apple Watch with cellular can receive these independently.
Enabling Test Alerts for Family-Managed Apple Watch
For watches set up via Family Setup (watchOS 8.4 or later):

Download the Test Alerts profile on the managing iPhone: Test Alerts profile.
Tap Allow and select the Apple Watch if prompted.
Go to Settings > Profile Downloaded and tap Install, following onscreen instructions.
On the Apple Watch, open Settings > Notifications and enable Test Alerts.

To disable, toggle off in iPhone Notifications or remove the profile via Settings > General > Device Management.
About Enhanced Safety Alerts
Introduced in watchOS 26.2 or later, Enhanced Safety Alerts are available in the United States and Taiwan. These provide supplemental notifications for events like earthquake warnings, floods, fires, or other imminent threats, sourced from alert originators.
Delivered via Wi-Fi or cellular data based on your location, these alerts differ in appearance and sound from standard Government Alerts. Enabling “Improve Alert Delivery” shares your approximate location with Apple (not stored) to enhance speed and reliability—especially useful for earthquakes in regions like California, Oregon, and Washington. An active cellular plan aids delivery when away from iPhone or Wi-Fi.
You may receive both Enhanced and Government Alerts for the same event, with Enhanced potentially arriving faster.
Network conditions can impact delivery; not all features are available everywhere.
Bi-Level Earthquake Alerts
For earthquakes, alerts are tiered:
• Awareness Alert: Notifies of nearby detection, advising preparation.
• Action Alert: Critical notification for expected strong shaking, urging immediate protective actions.
Both include estimated magnitude, proximity, and safety recommendations.
Manage your Enhanced Safety Alerts preferences
Earthquake Alerts and Imminent Threat Alerts are turned on by default, and Improve Alert Delivery is turned off by default. To adjust any of these settings:

On your iPhone, open the Settings app, then tap Notifications.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen.
Under Enhanced Alerts, tap Enhanced Safety Alerts.
Tap Earthquake Alerts, Imminent Threat Alerts, or Improve Alert Delivery to turn it off or on.

Additional Resources
• Learn how to set up emergency alerts for Japan.
• Learn about emergency and government alerts on iPhone.
MacDailyNews Note: These alert systems underscore Apple’s commitment to user safety, integrating seamlessly with watchOS to provide potentially life-saving information in real time. Always ensure your devices are updated for the latest features and reliability.

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