Tests show public alerts system differs markedly across devices

Testing of the National Public Alerting System (NPAS) across mobile devices produced by five major manufacturers showed devices play alerts at variable volumes, while putting a phone in "do not disturb" mode did not always prevent an audible alert from sounding, the CRTC said in a report released Thursday. The testing of ten devices, planned by the CRTC and the Communications Research Centre and conducted at the Certification and Engineering Bureau (CEB) in late January, also demonstrated that one mobile phone -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd’s A70 -- did not receive alerts at all during the testing process. As well as the variability in alert volumes, the CRTC’s report states each device has unique settings for controlling the volume of public alerts, “sometimes including separate distinct menus that may not be indicative to users and could result in alerts sounding at unintended volumes.” The report also found a device’s behaviour in displaying and sounding a public alert may differ based on where it was purchased from, with only Canadian wireless services providers (WSPs) required to implement public alerting capacity on their devices. The CRTC committed to testing devices and asking WSPs how alerts were distributed after receiving complaints about the alerting system. An October 2019 briefing note obtained by The Wire Report showed the testing results would be "used to establish a baseline and adjust the CRTC standard response." "This information will also be shared with our government and industry partners so that they can adjust their public responses related to sounds from smartphones,” the note said. As part of the testing, devices were configured to play alerts when the volume was set to zero, full and mid-level, while on airplane, silent, vibrate only and do not disturb modes, as well as while bluetooth headphones were connected. In some cases, the alert would not sound if a device’s ring volume was set to off, regardless of what the mechanism that controls alert volumes were set to, the report stated. WSPs distributed 131 alerts across Canada in 2019, issued by emergency management and other government agencies. Forty nine were issued in Ontario last year, with 39 in Saskatchewan, 37 in Alberta, four in Quebec and a single alert in both Manitoba and New Brunswick. The alerting system has encountered several problems since it was launched in 2018. In January, an Ontario–wide alert about an incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station was sent by mistake, while the first emergency alert tests were marred by errors. Following a tornado in the Ottawa area in the fall of 2018, it emerged that those in charge of the wireless alerts system had overestimated how many Canadians had compatible phones that allow them to receive the alerts.

Tests show public alerts system differs markedly across devices

Brief | October 15, 2020

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Tests show public alerts system differs markedly across devices

Brief | October 15, 2020

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