17 October 2024 | 13:27

Why not all Almaty residents received presidential alert

©️ Tengrinews.kz / Alikhan Sariyev

Tengrinews.kz - Some residents of Almaty did not receive the presidential alert. On the morning of October 17, the emergency services conducted a mass distribution of the Mass Alert system.

Almaty residents reported that smartphone users on both iOS and Android operating systems did not receive the test presidential alert, despite having enabled emergency alert functions.

"Regarding iOS devices, iPhone users needed to update their phones to version 18. For some Android devices, this may have been caused by the mobile operator's network reboot," explained Dinara Nurgalieva, the official representative of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In any case, specialists are investigating the causes of the failures in the test alert system.

"Our experts are currently looking into the matter, and the reason for those who did not receive alerts or received them late will be clarified later. It is important to note that these were drills; the system is currently being adapted, tested, and fine-tuned in our country," Nurgalieva added.

The Department of Digitalization of Almaty noted that iPhone users must have updated their system to iOS version 18 to receive the Mass Alert notification. If the device did not update automatically, it must be done manually: "Settings - General - Software Update."

"As a result of today’s test alert, a technical analysis is being conducted to improve and optimize the notification system through mobile operators," the department stated.

At 10:00 a.m. on October 17, Almaty residents received a test alert in the form of a pop-up message on their mobile devices in Kazakh, Russian, and English: "Алаңдамаңыздар. Халықты хабардар ету жүйесіне тексеру жүргізілуде," "Не беспокойтесь. Проводится проверка системы оповещения населения," "Remain calm. The public alert system is being tested."

The project to launch the Mass Alert system for immediate emergency notifications is being implemented at the direction of the Head of State. Notifications will appear with the titles "National Alert" (for iPhone users) or "Presidential Alert" (for Android users) because, according to international specifications, all phone manufacturers use these titles at the operating system level of their mobile devices when government agencies issue test or emergency alerts.

Earlier, the Almaty akimat (the local government administration) reported that the Mass Alert system has several advantages over SMS. Notifications are sent to subscribers across the entire coverage area of mobile operators and in specifically selected geographic zones. Moreover, the system operates under network overload conditions. The main advantage of Cell Broadcast technology is the instant and mass notification of all subscribers within the coverage area.

Residents of Almaty felt a mild earthquake with a magnitude of 2.

Almaty alert iPhone Android Ministry of Emergency Situations

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