Finland to test emergency warning system on Nov 24

Finnish authorities will carry out a nationwide test of the emergency warning system on Tuesday 24 November at 12.00 noon, said Ministry of the Interior in a press release on Wednesday.

During the test, an FI-Alert warning will be sent to mobile phones. Phones will play an alert sound for about 10 seconds, regardless of their sound settings.

FI-Alert complements the existing emergency warning channels. It allows authorities to warn people in an affected area quickly by sending emergency warnings directly to mobile phones.

The system is already in use in Finland, but the required phone updates are being rolled out in stages. This means that FI-Alert does not yet work on all phones.

The FI-Alert system will be tested on 17 November at 12.00 noon. The test warning will appear on compatible phones that have the required updates installed. Any sound or vibration will depend on the phone’s notification settings.

The full emergency warning system will be tested on 24 November 2026 at 12.00 noon. An FI-Alert test warning will be sent to compatible mobile phones throughout Finland.

The warning will also appear in the 112 Suomi app and the Yle app. It will be broadcast on radio and television and shown on teletext page 112.

The test on 24 November will work in the same way as a genuine FI-Alert emergency warning. Phones will play an alert sound for about 10 seconds, regardless of their sound settings. The sound will play even if the phone is set to silent or do not disturb.

When people receive the test warning, they do not need to do anything. If they do not receive it, their phone may not have the required updates installed. People may also need to restart their phone after installing an update.