NL-Alert test sets off phones at Noon on Monday

The public emergency notification system in the Netherlands, NL-ALert, was triggered at noon on Monday for its semi-annual national test. Many in the country should have received a test message on their mobile device, or seen the messages on video screens in some public settings.

The NL-Alert system is tested twice a year, at noon on the first Monday in June and December. Sometimes the date is shifted due to a holiday, as was the case earlier this year when the scheduling conflicted with Pentecost Monday. The previous test message was sent on June 8.

Mobile phone users who did not receive the message can troubleshoot the issue using a government guide about configuring phones and other devices to accept NL-Alert notifications. “NL-Alert can also be seen on a growing number of digital advertising displays and digital departure signs at train, bus, tram and metro stops,” the government said in a previous statement.

Phones which were properly set up to receive NL-Alert messages but were either in flight mode or connected to a foreign cellular tower might not broadcast the message, or could display it later than planned.

The test message should read: “NL-Alert 08-06-2020 12:00: CONTROLEBERICHT. U hoeft niets te doen. Meer informatie op www.nl-alert.nl *** TEST MESSAGE Netherlands Government Public Warning System. No action required. More information: www.nl-alert.nl/english”