Somebody else received an emergency alert as a wireless message or in their AEA app but I did not.  There could be several reasons why you didn’t receive an alert from the AEA app. 

1. Location: 

• You will only receive notifications for locations you have added in the settings of the AEA app. Check the locations you have selected to receive notification for. 
• Go to the AEA website at https://emergencyalert.alberta.ca to see if there was an alert issued for that location on the date you were expecting it. You can find this information by using the Archive button.

2. Volume: 

• Your device may have had volume off or do not disturb mode enabled. If you wish to override volume and do not disturb and always hear a sound for critical alerts, turn on the “Override Silent Mode” setting in your AEA app.

3. Connection: 

• Check your cellular connection.
• Check your WIFI connection (if on airplane mode or bad cell connection).

4. Settings: 

• Check if you have the Critical Alerts Only setting selected or the Critical and Advisory Alerts setting.
• If you are away from your chosen locations, check that you have the “Follow Me” setting on.

5. People are encouraged to follow AEA through multiple mediums (such as Facebook, Twitter, the AEA website, radio/TV, and the AEA mobile app) to ensure they receive emergency alerts.

The decision to send a public emergency alert rests with the local, regional, provincial, territorial or federal authority. In some instances, the authorities choose to alert the public through channels like local news media via radio, TV, online instead of through Canada’s national public alert system, Alert Ready, that the AEA app is connected to. We suggest you contact the responsible authority to find out why they didn’t send the alert that you were expecting to receive.

An AEA severe weather alert is not issued for thunderstorms, wind and hail as these events do not constitute an immediate danger to life.  

You may receive tornado alerts on your AEA app from Environment and Climate Change Canada. They will issue alerts when a tornado has been confirmed, and when the severity of the threat and direction of travel are established.

The AEA app is separate from the cellular broadcast technology your provider uses to send wireless alerts. You will need to contact your cellular provider to ask why you did not receive the test alert. 

In the meantime, the AEA app provides a fallback option. You should receive the alert in the app as long as you have a network connection, and are not offline or in airplane mode. In addition, there is an Override Silent Mode setting so that you always hear critical alerts even if your phone volume is off or in do not disturb mode.

The decision to issue an alert rests with the local, regional, provincial, territorial and federal authorities. If you are not sure that there was an alert issued by the authorities, follow these steps: 

• Go to the AEA website at https://emergencyalert.alberta.ca/
• Tap Archive > Calendar and select the date you believe there was an alert issued

If the alert you are looking for is not displayed in the “Past alerts for displayed map area” it means the authorities issued no alert. If you know there was an alert sent but you did not get it on the app, follow these steps:

1. Check the Locations you have selected to receive notifications for.
2. Check the setting on the app “Override Silent mode”.
3. Check if you have the Critical Alerts Only setting selected or the Critical Advisory Alerts setting.
4. Check you have the “Follow Me” setting on.

If the mobile device you were using at the time had a weak or intermittent internet connection (low cellular or Wi-Fi signal), it can affect the alert notification being received. Another possibility is if your mobile device was in deep sleep or hibernation mode, which it can do if it has been sitting idle for a while and/or if the battery is low. This too can affect an alert notification being received. With both of these possibilities, however, you will still be able to see the alert when you manually open the app.

If you received an alert but did not hear a sound

1. Touch Settings
2. Touch “Override Silent mode”

This is only for Critical Alerts though; this setting has no effect for advisory alerts. If you do not hear a sound for an advisory alert, you can check the advisory alert sound setting to make sure is not turned off. Also check that your phone is not silenced or in do not disturb mode.

I see the notification for an alert on the lock screen but when I open the app there are no alerts listed. 

You may need to update or reinstall your AEA app. You can find version updates in the app store. It is recommended that you always have the latest version to ensure you receive those critical alerts.

If you just installed the AEA app, you will want to test it to ensure that it works.

You can add a test location to confirm you see alerts in the app:

1. Pick a location name to do the test. Go to the AEA website https://emergencyalert.alberta.ca/ to check locations with alerts issued recently, and choose a location name.
2. Select the AEA app.
3. Select settings.
4. Select locations, on the “Add Town, City, Province” field, type the name you chose on step 1.
5. Select close.
6. Select > Alerts.
7. Under alerts for your locations, you should see the same alerts being shown on the AEA website. If that is the case, it means the app is working as expected.

To remove the test location from the AEA app, follow these steps: 

1. Go into your settings
2. Select locations and then edit
3. Find the location name
4. Hit delete (top right corner of the screen)
5. Close the locations screen

If you turn on Follow Me in settings, you may receive alerts when travelling outside of Alberta. However, not all jurisdictions alert for the same types of events, so you may receive fewer alerts depending on where you are travelling.

The AEA app roaming capability works in other Canadian provinces and territories. You will not receive nearby alerts when travelling outside of Canada.

Not all jurisdictions alert for the same types of events. You may receive more alerts when you are travelling in other provinces and territories in Canada.

1. Go into settings at the top right hand corner of your screen
2. Follow Me is the second option in the settings screen; switch it on or off

Roaming alerts change automatically when you turn on/off the Follow Me feature in the AEA app and are travelling outside of Alberta. 

The AEA app only allows you to add locations within Alberta. However, if you have the Follow Me feature turned on, you will be alerted for nearby emergencies even when travelling in other Canadian provinces and territories.

You can contact Alberta Emergency Alert by selecting the “Contact” link below. We will provide support for receiving alerts outside of Alberta.

Please be aware not all jurisdictions alert for the same types of events, so you may receive more or fewer alerts depending on where you are travelling. You will not receive alerts when travelling outside of Canada.

The AEA app requires a valid data connection (Wi-Fi or cellular networks) for alerts to be received, whether inside or outside of the province. Standard data connection charges from your cellular provider apply.

You must have an active cellular or Wi-Fi connection to receive an alert. If you do not have an active or strong enough connection when an alert is sent, the alert will be queued for a limited time and be sent to you once your device is connected. 

Examples of offline situations include: 

• the device being in airplane mode
• you have your cellular or Wi-Fi turned off
• you are out of range of a local cellular tower or Wi-Fi base station
• you are in a dead zone where the cellular or Wi-Fi signal is impeded

The locations that you can choose in the AEA app are official regional boundaries defined by the Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) codes from Statistics Canada. If you cannot find a specific location, try searching for the larger municipality.

1. Go into settings located top right corner of the screen
2. Select locations – the first option in the settings screen
3. Start typing the name of the location you want to add in the top entry bar
4. Choose the location from the list of results that appears below the search bar

You can continue adding more locations following those steps.

Currently, the AEA app is only available for locations within Alberta.

The AEA app is designed to broadcast all critical alerts issued from authorities. Although advisory alerts can be turned off, critical alerts cannot. 

However, AEA respects your device volume and do-not-disturb settings for all alerts, even critical ones. If you prefer to turn off the critical alert sounds: 

• turn off “Override Silent Mode” in your settings
• if your device volume is turned off, or you have it set to do-not-disturb (including auto do-not-disturb settings), the device will not sound when a critical-level alert arrives

The alert notification will still appear in your app. 

Check that the version of your device is compatible with the app

• iPhone – iOS 11 or later
• Android – Android Lollipop 5.1 or later

The most significant use of battery power by the AEA app is location updates to send you alerts for locations you travel to. You can try turning off the “Follow Me” feature to conserve battery power. You will still receive alerts for the locations you have manually chosen.