SINGAPORE: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will conduct an islandwide public test of SG Alert for Singtel users on Sunday (May 10) at 12pm, as part of the national roll-out of the emergency broadcast system.
SG Alert is designed to rapidly notify the public of major fires, chemical or terror threats, or other dangers that require immediate action.
During the test on Sunday, those connected to the Singtel network, including foreign visitors on data-only eSIM plans and those subscribed to mobile virtual network operators that lease network capacity from Singtel, such as Gomo and Zero1, will receive the alert.
The alerts can be received even without an internet connection, SCDF said in a news release on Wednesday, adding: “Members of the public are advised not to be alarmed.”
The alerts will appear as pop-up notifications with the header SG Alert, accompanied by a unique alert tone and distinct vibration pattern lasting up to 10 seconds. These alerts can also bypass a device’s “do not disturb” or silent mode settings.
For users with older phone models, the header may be displayed as “Presidential alert” instead, due to compatibility issues.
Regardless of the title shown, the content of the alert will remain the same, SCDF had said in April, adding that it will work to standardise the message’s heading.
Users do not need to download any apps or register an account to receive SG Alerts. However, phones will need to be running the latest operating system to ensure uninterrupted access to the alerts.
SG Alert is only supported on phones running on the latest Apple iOS 26.4 and later, or Android OS 12 and above, with the latest Google Play system update from Feb 1, 2026 onwards.
The alert system will be rolled out to StarHub users by the end of 2026, followed by M1 and Simba users by mid-2027, SCDF said.
