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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Android Wireless Emergency Alerts now include a map.
- The map shows the affected area and your location.
- Not all alerts override volume settings unless you choose to do so.
Android users just got a potentially life-saving update that makes their phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts significantly more useful.
If you've ever been jolted by a shrill alert about a dangerous storm or a missing child, you know what these alerts are. But you've probably had your share of alerts about a severe storm or tornado watch, only to look outside and see blue sky.
Also: How to set up and and use your phone's lifesaving emergency features
The recent update should make it much easier to see if an alert affects you.
Google hasn't made an official announcement, but a changelog for the recent March 2026 system update revealed that Wireless Emergency Alerts will now include a map view, so you can see what area the alert is for and your location relative to that area.
Instead of seeing if the warning for “your area” is your neighborhood or the other side of the county, 30 miles away, you can now see how close you are to the impacted area.
How to make sure you get life-saving weather alerts
By default, not all WEA notifications interrupt Do Not Disturb or other volume settings. Google says that the “most critical alerts” may sound at full volume, but it doesn't explain what the most critical alerts are or even then which alerts may or may not sound.
If you never use DND mode and just leave your phone on full volume at night, this won't affect you. But if you quiet your phone while you're sleeping or at other times, you should probably change this setting — especially as we head into storm season in the US.
Also: Your best Google weather app alternatives (and what I recommend instead)
To prioritize alerts, head to Settings > Safety & emergency > Wireless emergency alerts. Scroll all the way down until you see “Always alert at full volume.” You can turn off certain categories of alerts, like AMBER alerts, if you'd rather not be woken up in the middle of the night by those.
