SE-Alert – important public announcements sent directly to your mobile

When SE-Alert is launched in the summer of 2026, messages will be in Swedish. Later in 2026, mobile phones set to other languages will receive the messages in English.

• The emergency services, the police or other government agencies, such as the Swedish Transport Administration, request a VMA by contacting SOS-Alarm. The message is drafted in collaboration with Radio Sweden and sent out.
• If SE-Alert is selected as the channel to use, your smartphone or smartwatch will detect whether you are in the relevant area.
• Your mobile phone will give out a loud warning alarm for 10 seconds, vibrate, and you will receive a text message explaining what has happened and what to do. Follow these instructions.

An Important Public Announcement (VMA) is used when a serious event has occurred that poses an immediate threat to life, health, property or the environment.

For example, in the event of:

• accidents and serious incidents, such as gas leaks or fires giving out toxic smoke
• severe disruptions to key societal functions, such as the fallout of radioactive substances or problems reaching the emergency number 112
• crisis management in the run-up to, or during, extraordinary events such as a dam failure or sabotage of drinking water supply.

Yes, all mobile phones within the relevant area will receive an SE-Alert. Please talk to your child about what a VMA is, what it sounds like, what it looks like and how to act. The most important thing is to stay calm, read the message and follow the instructions.

SE-Alert is an additional channel to the existing methods of issuing VMA alerts; it does not replace existing channels. You can still receive a VMA alert as you did before – for example, via radio, TV, apps and other channels.

To receive VMA via SE-Alert, you need to:

• have a compatible smartphone updated with the latest software
• be connected to the mobile network
• be located in the area covered by a public warning message.

The following mobile phone models are compatible:

• iPhone from Apple, version 11 or later.
• Mobile phones using Android from Google, version 12 or later. This also includes Android Go, version 13 or later.

If you think someone close to you with a smartphone or smartwatch might find it difficult to understand the information, or might find the warning alarm new and frightening – please do talk to them in advance. Please use our information sheet which explains what happens in simple terms, what an SE-Alert is, and how their mobile phone will react.