What are Wireless Emergency Alerts/CMAS?
Wireless Emergency Alerts
(WEA), also known as
CMAS, is a part of a national
alerting system called
IPAWS (Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System)
that enables emergency
management officials to
rapidly disseminate the
warnings and safety
information via text alerts to
wireless phones based on the
phones’ geographic location, The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is
responsible for receiving the alerting information and forwarding the alerts to
participating wireless carriers such as Sprint. Such alerts may come from the President of
the United States; the National Weather Service, state or county public safety officials.
This system is integrated into the same national alerting services that serve television and
radio today. For more information regarding WEA/CMAS please go to: FEMA website.
Are WEA messages secure and trust worthy?
Yes. All messages are sent from public safety entities that have been certified by their
State government and the Department of Homeland Security as having responsibilities
relating to the types of messages and geography they are allowed to send.
What entities will be sending WEAs?
WEAs will be delivered to FEMA by authorized State and local public safety/emergency
agencies; by the National Weather Service and other authorized federal public
safety/emergency agencies; and by the President of the United States. FEMA will, in
turn, deliver such messages to all wireless carriers that have elected to provide WEAs and
that have been authorized to connect to the FEMA facility through which the messages
are sent.
What do WEA messages cost?
WEA messages are free. They are a public service brought to you by Sprint in
cooperation with Federal, State, and local public safety agencies.
Are WEA messages the same as SMS text message?
No. SMS text messages are sent directly to from a sender to a specific receiving phone,
regardless of where on the Sprint Nationwide Network the phone is physically located.
WEA messages are sent to a specific geography and broadcast to all WEA capable
phones that are on the Sprint Nationwide Network and within the boundaries of the
intended message area.
Are Wireless Emergency Alerts/CMAS available on all devices?
No. WEA messages require capabilities that are only available on select Sprint phones.
Sprint plans to have all future phones support this capability.
What Sprint phones are WEA capable?
Select phones sold prior to July 2011, with all phones coming to market in or after July
2011 being WEA capable.
What Boost phones are WEA capable?
Select phones sold prior to January 2012, with all phones coming to market in or after January
2012 being WEA capable.
What are the different types of WEA alerts?
There are 3 different types of Alerts.
1. Presidential Alerts – This kind of alert can only be sent by the President of the U.S.
2. Imminent Threat – This kind of alert is broken down into 2 levels: Extreme and
Severe. Examples of this type of alert might be a weather alert or a chemical spill.
3. AMBER Alerts – America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. AMBER
alerts will now also be sent as WEA.
Can I opt out of WEA Alerts?
You can opt out of all message types, with the exception of Presidential Alerts. Federal
Law requires that all WEA capable phones be able to receive Presidential Alerts.
How do I opt-out of alerts?
If the WEA/CMAS client is turned on, go to messaging options. Under messaging
options, you remove the check marks for the message types you wish to opt out of.
If the WEA/CMAS client is not turned on, no messages will be displayed on the phone.
How does Sprint know whether to send me an alert?
WEA are delivered based upon geography and are not sent to specific phones. If you are
physically located in an area where a WEA message is intended to be delivered your
phone will automatically receive and display the message.
Is GPS used to determine my location for alerts?
No. WEA messages are not delivered to specific phones, so there is no need to know
your phone’s location. WEA messages are broadcast into a specific impacted geography.
Any WEA capable phone that is located in the broadcast area and on the Sprint network
will receive and display the message.
Can I receive WEA anywhere on the Sprint Nationwide Wireless Network?
Sprint has enabled WEA nationwide on the Sprint Nationwide Wireless Network, with
the exception of Puerto Rico. Sprint plans to enable Puerto Rico in the near future.
When will my local public safety entities start sending messages?
While Sprint has enabled WEA to be available anywhere on the Sprint Nationwide
Wireless Network, Sprint does not control when local and Federal agencies begin sending
messages. Please go to the FEMA website at FEMA website or contact your local public
safety agency for more information on when they will be participating.
What if I travel into an impacted emergency area after an alert was sent?
Every WEA has an expiration date/time. Sprint will resend the wireless alert every 5
minutes until the WEA has expired, so even if you travel into an area designated for a
WEA after it was originally sent you will still receive the alert. Even though Sprint
rebroadcasts the WEA every 5 minutes, your device will only display a WEA once.
How do I tell the difference between a WEA message and a regular text message?
Due to the importance of WEA to public safety, WEA has a distinct vibration cadence
and audio tone that are different than you can choose for a regular text message. The
audio tone is very similar to what you have heard when emergency alerts are broadcast
on television and radio.
WEA also are distinguished in the messaging inbox with a distinctive alert icon which
visually defines it as an important WEA.
Will I receive a WEA message if I am roaming?
Receipt of a WEA message is dependent on the participation of the wireless carrier. If your
WEA capable phone is roaming on the network of a participating wireless carrier, you will
receive the alert.