Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threats to the safety of life and property, the CRTC requires wireless service providers to distribute alerts on all compatible wireless devices connected to an LTE or 5G network in the target area. Therefore, it is not possible to opt out of receiving the alerts. Unlike radio and television broadcasting, which often has broad areas of coverage, wireless public alerting is geo-targeted and can be very specific to a limited area of coverage. As a result, if an emergency alert reaches your wireless device, you are located in an area where there is an imminent danger. Consult this webpage for more information.
In general, the alerts respect the settings of your compatible wireless device. For example, a compatible wireless device that is set to silent will display an emergency alert, but will not play the alert tone. The emergency alert sound will usually play at whatever the current volume setting is on the wireless device. If your wireless device is set to silent, no sound will accompany the emergency alert message. However, this can differ depending on your wireless device and in some instances the alert sound may override your user settings. Please contact your telecom service provider to discuss your settings.