Hari’s Roar: Israelis complain about the stressful warning but it will not change

The Home Front Command also received thousands of complaints about the loudness of the jarring noise, with a request to change it or at least lower the volume a little, which frightens animals, babies as well as post-traumatic adults and the elderly.

As mentioned, the warning method in question is based on Cell Broadcast technology. Unlike the familiar SMS messages, this system works almost like a radio transmitter: the home command sends the message directly to the cellular antennas in a specific area, and they “bomb” all the devices in the reception range at the same time. The system goes directly to the communication processor of the device and bypasses the operating system, which allows it to reach you even during times of extreme load on the networks.

Why is the sound so shrill and unmitigated? The answer lies in the international standard of warning systems (WEA). The sound is a fixed frequency psychoacoustically designed so that no one can ignore it. The manufacturers Apple and Google block the possibility of turning down the sound to prevent human error – a situation where a person turned down the device by mistake and missed a life-saving warning. In Israel, the alerts are defined at the highest level (Extreme Threats) where international law requires them to be played at maximum volume while bypassing the “please do not disturb” or “vibrate” situations.

In conclusion: the shrill warning will remain with us, we hope for no more than a few more days. You can cancel it completely, but it’s really not recommended. In the end, the power of the warning and the possibility that it even exists, simply saves lives.