Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, through the General Directorate of Civil Defense, has announced that activating the national emergency alert system on iPhones requires updating to the latest iOS 26.4 version. Lieutenant Colonel Yousef Al-Otaibi, Head of the Alarm Systems Department, highlighted this during a media briefing addressing recent developments amid Iranian aggression towards Kuwait.
He emphasized that updating the operating system is essential to enable the alert system and ensure users receive immediate and automatic notifications. Notably, the first live test of the national emergency alert system was conducted on Thursday, covering all mobile devices including Android and Huawei phones, alongside iPhones. Alerts were successfully delivered to numerous devices as part of the Ministry’s initiative to strengthen the country’s early warning capabilities.
Al-Otaibi advised users to verify their notification settings by navigating to the notifications menu and locating the “KWT Alert” section. Here, three options allow users to manage alert preferences. Importantly, the first option, “National Warning Alerts,” is activated automatically after the update and cannot be disabled, guaranteeing that critical warnings reach all users during emergencies, thereby enhancing public safety.
He further explained that this trial phase is designed to confirm the telecommunications infrastructure’s readiness through repeated testing, technical improvements, and system validation before the official rollout of the alert service.
