Mobile phone users have been urged to be aware and not to panic, as the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation is scheduled to conduct a nationwide test of its cell broadcast alert system on Tuesday, 20 January 2026, at 2.00 PM.
Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Teerapat Kutchamath said that, during the nationwide test in the form of a national alert, a message would be sent to millions of mobile phone users across all 76 provinces and Bangkok.
At that time, mobile phones will emit an alert tone and display an automatic message for about eight seconds, even if the device is on silent mode, locked, or set to vibrate. The test message in both Thai and English will read, "This is a test message from Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), not a real situation. No action required."
No links will be included in this message, which will automatically disappear after it is displayed. Only mobile phones with iOS version 18 and higher and Android version 11 and higher will receive the cell broadcast alert.
The department is giving this advance notice to the public in order to prevent confusion and panic before the use of this system in real emergencies.
Mr. Teerapat said that the department, through its Thailand National Disaster Warning Center, has been working closely with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and mobile network operators in developing the cell broadcast alert system.
In 2025, three phases of testing were conducted at building, district, and provincial levels. The first phase was carried out on 2 May and the second one on 7 May, and the third and largest test was conducted on 13 May.
Since then, the system has been used in real situations, such as the flooding in the North and the South, security incidents related to the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, and health risk warnings from PM 2.5 dust pollution.
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