<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; ">I received this message on my phone this morning. Since there was no explanation, I had to look it up. Here's what I found:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); "><br></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); ">AT&T has rolled out a software update for iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and – in certain areas – iPhone 4 handsets, enabling</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); "> </span><a href="http://www.ctia.org/consumer_info/safety/index.cfm/AID/12082" style="text-decoration: none; ">Wireless Emergency Alerts</a><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); ">.</span></div><div><div id="singlentry" class=" full-justified" style="text-align: justify; overflow: hidden; "><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In a blog post announcing the software update, <a href="http://blogs.att.net/consumerblog/story/a7790136" style="text-decoration: none; ">the carrier explains</a>:</span></p><blockquote style="border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; background-image: url(http://appadvice-old-theme-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wptouch/core-images/quotes.png); text-align: left; margin: 5px 1px; background-position: 100% -2px; "><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">These are government-issued safety messages that include AMBER Alerts, emergency alerts – such as man-made or natural disasters, and Presidential alerts.</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Though Presidential alerts may not be disabled, iPhone users have the option of switching AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts off in the Notifications section of the built-in Settings app. Of course, doing this is not advised.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">AT&T continues:</span></p><blockquote style="border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; background-image: url(http://appadvice-old-theme-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wptouch/core-images/quotes.png); text-align: left; margin: 5px 1px; background-position: 100% -2px; "><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When the software update is delivered to your phone, you will see a message that states “Carrier Settings Update: new settings required for your device have been installed.”</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As mentioned above, though AT&T noted that the carrier update would be available for the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S only, in certain U.S. areas iPhone 4 users have also received the emergency alerts-enabling update.</span></p><p style="text-align: -webkit-auto; "><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The carrier update will be sent over-the-air (OTA) for iPhone users running iOS 6.1 or later. If you’re on an earlier version of Apple’s mobile operating system, AT&T’s update will be downloaded and installed when your handset is next connected to iTunes.</span></p></div></div></body></html>