# False "incoming missile alert" sent to Hawaii residents **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557 "2018-01-13T18:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/21 "2018-01-13T19:47:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Make America Goofy Again. > > The wife now thinks she did hear a sound from her phone at the time but ignored it. That was back in the bedroom, so I didn’t hear it at all since I’m in the living room. > > I wonder why I never get emergency alerts on my phone, but the wife does. It’s the same account, and her line is an adjunct to mine, which is the main line on the account. If you have an iPhone it’s something you have to turn on/off in settings\>notifications (all the way at the bottom) I turned mine off, so I guess I’ll be clueless until the emergency is on top of me. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/22 "2018-01-13T19:49:16Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > If you have an iPhone it’s something you have to turn on/off in settings\>notifications (all the way at the bottom) > > I turned mine off, so I guess I’ll be clueless until the emergency is on top of me. That’s it then. The wife has an iPhone, I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/23 "2018-01-13T19:51:21Z")
I wish that error had occurred in Washington DC instead of Oahu. I would love to see film of our fat ass president running for cover from the 5th tee, golf clubs flying, with the secret service dragging him along. That would be priceless. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/24 "2018-01-13T19:52:07Z")
I’m glad you’re O.K., **Siam Sam**. Even gladder to read how chill you’re taking all of this. Anyone ever hear of something similar happening with the EAS/EBS before? I don’t remember anything like it, though certainly NORAD’s had their share of false alarms in the past, and I remember hearing nuclear plant sirens (Diablo Canyon in CA) going off before, IIRC w/o warning. I just don’t remember a false “We’re all Gonna’ Die” message being sent through a whole State’s EAS before. I’m really glad this didn’t happen while the NY/Chicago markets were open, though I think they’d just pause trading while everyone tried to figure out what the hell was going on. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/25 "2018-01-13T19:53:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > The main thing I’m pissed off about is this has now pushed President Chump’s “shithole countries” controversy completely out of the news. Surely just a wacky coincidence. :rolleyes: (Cheezits, now _I’m_ doing the conspiracy nonsense. Strange times.) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/26 "2018-01-13T19:57:06Z")
“Hi! Hi, it’s me… wow, we had a good scare, didn’t we! Crazy. So, ah, you do know I was just kidding on that last call, right? Of _course_ I don’t think you’re any of those things… anyway, guess we’ll see each other at work on Monday, right? Hello? _Hello?_” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/27 "2018-01-13T20:00:12Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Also, apparently (according to CNN) Trump was on the golf course when this all went down. Well, at least he was near a bunker. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/28 "2018-01-13T20:00:18Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Well shit. Now no one is going to believe the real one. Just what the North Korean hackers are hoping for… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/29 "2018-01-13T20:03:42Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I wish that error had occurred in Washington DC instead of Oahu. I would love to see film of our fat ass president running for cover from the 5th tee, golf clubs flying, with the secret service dragging him along. That would be priceless. Except he was golfing in Florida at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/30 "2018-01-13T20:13:39Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Well, at least he was near a bunker. This joke is par for the course. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/31 "2018-01-13T20:18:06Z")
A former colleague and friend just retired to Hawaii. They were not happy, especially about the 38 minute delay in getting the all clear. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/32 "2018-01-13T20:19:00Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > …Anyone ever hear of something similar happening with the EAS/EBS before? I don’t remember anything like it, though certainly NORAD’s had their share of false alarms in the past, and I remember hearing nuclear plant sirens (Diablo Canyon in CA) going off before, IIRC w/o warning. > > I just don’t remember a false “We’re all Gonna’ Die” message being sent through a whole State’s EAS before… Hat tip to Tim Schell, but it looks like February 20, 1971 was the last time a fuck up in the EAS/EBS was this gargantuan. Article at DailyKos about that, [here](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/2/20/1365061/-The-Nuclear-Attack-That-Wasn-t-February-20-1971). FWIW, my understanding is that Hawaii is trying to update their warning system, revamp/reinstall their warning sirens, things like that, so I guess this isn’t totally unexpected. But man, not the sort of mistake you like to see. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/33 "2018-01-13T20:28:31Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > FWIW, my understanding is that Hawaii is trying to update their warning system, revamp/reinstall their warning sirens, things like that, so I guess this isn’t totally unexpected. But man, not the sort of mistake you like to see. Yes. At 11:45am on the first business day of each month, they test the tsunami warning system. They have recently – I think starting last month – added the old Cold War nuclear-attack siren in the test, immediately after the tsunami warning. The two sirens are different. The one for attack was last used I think in the 1980s and have not heard it myself yet, but I believe it’s a wavery sound. No sirens went off during this snafu. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/34 "2018-01-13T21:03:59Z")
They’re also saying the message came over all the TV stations. Well, maybe local channels, dunno. But as usual we had CNN turned on, and nothing came on the screen at the time. I feel sorry for the poor shlub who pressed the wrong button. I wonder if I’ll find him drowning his sorrows tonight in Honolulu Tavern. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/35 "2018-01-13T21:15:03Z")
CNN is saying we in Hawaii are all “recovering” from the false alarm. They’re talking about the “panic” and “frenzy” that occurred. Here where I live, we’re all scratching our heads and going, “What the fuck??” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/36 "2018-01-13T21:17:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They’re also saying the message came over all the TV stations. Well, maybe local channels, dunno. But as usual we had CNN turned on, and nothing came on the screen at the time. > > I feel sorry for the poor shlub who pressed the wrong button.\*\* I wonder if I’ll find him drowning his sorrows tonight in Honolulu Tavern.\*\* If I were him, I would be very careful not to tell anyone why I was there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/37 "2018-01-13T21:19:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > If I were him, I would be very careful not to tell anyone why I was there. 😃 Nah, I’d buy the poor guy a beer. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/38 "2018-01-13T21:19:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They’re also saying the message came over all the TV stations. Well, maybe local channels, dunno. But as usual we had CNN turned on, and nothing came on the screen at the time. > > I feel sorry for the poor shlub who pressed the wrong button. I wonder if I’ll find him drowning his sorrows tonight in Honolulu Tavern. Better the button that falsely alerted about the missiles than the button that actually launched them. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/39 "2018-01-13T21:31:49Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Better the button that falsely alerted about the missiles than the button that actually launched them. That’s the big red button next to the big red button that brews coffee. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557/40 "2018-01-13T21:43:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > If you hear on the news, like I already have, that the message came over every single phone in Hawaii, that is simply not true. Nothing on mine. Come to think of it, I never get the flood or other alerts either. The Powers That Be want me dead. At least on Androids (service provider AT&T), there are four levels of alerts, from AMBER alerts (missing kids), through Severe alerts, Extreme alerts, up to Presidential alerts. And you can turn off AMBER, Severe, and Extreme alerts (elect not to get them). On Presidential alerts, the option to disable them is grayed out\*. Since this was from the State of Hawaii, it presumably was NOT a “Presidential alert” (maybe an “Extreme” alert?). So, **Siam Sam** may just have (most) alerts disabled. \*Which is an argument right there for not taking away Trump’s Twitter privileges. I can just imagine him spamming all our smartphones with poorly written “Presidential alerts” (Presidential alert: More FAKE NEWS!!! SAD!), probably in the wee hours of the morning, all of them making that End-of-the-world “Emergency Broadcast” sound effect–and we’d have no way to even turn the damn things off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/false-incoming-missile-alert-sent-to-hawaii-residents/806557.md?page=3)