A future technology being developed in Estonia that delivers public warnings quickly and reliably straight to smartphones, even when the mobile network is down or the phone is on silent. It is based on 5G Broadcast, which uses the broadcast network instead of the mobile network.

Probably not yet. The signal can be received by some Android phones that have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or newer chip, support band n71 (E40/E41, 626–634 MHz) and have 5G Broadcast support enabled. iPhones do not currently support it in Estonia at all. Wide support requires phone manufacturers to enable it on models sold in Europe.

Some phone models can already receive the test network signal. You may receive an alert even outside the danger area set for the test, because not all features work on all devices yet. Models that may receive a test alert include:

• Motorola Razr+ 2023 (US), Edge 50 Fusion, Edge 50 Ultra, Razr 50 Ultra, G Power 2025 (US)
• OnePlus 10 Pro, 10T, 11 5G, 13R (US)
• Samsung Galaxy S25+ (US), Xiaomi 13, Nothing Phone 3
• Google Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7, Sony Xperia V, Fairphone 5

Please let us know at pocketsiren@levira.com.

No. Alerts use the phone’s built-in emergency alert feature. No SIM card, mobile data or app is needed.

The highest-level national alert (EU-Alert level 1) went off in the tests regardless of the phone’s sound settings. On the tested phones, lower levels follow the sound profile: in silent mode the alert appears on screen but may not make a sound.

In the Pärnu test all three scenarios were location-accurate: the phone showed the alert when it was inside a danger area with a radius of 480–830 m. Determining the location takes up to 5 seconds. The effect of a weak GPS signal and indoor conditions will be tested further.

Mostly yes. In May 2026, 13 shopping centres in and around Tallinn were measured, and the Pocket Siren signal was detected at 79.3% of measurement points. Thick walls and areas deep inside buildings may need gap-filler transmitters.

The test network partly covers Harju, Pärnu, Järva, Ida-Viru, Lääne-Viru, Rapla, Viljandi and Tartu counties. See the coverage map on Coverage & planning.

According to a coverage model calibrated with drive tests, a 20-site network on Levira’s existing masts would cover about 96% of Estonia’s population and 84% of its land area with public warning (phone outdoors, 50% of locations). Coverage would be weaker in Võru, Valga and Viljandi counties. Today’s 5-site pilot network covers about 39% of the land area.

In the tests the same alert was shown again when the phone moved from one transmitter’s area to another. The cause was that the geographical scope of the test alerts was set to a single cell. If the scope is the whole 5G Broadcast network, the phone recognises the same alert as a repeat. The setting must be verified in a drive test before deployment.

No. It is a complementary channel that also works when the mobile network is overloaded or down.

The pilot’s closing event, Pocket Siren Forum, takes place on 22 October 2026, and the final report goes to the contracting authority. A national rollout depends on further decisions, regulation and phone support, and could be implemented from around 2030.

The project is commissioned by the Strategy Unit of the Government Office and funded under the European Union cohesion policy 2021–2027 measure “Increasing the innovation capacity of the public sector”.