You can disable Amber Alerts through Settings, but the process depends on which alerts you want to stop
Amber Alerts are emergency notifications sent by law enforcement when a child has been abducted. Your iPhone receives these as push notifications on your lock screen and home screen. You cannot turn off Amber Alerts completely — they are a public safety system — but you can silence them so they arrive without sound, or disable them on your lock screen while keeping them in Notification Center.
The confusion happens because Apple separates Amber Alerts from other emergency alerts (like weather warnings and public safety messages). You control them in different places, and the options are limited by design. This guide walks you through what you can actually change.
Key Takeaways
- Amber Alerts cannot be turned off entirely, but you can mute the sound and vibration so they arrive silently.
- Go to Settings > Notifications > Amber Alerts to change how the alert appears on your lock screen and whether it makes noise.
- Turning off "Allow Notifications" removes Amber Alerts from your lock screen but they still appear in Notification Center.
- If you want to disable all emergency alerts including Amber Alerts, go to Settings > Notifications > Government Alerts and turn off the toggle.
- Government Alerts is a single setting that controls Amber Alerts, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety Alerts together — you cannot disable only Amber Alerts this way.
How to mute Amber Alert sounds without disabling the alerts
This is the most common adjustment. The alert still arrives, but your phone will not make noise or vibrate. Open Settings on your home screen, then tap Notifications. Scroll down until you see Amber Alerts and tap it.
You will see a toggle for "Allow Notifications" at the top. Leave this on. Below that, find "Sounds" and tap it. Choose "None" from the list. This stops the alert sound. Then go back and look for "Vibration" — tap it and select "None" as well. Your Amber Alerts will now arrive silently on your lock screen.
How to remove Amber Alerts from your lock screen
If you want the alert to exist in your Notification Center but not interrupt your lock screen, go to Settings > Notifications > Amber Alerts again. Turn off the toggle next to "Allow Notifications." The alert will no longer appear on your lock screen or send a notification sound, but you can still see it if you open Notification Center by swiping down from the top of your screen.
This option is useful if you want to know about Amber Alerts without being startled by them while you are using your phone. The trade-off is that you have to remember to check Notification Center — the alert will not grab your attention.
How to disable all emergency alerts at once
If you want to turn off Amber Alerts along with other emergency notifications (weather warnings, public safety messages, and emergency alerts from the government), go to Settings > Notifications and scroll to the very bottom. You will see "Government Alerts." Tap it and turn off the toggle.
This single toggle controls three types of alerts: Amber Alerts, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety Alerts. You cannot disable only Amber Alerts this way — it is all or nothing. If you turn off Government Alerts, you will stop receiving all three types. This is a deliberate design choice by Apple to keep emergency information flowing to your phone.
Why you cannot fully disable Amber Alerts
Apple and other phone makers are required by law in the United States to support emergency alert systems. Amber Alerts are part of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, which also includes severe weather warnings and imminent threat alerts. The law does not allow manufacturers to let users turn off these alerts completely.
You can silence them, hide them from your lock screen, or disable the entire Government Alerts category, but you cannot selectively turn off only Amber Alerts while keeping other emergency alerts on. The system treats them as a group for legal and safety reasons.
What to do if Amber Alerts keep waking you at night
If the alerts are interrupting your sleep, the most practical solution is to use Do Not Disturb mode. Go to Settings > Focus and tap Do Not Disturb. Set a schedule for when you sleep, and the alerts will be silenced during those hours. You can also manually turn on Do Not Disturb before bed by swiping up from the bottom of your screen and tapping the Do Not Disturb icon.
Do Not Disturb will silence Amber Alerts along with calls, texts, and other notifications. When you wake up, the alerts will still be waiting in your Notification Center, so you will not miss them — they just will not interrupt your sleep. This is often more practical than changing the Amber Alert settings themselves.
Checking which version of iOS you have
The steps above work on iPhone running iOS 16 or later. If you have an older iPhone, the path to Amber Alert settings may be slightly different. To check your iOS version, go to Settings > General > About and look at the "Software Version" line.
If you are running iOS 15 or earlier, the Amber Alerts setting is still in Notifications, but the layout may differ slightly. The core idea is the same: find Amber Alerts in your Notifications settings and adjust the sound and vibration options. If you cannot find it, updating to the latest iOS version will make the settings match the steps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I turn off Amber Alerts but keep other emergency alerts?
No. The Government Alerts toggle controls Amber Alerts, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety Alerts as a single group. You cannot disable only Amber Alerts while keeping the others on. You can mute the sound and vibration, or hide them from your lock screen, but you cannot turn off the alert type itself without disabling all three.
Will turning off Amber Alerts affect 911 calls or emergency services?
No. Disabling Amber Alerts does not affect your ability to call 911 or receive emergency services. Amber Alerts are one-way notifications sent to your phone — they do not control how emergency services reach you or respond to your calls.
Why did I get an Amber Alert for a child abducted in another state?
Amber Alerts are broadcast to all phones in a region, not just those near the abduction. The alert system sends notifications based on geography, so you may receive alerts for areas you are traveling through or near. You cannot filter alerts by location on your iPhone.
If I turn off Government Alerts, will I still get weather warnings?
No. Turning off the Government Alerts toggle disables Amber Alerts, Emergency Alerts, and Public Safety Alerts, but severe weather warnings come through a different system. You can receive weather alerts from the Weather app or other weather services independently of Government Alerts.
Can I set different alert settings for different times of day?
Not for Amber Alerts specifically. You can use Focus modes (like Do Not Disturb or Sleep) to silence all notifications during certain hours, which will mute Amber Alerts along with everything else. But you cannot create a custom schedule that silences only Amber Alerts at night while keeping them on during the day.