Pixel 6’s Severe Weather Alert Feature Mistakenly Warns the World About a Typhoon in the Philippines
Pixel users were surprised to find out that they received a severe weather alert last week that was intended only for residents of the Philippines. An error apparently caused Google to send out the warning to users across the globe, even though they were nowhere near the weather disturbance.
9to5Google is now reporting that the severe weather alert feature in the Pixel Launcher’s At a Glance widget has been disabled. When you check the At a Glance setting on your Android 12 device, you’ll notice that the Alerts toggle under Weather is now turned off. You can turn it on, but it’ll reportedly turn itself back off once you leave the page.
The issue is said to be also present on Pixel phones still running Android 11. However, instead of disabling the alert feature, Google seems to have taken it out entirely.
The site further adds that the issue appears to affect Pixel users worldwide. There have also been some reports about other brands’ devices similarly receiving the alert on their respective At a Glance widgets. So if you received the alert last week and are wondering why Google sent it, you’re not alone. It’s not quite clear yet though what caused the error and if it has anything to do with why the weather alert feature is now disabled.
Google sources At a Glance’s weather alerts from your country’s own local weather forecasting agencies and bureau. This explains why the alert that you may have received previously said that it was issued by PAGASA, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.
At a Glance’s severe weather alert was first introduced in late 2020, but it was not until earlier this year that the feature was rolled out to more devices.
Google has yet to address the issue or release a fix. If you’re still getting alerts that aren’t meant for you, you can perhaps ignore it for now. Just remember that your country’s weather services will always appear together with the alert, letting you know immediately know if it’s for your country or someplace else.
