What are Critical Alerts?
Standard push notifications are silenced when your phone is in Do Not Disturb or Focus mode. Critical alerts bypass this, to ensure you are notified during the most urgent, life-safety incidents.
When a Critical Alert is issued, it:
- Bypasses Do Not Disturb and Focus mode
- Plays Watch Duty's enhanced notification sound even when your device is on silent
- Delivers at full volume regardless of your volume settings
These alerts are infrequent by design. Watch Duty estimates it would have used Critical Alerts for approximately 4 incidents during the entire 2025 fire season.
How to enable Critical Alerts
New users
After enabling standard push notifications during onboarding, you'll be prompted to enable Critical Alerts as a second step. We recommend enabling both.
Existing users
.
If you didn't see a prompt already, you can enable Critical Alerts at any time:
- Open the Watch Duty app
- Go to Notifications settings
- Enable Critical Alerts
You can also go to iOS Settings → Watch Duty → Notifications to manage this preference.
Note: A test Critical Alert is available from the Notifications settings page after completing a standard notification test.
Frequently asked questions
Is opting in required to receive critical alerts? Yes. Critical Alerts are opt-in only. If you haven't enabled them, you will still receive the notification as a standard push notification— it just won't bypass your device's silent or Do Not Disturb settings.
Can I receive all Watch Duty notifications as Critical Alerts? No. Watch Duty's Reporting team decides which incidents are serious enough to warrant a Critical Alert. This is by design — the feature is reserved for genuinely urgent situations.
How often will I receive a Critical Alert? Very rarely. These are reserved for the most serious, time-sensitive situations — for example, a fast-moving overnight ignition with imminent evacuations.
Can I turn Critical Alerts off? Yes, at any time. Go to the Watch Duty app Notifications settings page, or iOS Settings → Watch Duty → Notifications.
What app version do I need? App version 2026.4.1 or later. If you're on an older version, update from the App Store and then enable Critical Alerts through the Notifications settings page.
Is this available on Android? Not currently. Critical Alerts are an Apple iOS feature. Android support is not on the near-term roadmap.
Need help?
If you're not receiving notifications as expected, make sure you're on app version 2026.4.1 or later and that Critical Alerts are enabled in both the Watch Duty app and your iOS settings.