There are certain scenarios where your self-isolation countdown timer may have started but you may not have received an alert. If you or someone using your phone has entered coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms using the ‘Check symptoms’ feature of the app, the self-isolation countdown timer may start. In this scenario, the app would advise you to self-isolate whilst you book a coronavirus test, but no alert will be sent.
If you get a positive coronavirus test result and did not book your test through the app, when you enter your test result in the app, your self-isolation countdown timer will start straight away. This will start without sending you a notification.
However, if your phone has been in close contact with another app user’s phone who has tested positive for coronavirus, then you should receive an alert on your phone which would start the self-isolation countdown timer. Read more about the alerts and notifications the app may send you.
To make sure that you're getting notifications, check the app to make sure that contact tracing is switched on. To do this:
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Open the NHS COVID-19 app on your phone
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Scroll to the bottom of the home screen
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Check that the toggle for Contact tracing is switched on
After completing these steps, you'll see that the home screen of your app will say “Your app is active and scanning” below the green, pulsing circle.
When you've confirmed that contact tracing is switched on in your app, check your phone’s notification settings to make sure the NHS COVID-19 app can send you notifications.