The BadgerSAFE app is a great, one-stop shop for all things safety-related at UWPD. It’s an excellent resource for our community and is the primary way we alert our community about specific emergencies happening in nearby off-campus locations. Learn more about Off-Campus Emergency Alerts here.
Over the last several weeks, we’ve received a few reports from community members who weren’t getting Off-Campus Emergency Alerts through the BadgerSAFE app. After looking into these reports, we discovered that some phones are automatically “hibernating” apps (and their notifications) if they haven’t been opened in a while. This can also happen when the device is in low power mode or has battery optimization settings turned on.
To make sure you never miss an alert, here are a few quick things to check:
Reasons You May Not Receive Notifications
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Your phone is in Do Not Disturb mode
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Your phone is in Low Power Mode
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Notifications are turned off — either in your phone’s settings, the app, or both
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The BadgerSAFE app needs to be updated
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The app hasn’t been opened recently
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Your phone’s software is out of date
How to Test Your Notifications
You can send yourself a test notification right from the BadgerSAFE app:
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Open the BadgerSAFE app
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Go to About/Preferences → Notification Settings
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Tap the text at the bottom that says “Trouble receiving notifications? Tap here to launch our troubleshooter.”
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In the new window that appears, select “Send Notification to Device”
If you don’t receive a test notification:
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Double-check that notifications are enabled in both your phone settings and the BadgerSAFE app
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Try deleting and reinstalling the app, then testing again
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If you’re still having issues, contact us at em@uwpd.wisc.edu
Stay Connected. Stay Informed.
BadgerSAFE is more than just an alert app — it’s your one-stop resource for safety information, campus contacts, and emergency updates. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, just open your phone’s app store and search “BadgerSAFE”.