Set the alarm on my iphone

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How to Set a Song as an iPhone Alarm

Wake up and go to sleep to your favorite songs

Updated on April 17, 2022

What to Know

• Add music to alarm: Tap Clock app > Alarm > Plus (+) (or Edit > select alarm). Enter a time > tap Sound > pick a song.
• Set timer to stop music: Tap Clock app > Timer > set time length > When Timer Ends > Stop Playing > Set.
• Your Apple alarm clock only works with songs that are saved in the Music app on your iPhone.

This article explains how to set an alarm with music on iPhone iOS 6 and above, and how to set a timer to stop playing music on iPhone iOS 12 and above.

How to Add Music to an iPhone Alarm

Setting an alarm with music is done differently than setting ringtones on an iPhone. To make a music alarm, select the Clock app.

1. In the Clock app, select Alarm from the bottom menu bar.

2. Select the plus (+) sign to set up a new alarm.

   Or, to edit an existing alarm, tap Edit in the upper-left corner, then select the alarm to add music.

3. Select Sound. Then, under Songs, tap Pick a song.

4. From your Library, choose the song you want to set as the alarm sound.

5. In the upper-left corner, select Back, then select Save in the upper-right corner.

Set Up the Timer to Stop Music

The Clock app has a Stop Playing feature that automatically turns off any music, video clip, TV show, etc., that’s playing on your iPhone. Start the Stop Playing timer, then turn on your music and doze off to your favorite tunes, confident that your iPhone will turn off the music when you want it to.

1. On the iPhone home screen, open the Clock app.

2. Choose Timer in the lower-right corner.

3. Use the two virtual spin wheels to set the countdown timer to play music. For example, to play the music for an hour, set the time to 1 hour.

4. Select When Timer Ends.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and choose Stop Playing. Then, select Set in the upper-right corner to save your choice.

6. Go to the app where your music is, and start playing it.

7. Return to the Clock app and select Timer. Then, select Start to activate the timer.

8. The music stops playing automatically after the time you set elapses.

You must switch When Timer Ends back to a tone if you need to use your timer for other purposes and want to hear it go off.

Can’t Find the Right Alarm Clock Song?

Your personal Apple alarm clock only works with songs that are saved to your phone in the iPhone Music app. Unfortunately, this means you can’t set the iPhone alarm music to something from Spotify, Pandora, or other music streaming apps.

To make a specific song your alarm on iPhone, use Apple Music to purchase the song or sync your iPhone with your computer to transfer the song from iTunes to the iPhone.

You can also download free ringtones and make your own iPhone ringtones to use as custom alarm clock sounds.

How to Fix an iPhone Alarm That’s Not Working

FAQ

• How do I make a Spotify song my alarm on iPhone?

  You’ll need a third-party app and Spotify Premium to use a Spotify song as an alarm on your iPhone. For example, download the Alarm Clock for Spotify iPhone app. In the app, sign in to Spotify, go to the Alarms section, select Add, and choose a Spotify alarm song for your iPhone.

• How do I make a song my alarm on Android?

  On an Android device, open the Clock app, tap Alarm, and tap your current alarm sound to change it. Tap Add New and navigate to a song you’ve downloaded on your Android device. If you have YouTube Music, Pandora, or Spotify, you’ll have the option to choose songs from these services.

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In a perfect world, no one would have to worry about what time they get up, and everyone could just sleep however long they want to. But of course, the reality is far from that. We all need to set alarms to make sure that we get up on time for work, school, appointments, or even a full day at Disneyland. But no one uses an actual alarm clock anymore, right? Those are considered relics these days, especially since we’re all equipped with current iPhones and iPads.

Your best iPhone or iPad comes with a built-in Clock app, which allows you to set and manage an unlimited number of alarms as you need them. Here’s how to set alarms on iPhone and iPad.

How to set alarms on iPhone or iPad

1. Launch the Clock app.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second icon from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.

1. Tap on the + icon to add a new alarm.
2. Swipe up and down on the picker to select hour, minutes, and AM or PM.
3. Tap Save on the top right of your screen.

Your newly created alarm will now appear on the Alarm screen and is automatically turned on. Using your iPhone with iOS 15 as an alarm clock to wake you from your beauty sleep is an extremely common practice. The alarm will still sound loud and proud if your phone is on silent mode or even Do Not Disturb mode, ensuring you can rest easy knowing you will be woken up on time. Fair warning, though, we cannot guarantee you will wake up on the right side of the bed!

How to turn on an alarm on your iPhone or iPad

When you set a new alarm, it will automatically be turned on, but it will turn off once an alarm has sounded. If you want to use it again, you will have to manually turn it back on.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second icon from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap the switch next to the alarm you want to turn on. Green is on.

How to turn off an alarm on your iPhone or iPad

When you set a new alarm, it will automatically be turned on, but that does not mean you have to wait till it rings to turn it off. Alarms can be turned off at any time you desire.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap the On/Off switch on the alarm you want to turn off. It’s the white circle on the right side of your screen. If it’s off, it’s gray.

How to set a repeating alarm on your iPhone or iPad

Do you wake up every day at the same time? Have a weekly appointment you need to keep? Setting a repeating alarm takes away the stress of forgetting to turn on your alarm every time you need it. Just set it and forget it!

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second icon from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.

1. Tap the + button on the top right of your screen.
2. Swipe up and down on the pickers to choose a time and AM/PM.
3. Tap Repeat. It’s the first item below the time.

1. Tap on the day or days of the week on which you want the alarm to repeat.
2. Tap the Back button. It’s located in the top left corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Save button. It’s located in the top right corner of your screen.

You can also set an alarm to repeat by editing an existing alarm.

How to edit an alarm time on your iPhone or iPad

Your boss calls you to tell you that you can come into the office late tomorrow. After fist pumping furiously for the appropriate amount of time to celebrate your incredible luck, you are going to want to push back that 5 AM alarm you usually use to a more reasonable time.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.

1. Tap on the Alarm you want to change.
2. Swipe up and down on the pickers to set the hours, minutes, and AM/PM to reflect the new time you want your alarm to ring.
3. Tap the Save button. It’s located in the top right corner of your screen.

There you have it. Now you can wake up at a more reasonable time. You can also use these steps to change any other settings associated with that alarm, such as the label, sound, the ability to snooze the alarm, and even if it repeats.

How to label an alarm on your iPhone or iPad

You can name your alarms so that a message will pop up when they sound off. Labeling your alarms is a great way to remind yourself of things. If you want to set an alarm to remind you to take medication at a specific time or to catch your favorite show on TV, labeling your alarms is a great way to get your attention.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap on the alarm you want to re-label.

1. Tap on the Label button.
2. Use the keyboard to delete the default label.
3. Type in your desired label.
4. Tap the Done button, the blue button in the bottom right corner of your keyboard.
5. Tap Save in the top right corner.

You can also choose to label an alarm as your setting it.

How to change the alarm sound on your iPhone or iPad

Apple has preloaded the best iPad and iPhone with a bunch of alarm sounds to choose from; the only real question is what sound to choose?

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap on the Alarm you want to sound different.

1. Tap Sound.
2. Swipe up or down to find the sound you want.
3. Tap on the sound you want. This will also preview the sound you selected.
4. Tap on the Back button. It’s located in the top left corner of your screen.
5. Tap Save in the top right corner.

How to set a custom alarm sound on your iPhone or iPad

If the built-in alarm sounds just aren’t up to your standards, you can easily change your alarm sound to a song. So not only will you wake up on time but will also wake up singing and dancing.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap on the Alarm you want to sound different.

1. Tap Sound.
2. Scroll up to the top of the list.
3. Tap Pick a song.
4. Tap a search option:
   • Albums
   • Artists
   • Songs
   • Music Videos
   • Genres
   • Composers
   • Compilations
   • Playlists

1. Tap the song you want to use as your alarm.
2. Tap the Back button.
3. Tap Save in the top right corner.

You can choose any song that you have purchased or synced onto your device as an alarm tone. Unfortunately, you can’t pick music streaming from Apple Music for a custom alarm tone.

How to stop or snooze an alarm on your iPhone or iPad

Your alarm is blaring as loud as it can — it’s time for you to stumble out of bed and join the land of the living. If you don’t want your alarm to be screaming all day long, or want to silence it and get back to your peaceful slumber, here is how you can turn it off. The steps are slightly different depending on if your phone is locked or not, so we will show you both ways.

How to turn off a ringing alarm on the Lock screen

• Tap Stop.

How to turn off an alarm while using your iPhone or iPad

If you’re in another app, your alarm will still sound and appear as a banner at the top of your screen.

• Tap the alarm banner.

How to snooze a ringing alarm on your iPhone or iPad on the Lock screen

• Tap on Snooze.

Note that you cannot snooze an alarm if it goes off while you’re not on your Lock screen.

How to delete an alarm on your iPhone or iPad

Although you can set as many alarms as you want, it’s probably a good idea to delete them once you don’t need them anymore to avoid unnecessary clutter.

1. Launch the Clock app from your Home screen
2. Tap on the Alarm tab. It’s the second tab from the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like an alarm clock.
3. Tap Edit on the top left of your screen.

1. Tap the delete button next to the alarm you want to delete. It looks like a red circle with a subtraction symbol in it. You could also swipe left on an alarm to bring up this button faster.
2. Tap Delete.

Now you don’t have to keep around all those old alarms which will save you time searching through a bunch of useless clutter.

Your iPhone or iPad is the best alarm clock

Since it’s with you no matter where you go, and you probably charge it by your bed each night, your iPhone is perhaps the best device to use as an alarm clock. It’s easy to set an alarm, choose the days and times you want it to go off, customize the alarm sound, and more from within the built-in Clock app, so you never have to worry about being late again.

Updated May 2022: All steps are still current with the latest versions of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.

Our news, reviews, opinions, and easy to follow guides can turn any iPhone owner into an Apple aficionado

Christine Romero-Chan was formerly a Senior Editor for iMore. She has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade at a variety of websites. She is currently part of the Digital Trends team, and has been using Apple’s smartphone since the original iPhone back in 2007. While her main speciality is the iPhone, she also covers Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac when needed.

When she isn’t writing about Apple, Christine can often be found at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as she is a passholder and obsessed with all things Disney, especially Star Wars. Christine also enjoys coffee, food, photography, mechanical keyboards, and spending as much time with her new daughter as possible.

This simple tutorial will show you all the ways you can set, edit, and manage alarms on your iPhone or iPad.

Create an alarm

Ask Siri

Simply invoke Siri on your iPhone or iPad and ask it something like: Set the alarm for 5:30 AM.

Important: Siri can’t set an alarm that’s more than one day ahead. It can only set alarms for the next 24 hours. You wouldn’t be able to tell it to set an alarm for next week, for example.

Once Siri gives a positive confirmation, check to ensure the set alarm time is correct. Sometimes due to background sound, lack of clarity in your voice command, or Siri’s failure to properly understand various accents, it may completely mess up what you wanted it to do. So, always double-check.

Use the Clock app

Here’s how to set an alarm on your iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Clock app and tap Alarm.
2. Hit the plus button (+) from the top right.
3. Move the hour and minute sliders of the time picker to set the desired time. Make sure to choose AM and PM correctly. To enter a time manually, tap the time picker, and it’ll bring up a number pad keyboard.
4. If you want this alarm to repeat every day or on specific days of the week, tap Repeat and choose Every Sunday, Every Monday, up to Every Saturday. When done, tap <Back.
5. Label lets you set the alarm name. For example, you can add Morning, Office, Feed Dog, or anything relevant.
6. The Sound option allows you to set the alarm tone. Tap it and pick a ringtone for your alarm. You can also select a song from the Music app as your alarm tone. To make alarms effective, it’s best to pick a loud, irritating sound so that you’re incited to wake up and turn off the alarm every morning! With the sound picked, tap <Back.
7. You can keep Snooze enabled or disabled. If it’s on, you’ll see a Snooze button when the alarm rings. If you tap it or press the Side button, the alarm will go silent for 9 minutes and then ring again.
8. Once again, check the alarm time, and with everything in order, hit the Save button from the top right. You’ll now see your added alarm.

Set up multiple alarms

All alarms you ask Siri to create or add manually are listed inside the Clock app.

You can set multiple alarms on your iPhone. So, if you have difficulty waking up, feel free to add two or more alarms at regular intervals. For example, one alarm can be 6:00 AM; another can be 6:05 AM or 6:15 AM; and so on.

Limit on the number of alarms

iPhone limits you to 200 Lock Screens, but there is no such practical limit for alarms. You can set as many alarms as you want. Each alarm can be one minute apart.

What happens if I set two alarms for the same time?

Let’s say you set two alarms for 6 AM. When it’s 6 AM, your iPhone will only sound one alarm.

Turn off alarm

When the alarm rings

When an alarm rings on your iPhone or iPad, tap Stop. This alarm won’t ring again unless:

• It’s a recurring alarm, in which case it’ll ring again at the same time on the picked days, or
• You go to the Clock app and turn this alarm back on.

Anytime you like

If you don’t want an alarm to notify you, go to the Clock app > Alarm and turn off the switch for an alarm. When you do that, the green button changes to gray.

You can also invoke Siri and ask it to ‘turn off my 7 AM alarm‘ or ‘turn off my 12 58 PM alarm.’ Make sure to say the exact time.

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Must see: How to set your iPhone to automatically play music when you stop the morning alarm

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Change alarm time

Need an alarm for a different time? You can simply turn off an existing alarm and create a new one. Or, if you have already set a name, repeated days, tone, vibration, etc., and don’t want to go through that again, here’s how to edit an existing alarm time:

1. Open the iPhone or iPad Clock app and go to the Alarm tab.
2. Tap an existing alarm you want to make changes to.
3. Set the new time and hit Save.

Change alarm volume

Increasing or decreasing your alarm volume is very simple, as it’s tied to your iPhone’s ringtone and text tone volume. We explain this in a separate brief tutorial.

Delete an alarm

Call Siri and ask it to ‘delete my 5 AM alarm.’

To manually get rid of one, follow these steps:

1. Go inside the Clock app and tap Alarm.
2. Swipe left on an alarm and tap Delete.
3. You can also tap Edit > red minus button > Delete.

Alarm not sounding on iPhone

Is your alarm not going off or not sounding? Here are all the required solutions to fix this issue.

FAQs

How do I know if my iPhone is set to ring an alarm?

You’ll see a tiny alarm icon in the iPhone Control Center when an alarm is scheduled to ring. On iPhones with a Home button, you’ll also see the alarm icon on the top status bar.

For how long an alarm rings if left unattended?

When an iPhone alarm rings, it’ll keep blaring continuously for 15 minutes.

We talk more about it in this post.

Can I change the alarm Snooze from 9 minutes to something else?

You can’t change the alarm snooze period on iPhone. It’s hardcoded to 9 minutes. To circumvent this, you can set two or more alarms that are 5, 15, or any number of minutes apart.

What is ‘Sleep|Wake Up’ at the top of the iPhone alarm screen?

At the top of the Alarm tab inside the Clock app, you’ll see a bed icon with Sleep|Wake Up next to it. This is the wake-up and sleep time you set as your bedtime Sleep Schedule.

Should I use third-party alarm apps?

The App Store has several great alarm apps. But in my opinion, the built-in Apple Clock app is enough for most people. In case you have a specific requirement that isn’t fulfilled by the iOS Clock app, you can look for a third-party alternative. However, make sure you don’t quit that alarm app or put your phone in silent mode. If you do, third-party alarm apps won’t work.

Related tips:

• How to set a vibrate-only alarm or timer that makes no sound on iPhone
• How to set and manage alarms on Apple Watch
• How to set an alarm on Mac
• How to set and manage alarms on HomePod

Posted in How To by Patricia on October 13, 2020

A less popular change in iOS 14 is the Clock app redesign. The wheel picker used for setting time and configuring alarms isn’t the focal point of the interface anymore. The new version, although simplified, can be somewhat confusing. So, let’s take a look at how to add a new iPhone alarm in iOS 14 and everything else related to it.

Alarm Icon In Control Center

First, make sure that you have quick access to the stock Alarm app.
How To: Open Settings and scroll for Control Center. Make sure that the Alarm icon is in the Included Controls list.
Else, tap the green ‘+’ icon to add it to the list. Next, drag & drop it to the desired location.

Add Clock Widget To Home Screen

iOS 14 doesn’t come with a native Alarm widget. You can use the Clock glance instead. This provides a one tap access to the Clock app. From there you can tap the Alarm tab, in the bottom menu and you can start adding or editing your iPhone alarms.
How To: Long-press on the Home Screen. Tap the ‘+’ icon, in the top-left corner of the screen. Scroll for the Clock widget, select the desired size and tap on Add Widget. Drag it to the desired location on your Home Screen and tap Done.

How To Add New iPhone Alarm

To set an iPhone alarm you have to open the Alarm app, using one of the ways described above and then:

• 1. Tap the orange ‘+’ icon, available in the top-right corner of the screen.
• 2. Set the alarm Time.

Important: Use the keypad that’s automatically displayed in the lower part of the screen. Enter the complete alarm time (type 941 or 0941 if you want to set an alarm for 09:41). Don’t press the orange time box available at the top of the screen. It will only complicate the process because you will have to separately wheel pick the hour and the minutes.

• 3. Make sure that you configure AM or PM by tapping on the correct selection.

Fact: iOS 14 selects by default the current time. For example, if you’re trying to edit the alarm when the current time is 1:30 PM, PM will be set as default setting for your alarm time, unless you manually change it.

• 4. Configure the other available options, similar as before. Set if you want the alarm to Repeat (Every day, or only during specific days of the week), edit Label, pick the Sound for the audio alert and decide if you want to allow Snooze or not.
• 5. Tap Save, in the top-right corner when ready.

Set Alarm With Siri

You can also use your iOS 14 virtual assistant to add a new alarm, bypassing the Alarm app.

1. Speak out ‘Hey, Siri’ or long-press the Side button to wake Siri.
2. Command: “Set an Alarm for [desired time]!”
3. Siri confirms: “OK, I turned it on.”
Fact: Tap on the alarm design, in the Siri interface, and you’ll be redirected to the Alarm app. Here you can edit the alarm if needed. Tap on ‘Edit’ in the top-left corner and tap on the alarm label that you want to edit.

No More Bedtime Tab In Clock App?

In iOS 14, the Bedtime tab has been removed from the Clock app and added to the Health app. However, the Sleep / Wake Up Alarms are still having their own section at the top of the Alarm screen. If you haven’t set up a sleep routine yet you can still start it from the Clock app. You can also change Sleep and Wake Up alarms if needed. Everything else is available in the Health app.

How To Set Up Sleep / Wake Up Alarms

• 1. In the Alarms app, tap on the orange SET UP icon.
• 2. Hit Set up in Health and you’ll be redirected to the Health app.
• 3. Use the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons to Set a Sleep Goal. Tap Next, when ready.
• 4. Choose the active days and use the dial to set Bedtime and Wake Up times. Tap Add when ready.
• 5. Enable Sleep Mode to help you eliminate distractions at bedtime.
• 6. Enable Wind Down to trigger Sleep mode settings even before bedtime, to help you get ready for sleep.
• 7. Set Up Wind Down Shortcuts to help you relax before sleep.
• 8. Review your Sleep Setup and tap Done to finish. The Wake Up alarm is automatically added to the Alarms app.

How To Check If Alarm Is Set

If you have a really important meeting you might want to double-check that the alarm is enabled. The most obvious way is to open the Alarm app, and check that the toggle next to the alarm in question is green.
Another way to do it is by swiping-down for the Control Center. If an alarm is active the Alarm clock icon is displayed in the top-right corner, next to the remaining battery percentage.

iPhone Alarm Not Going Off?

You’re sure that you properly set an alarm on your iPhone, but the device did not ring when it was supposed to? iPhone alarms are supposed to alert you even when the device is in Silent or Do Not Disturb mode.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, an iOS 14 bug randomly mutes Ringer and Alerts on iPhone. The only temporary fix available is to reboot your iOS device. However, if you want to wake up for a really important event use a backup alarm. We will update this article as soon as the bug gets fixed.

iPhone Alarm FAQ

Q: How long can you snooze an Alarm for?
A: iPhone alarms will snooze for 9 minutes, not more not less. iOS 14 doesn’t change this setting and there is no direct option to change it, unless you set a secondary alarm to go off between 1 and 8 minutes after the initial alarm. This way you can shorten the snooze time.

Q: How long does an iPhone alarm ring?
A: iPhone alarms ring by default for 15 minutes. If this isn’t enough to wake you up you should consider changing the alarm tone, because the default one might be to common.

Q: How to make iPhone alarm sound louder?
A: To increase the volume level of alerts on your iPhone, open the Settings app and browse for Sounds & Haptics. Use the slider to increase or decrease the loudness of alarms. You can also enable Change with Buttons. This will allow you to tweak the alarm intensity with the help of the iPhone’s Volume Up and Volume Down buttons.

What’s your favorite method of setting alarms in iOS 14? Let us know, using the comments section available below.

Related: How to snooze or stop an iPhone alarm without looking at the display!