Phones go quiet at night on purpose. You flip the switch, turn on a Focus, and the notifications stop. Then, somewhere around midnight, the real question shows up: will the alarm still go off in the morning? For the default clock apps on iPhone and Android, the short answer is yes. The longer answer covers a few exceptions, and they are the ones that make people miss a morning.

Does an alarm go off on silent?

Yes, on iPhone. Apple's own guide to setting an alarm in Clock says it plainly: your alarm sounds even when you turn on Silent mode. You can read it in Apple's "Set an alarm in Clock on iPhone" guide. The ring/silent switch only controls ringtones and alerts. Alarms are treated as something you asked for, so they stay loud.

There is one catch that has nothing to do with silent mode: volume. On iPhone the alarm has its own volume setting under Settings, Sounds & Haptics, in the Alarms and Timers section. You can have it follow the ringtone volume or set it separately. Apple notes that the alarm plays at a set volume through the speaker and through headphones if they are connected. If you turned the alarm volume down once and forgot, silent mode is not your problem. The slider is.

On Android the picture is similar. Alarms play through the alarm audio stream, which has its own volume and is separate from ringer and media volume on most phones. A phone set to silent or vibrate normally still plays the alarm. Menu names vary by brand, so look for an alarm volume slider in your sound settings.

Will my alarm go off on Do Not Disturb or Focus?

On iPhone, yes, and our iPhone-only guide to alarms and Do Not Disturb covers that case on its own. The same Apple guide lists Do Not Disturb, or another Focus, right next to Silent mode as things your alarm sounds through. That includes Sleep Focus, Work, Driving and any custom Focus you made. Focus is about which people and apps can notify you. An alarm is not a notification in that sense, so you do not need to add Clock to a Focus's allowed apps. If you want the plain-language meaning of the term, see our short entry on Focus mode.

A related trap is the Sleep schedule in Health. Apple points out that any alarm you set in Clock is separate from a sleep schedule. If you set a wake-up alarm in the Health sleep schedule and also one in Clock, you have two alarms. Turning off one does not turn off the other, so check both lists when a morning goes wrong.

Do alarms go off on Do Not Disturb on Android?

Usually, but this is where Android differs. Google's help page for modes and Do Not Disturb on Pixel lists "Alarms & other interruptions" as a notification filter where you can block or allow alarms, media, touch sounds, reminders and calendar events. In other words, alarms are a setting you can change. Google's alarm help page also mentions that if Do Not Disturb silenced your alarm, you should allow alarms in the DND settings. The page for that is Set, cancel or snooze alarms on your Android device.

On many phones the alarms switch is on by default, so a stock clock alarm rings through Do Not Disturb. Still, a quick look takes ten seconds. Open Settings, find Do Not Disturb or Modes, open the mode you use at night, and make sure alarms are allowed. Samsung, Pixel and other brands label these screens differently, so search your settings for "alarms".

If you wake to an Android app that is not your clock, the same rule applies. AlarmiFex on Android schedules its alarms with the system alarm clock API and plays them on the alarm audio stream, and the app asks for the alarm permission when it is set up. Android 13 and newer phones also let you manage which apps may set exact alarms, so keep that permission on.

Why would an alarm still stay quiet?

Most missed alarms are not a silent-mode problem. They come from a short list of causes. Run down it before you blame the phone.

  • Alarm volume is low. The alarm volume is its own slider, separate from the ringer.
  • Wrong AM or PM, or the wrong days. A repeat alarm set for weekdays will not ring on Saturday.
  • The alarm is off. A one-time alarm switches itself off after it rings.
  • Android blocks alarms in your DND mode. See the section above.
  • The alarm app only sends notifications. A third-party app that posts a regular notification instead of using the system alarm path can be muted by silent mode or a Focus.
  • Battery or app restrictions. Aggressive battery savers on some Android phones stop background apps from firing.
  • The phone is powered off. A phone that is fully off cannot ring.

If it is happening to you right now, our guides to an iPhone alarm that did not go off and an Android alarm that did not go off go through each cause with fixes. And if your alarm rings but you cannot hear it, read why an iPhone alarm sounds too quiet.

How do I test my alarm tonight?

Do not trust any alarm you have not tested in the conditions you will sleep in. The test takes under five minutes and it settles the question for good.

  1. Switch on the same Silent mode and Focus or Do Not Disturb you use at night.
  2. Set an alarm for two minutes from now.
  3. Lock the phone and put it down across the room.
  4. Wait. Check that it rings, at a volume you would wake to.
  5. Repeat once with the screen locked and the app closed if you use a third-party alarm.

If it rings, you are set for tonight. If it does not, you found the problem at 9 pm instead of 7 am. Retest after any iOS or Android update, since settings can reset.

Where does AlarmiFex fit in?

Start with the built-in clock. It is free, it rings on silent, and for most people it is enough. AlarmiFex is for the next step: you want to wake to a sound you picked for your mood, or a clip of your own, and you still want it to ring on a silent phone.

On iPhone, AlarmiFex uses Apple's AlarmKit, the system framework built for time-critical alerts. That means the alarm rings with the app closed, the phone locked, on silent, or with a Focus on. It plays at your device's volume, so keep that turned up, and test your setup before bed like any other alarm. AlarmKit is an iPhone feature, so the Android app works differently, as described above. You can read more in our guide to alarms that ring on silent or the AlarmKit glossary entry.

Sounds in the library are sorted into five moods: Calm, Energetic, Motivational, Classic and Anime. Downloaded sounds are saved on your phone, so they play with no connection. You can also import an audio or video clip, trim it to a minute or less, and use it as your alarm. See custom alarm sounds or compare with the iPhone Clock app. No app can promise you will wake up, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we can say is that the alarm is built to be heard.

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