Will iPhone's alarm clock ever be reliable?

[almirr]

Posted [and sure to be deleted] this morning on Apple Support Forum:

Dear Apple, there is one thing that MUST work on my iPhone 4: MY ALARM CLOCK. This means:

1) If Adjust Time Automatically in Settings is switched on, I do not have to EVER restart my iPhone for DST to take effect, which seems to be the only solution to this problem at this time.

2) A notification that comes at 3am while I sleep from Cupcake Maker app, which my 4 year old may have played on my iPhone just before she went to bed, MUST NOT block my alarm clock. If I forget to close all apps in multi-task menu just before I go to bed, chances are between my bed time and the time I need to wake up one of them will post a notification. Your logic still seems to be that I should wake up at 3am and clear "Cupcake Done" notification for my alarm to work at 7am.

3) Yes this also applies to Apple's Calendar app. An event reminder should never block my alarm clock.

4) The only reason my alarm clock should not work is if between my bed and wake-up time my iPhone's battery dies.

If this means you need to add a separate chip to the iPhone, sole function of which would be to run the Clock app, making the device heavier and thicker -- where can I please trade in my current iPhone for that??? You should see the size of my clock radio that I use for backup. It reminds me of a dialysis machine attached to a patient.

Now, I know you will delete this, but trust me, that will not make you feel any better. My iPhone did not do its DST thing this morning despite the fact that automatic adjustment was turned on, so I woke up an hour later. I had to reboot the device for this to take effect. If the tone and nature of this post is against your use policy, an app that comes preinstalled and built by Apple on an Apple device called Clock with an Alarm Clock feature should actually do what it claims to do. The fact that 4 years later people are still finding this to be spotty and problematic should at the very least make us even...

Love,
A devout everything-Apple user

 

[MYmacROX]

Uhhhh, you do know that Apple has nothing to do with these forums.

You should voice your concerns to Apple directly.

 

[RavingMac]

How big of a problem is this really?

I have read news accounts mentioning this, but have never encountered any problems with my iPhone clock.
How many people are affected by this? Any, idea?

BTW: my battery powered Atomic Clock cost ~$20 from Walmart. It stays by my bed as a single use device. I can't imaging using my iphone for that purpose . . . if for no other reason I don't want to be awakened by the phone vibrating when a text message arrives. But, to each his or her own.

 

[cristovao]

Alarm...

Uhhhh, you do know that Apple has nothing to do with these forums.

You should voice your concerns to Apple directly.

Um, the first line in his post stated that he posted this to the Apple Support forum. I think he's just reposting it here to vent in as many places as possible.

 

[MYmacROX]

Um, the first line in his post stated that he posted this to the Apple Support forum. I think he's just reposting it here to vent in as many places as possible.

Yes I know, so if the OP put it on Apple's official support forums, then putting it up anywhere else is the equivalence of "whining". It won't be read by anyone at Apple by posting it here. And probably not by the proper people at Apple just by putting it on their forums. Contacting them directly (as I suggested) is his/her best bet at being heard.

Send it through the proper channels and leave it at that.

 

[vansmith]

Dear Apple, there is one thing that MUST work on my iPhone 4: MY ALARM CLOCK.

That's the one thing that must absolutely work? You have a very interesting perspective on the uses of the iPhone.

I'm sure Apple is well aware of the issue as it has been widely reported on (here, here, here and here for instance). I know it's satisfying to rant but the tone of your message is largely unproductive. I would suggest that you simply add to an already started thread noting that you also experience the problem if you feel the need to vent. Doing so will get your voice heard while ensuring that you don't come across as possibly belligerent.

 

[nsupanda]

agree

I know Apple will not see this, but I have to agree with OP. My alarm only seems to work when I don't want it to (most recently when I'm at the theater and had my phone silenced. There really should be a settings option so that you can completely silence your alarm if your phone is silenced).

I've also had to buy a back-up alarm clock so about 6/7 days of the week I have two alarms going off in the morning. 1/7 of the week, my iPhone alarm doesn't seem to want to "alarm". It shows as a notification on the screen, but it doesn't make a noise if another app has a notification.

 

[Braven]

I use my iPhone 4 nightly as my alarm clock. I set it to vibrate so texts don't wake me. Never had a single issue. I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones.

 

[Hylas]

Just in case this comes up you can have your phone on silent and take vibrate off.