My girlfriend’s iPhone alarm didn’t go off this morning. It was really shocking because we all know how reliable the iPhone alarm can be </sarcasm>. That is the last straw, I thought. Even though I was still half asleep in bed, I devised a plan to replace the default iPhone alarm with one that will sound even when in silent mode.
Here are is a comparison of a couple of free iPhone alarm clock apps. Which one is best? Unlike other comparison articles, I’ll actually tell you which app to install.
Alarm Clock 4 Free
- Weather updates
- Snooze available only in 3 minute intervals
- Brightness adjustable by sliding up and down the screen
- User interface copied from Clock Pro
- Limited to only 1 alarm
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & not silenced & iPod alarm selected: Alarm buzzer plays, not iPod
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & iPod alarm selected & silenced: iPod alarm plays
Verdict: No.
Alarm Clock Free
Terrible app. Simply not recommended.
Verdict: No.
Clock Pro Free
- Repeat alarms
- iPod alarms
- Customisable snooze interval
- Ad supported
- Only 1 alarm available in free version
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & not silenced & iPod alarm selected: Alarm buzzer plays, not iPod
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & iPod alarm selected & silenced: iPod alarm plays
Verdict: No.
goodNight Lite
Not recommended.
Verdict: No.
Nightstand Central Free
- Very confusing user interface — requires you to tap Save for everything
- Ad supported
- Repeating alarms
- Multiple alarms
- Customisable snooze interval
- Brightness adjustable by sliding up and down the screen
- Weather updates
- iPod alarms unavailable in free version
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & silenced: Only notification appears.
Verdict: No.
Alarm Tunes Lite
- Snooze interval cannot be customised — set at 8 minutes
- Multiple alarms support
- Limited repeat alarms
- Really confusing user interface
- Not recommended
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & iPod alarm selected & not silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & iPod alarm selected & silenced: iPod alarm plays
Verdict: No.
Night Stand HD Lite
- No snooze function
- Beautiful analog clock
- Repeating alarms
- Only 1 alarm available
- No ipod alarms
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
Verdict: No.
Alarm Clock ® Free
- Repeating alarms
- Multiple alarms
- Weather updates
- Snooze duration preset to 5 minute intervals
- iPod alarm not available
- Not recommended
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
Verdict: No.
iHome+Sleep
- Repeating alarms
- Customisable snooze interval
- Multiple alarms
- No dedicated button to turn off the alarm, simply slide the wake up slider button
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Only notification appears
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & not silenced & iPod alarm selected: Alarm buzzer plays, not iPod
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & iPod alarm selected & silenced: iPod alarm plays
Verdict: No.
Mighty Clock
- Weather updates
- Flashlight
- Night/Day displays
- Adjustable display brightness
- Preset snooze intervals of 1, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 30 minutes
- Sleep soundscapes & timer
- This is the only app that I’ve tested that sounds an alarm even though the app is in the background and the phone is in silent mode.
Alarm features:
- App running in background & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & not silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in background & not silenced & iPod alarm selected: Alarm buzzer plays, not iPod
- App running in foreground & silenced: Alarm buzzer plays
- App running in foreground & iPod alarm selected & silenced: iPod alarm plays
Verdict: A resounding Yes.
The obvious choice is Mighty Clock. It’s usually available for $0.99 but is free for the next 24 hours. The free lite version works just as well but it doesn’t support iPod alarms.
Are you still using the default iPhone alarm? I would remove it if I could. What are your alternatives?
Ray
April 16, 2011
Darn, missed the free MightyClock…. WIll try the free version. Wonder why the free lite version get such poor ratings….
Jackson Chung
April 16, 2011
Hey Ray,
No worries, we’ll keep an eye out for MightyClock and when it’s free, we’ll post it up!
Sleepy
July 5, 2011
It’s not free, but check out also FreakyAlarm if you’re a sleepyhead, it’s an alarm clock that forces you to wake your brain because you will have to solve a series of logical-math games otherwise it will not stop ringing. It also provides a means to control your own path of recovery, as measured by the iWake coefficient. You can monitor the trend of your progress and achieve badges.
http://www.freakyalarm.com/
http://itunes.apple.com/app/freakyalarm/id383313224?mt=8
mandi
July 15, 2011
THANK YOU for this! Im a new iphone user and do not understand why its so hard to find an alarm that will run in the background and still buzz when the phone is on silent. If blackberry can do it, apple can do it! Will def check out “mighty clock,” thanks again!
Jay
December 7, 2011
Hi Jackson.
Thanks for a great article. That took a lot of legwork finding out all that info and I appreciate it.
Mighty Alarm works just as you said and as of today it is free. I downloaded it and am using it. In case you wanted an update.
Thanks again.
Kind regards,
Jay
rayk
December 29, 2011
Looked promising but repeatedly crashes on iP4 and OS5 when setting alarm and vibrate, app crashes and sounds alarm (great at 12:45). Hopefully they will fix this.
Gary
January 4, 2012
Check Alarm Clock ® Free, it was updated. The app alarms even on background or foreground. You can also set iPod music as your alarm.
http://itunes.apple.com/app/alarm-clock/id393691161?mt=8