Modern smartphones are devices with numerous functions, capable of a wide variety of purposes.
For most of us, smartphones have become an essential item in our everyday lives. It has enabled us to virtually eliminate the need for a plethora of other tools that we would otherwise need to carry around.
One of the most frequently-used functions on our phones is the alarm.
However, when an alarm doesn’t work the way we need it to, it can cause a whole lotta problems (as you might imagine!).
One particularly infuriating issue is when your Android alarm won’t turn off when you try to silence it.
In this article, we’ll dig deeper into the reasons why an Android alarm specifically won’t turn off when we need it to!
There are multiple potential factors behind why this may happen.
The most common cause is a couple of simple settings (Snooze, and Auto Shut-Off Delay) that prolongs the duration of the alarm. In rarer cases, there could also be a software problem at hand as well.
In this article, we’ll take a look at all of these reasons in more detail- as well as tell you what you can do to fix them!
Why Are My Android Alarms Not Turning Off?
The most likely reasons as to why an Android alarm won’t turn off are that the Snooze and Automatic Shut-Off Delay Time settings are misconfigured.
How easily you’re able to turn off an alarm can also be directly connected to the specific Alarm app that you’re using as well.
Most Android phone alarms will switch off after five minutes by default, but this can vary.
For example, depending on the snooze settings on your Android phone, the alarm can go on practically forever every five to thirty minutes if you don’t switch it off manually.
While a never-ending alarm is already a nuisance in its own right, an alarm that doesn’t turn off at all can quickly drain your battery of all its juice.
Some Android phones actually have a slightly different setting that automatically changes the alarm’s time that it’s supposed to turn off.
If the Auto Shut-Off Delay is set to ‘Never,’ the alarm won’t ever turn off until you manually do so. This can certainly be a problem if you don’t know exactly how to do that!
So, How Do I Turn Off My Android Alarm In This Situation?
The default setting on any Android phone is a snooze interval of five minutes, and it will repeat a total of three times.
This means that if your alarm goes off and you miss it, it will snooze for five minutes before starting again- and then it’ll do this three more times before turning off completely.
However, the alarm WON’T turn off if the repeat setting is set to Continuous.
To check and change this setting, follow these four easy steps:
- Open the Clock app
- Select the alarm that you want to check
- Select “Snooze”
- Check that the interval and repeat settings are suited to your preference. Most importantly, check that the repeat is not set to “Continuously.”
On the other hand, to view or change the Auto-Delay Shut-Off time on the alarm, you’ll need to follow these four steps:
- Open the Clock app on your phone. Once opened, it should show you the active alarms you have set up.
- Click the three dots in the top right corner to access the menu.
- Select Settings
- Navigate to ‘Silence After’ and change the setting from ‘Never’ to a specific time. This will be the duration your alarm plays before shutting off automatically.
What If I Can’t See The Option To Turn Off My Android Alarm?
There have actually been some cases where people can’t see the option to turn their alarm off.
Additionally, the option to snooze or tap “Dismiss” on an alarm can be missing from the alarm notification.
This occurrence is rare, but it can be easily fixed by enabling the notifications in case it does happen again.
To do this, you just need to follow these three quick steps:
- Open the Settings on your phone
- Select Manage Apps
- Select Receive Notifications for your Alarm app
These changes will ensure that when the alarm does go off, you’ll receive the corresponding notification and see the options to snooze or to turn off your alarm.
What Should I Do If My Android Alarm Doesn’t Go Off?
One of the most absolutely frustrating things that I can think of is being absolutely sure that I’ve set my alarm– only for it to fail to go off when it should have!
If it’s definitely your alarm app that isn’t working rather than other issues, there are certain ways to troubleshoot this effectively:
Restarting Your Phone
A good first method to try is to restart your Android device.
Of course, no MTA article would be complete without our favorite solution to most issues!
Kidding aside, while it sounds a bit strange (and maybe even a little cliche), simply restarting your phone has the ability to clear the temporary cache and RAM- which may be what’s causing the alarm to malfunction in the first place!
Disabling The “Do Not Disturb” Mode
Second, you need to check your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” settings.
If this particular function is on, you won’t receive any notifications- including those from your alarm.
If you have your phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode but still want your alarm to go off, it’s possible to change the settings to allow notifications from your alarm.
To do this, simply hold down the “Do Not Disturb” button from the quick settings menu to open up the options for this function.
Then, select “Allow Exceptions”, and enable messages from the alarm.
This will ensure that your alarm will still turn on, even when you have enabled the Do Not Disturb function!
Clearing The Cache
It can also be beneficial to clear the cache and data on your Clock app.
However, be careful!
If you do choose to go down this route, you will lose all of your current stored alarms.
If you need help remembering them, a good tip is to take a screenshot of your current alarms before going ahead with this step.
To clear the cache, hold down the Clock icon and select App Info. Then, select Storage and then Clear Cache. You can then go ahead and reset your alarms.
Checking The Volume Setting
Finally, check the volume settings for your Alarm.
Sometimes, this could have been set to silent by mistake (or automatically, in some cases). Alternatively, it could just be too low for you to be able to hear it properly!
If this happens, you won’t hear the alarm ringing, and it will eventually shut off by itself.
However worry not, for this option has an easy fix.
All you have to do is double-check the settings under your alarms.
Ensure that the alarm tone you choose and the volume are both appropriate. You can also select the “Gradually increase” volume option to increase the alarm volume as it plays.
Final Thoughts
As much as an alarm clock on a smartphone is a valuable tool, no one wants to be stuck with one that won’t turn off.
Just imagine working into class or your office with that thing chiming away!
At the same time, no one wants to worry about an alarm that won’t alert when it needs to as well.
Luckily, there are quick and easy fixes that you can apply to tackle this issue effectively.
When it comes to an alarm that won’t shut up, it usually comes down to incorrectly applied settings that can easily be rectified.
In cases of an alarm that won’t go off, it can definitely help to try restarting your phone to clear the RAM, clearing the cache, or checking the volume settings.
However, if you’ve tried all of the options mentioned in this article and your Android alarm still won’t turn off, your best bet might then be to take it to an expert to have it sorted.
With this, we hope you’re able to rest easily in the comfort of knowing exactly when your alarms will go off- and how to effectively turn them off afterwards!