Where to find and change your alarm sound

Open the Clock app on your iPhone — it's the one with a clock face icon, usually on your home screen or in the Utilities folder. Tap the Alarm tab at the bottom. Find the alarm you want to change and swipe left on it, or tap Edit in the top left corner. Tap on the alarm time itself to open its details.

In the alarm details screen, you'll see a Sound option with the current alarm name next to it. Tap Sound to see all available alarms. Your iPhone comes with about 25 built-in alarm sounds with names like Radar, Bells, Chord, and Alarm. Tap any one to hear a preview, then tap Back to confirm your choice.

If you don't like any of the built-in sounds, you can also use songs from your Music library. Scroll to the bottom of the sound list and tap Pick a Song. Choose any track you have downloaded or synced to your phone. The song will start playing from the beginning when your alarm goes off.

Key Takeaways

  • Built-in alarm sounds are found in the Clock app under Alarm, then by editing a specific alarm and tapping Sound.
  • You can preview any alarm sound before saving it by tapping it once in the list.
  • Songs from your Music library can replace built-in sounds if you tap Pick a Song at the bottom of the sound list.
  • Changes save automatically once you tap Back or navigate away from the alarm details screen.
  • Different alarms can have different sounds — you don't have to use the same one for every alarm.

Why your alarm might not be using the sound you chose

If you set a custom alarm sound but your phone still plays the default sound, check whether your iPhone is in Silent mode. When the physical mute switch on the left side of your phone is flipped down (toward the back), your alarm will play only through vibration, not sound. Flip the switch back up to hear your chosen alarm sound.

If the mute switch is already up and you still hear nothing, open Settings, tap Sounds & Haptics, and make sure Ringer and Alerts is turned up. This volume controls your alarms, separate from your media volume. If it's all the way down, your alarm will vibrate but produce no sound.

Using songs from Apple Music or Spotify as alarms

If you subscribe to Apple Music, you can use any song in your library as an alarm. read the song to your device first by tapping the read icon next to the track name in the Music app. Once downloaded, it will appear in your Clock app's Pick a Song list.

Spotify songs cannot be used directly as iPhone alarms because Spotify doesn't integrate with the Clock app's sound picker. If you want a Spotify song as your alarm, you'll need to read it as an audio file and add it to your Music library through a computer, or use a third-party alarm app that connects to Spotify.

What happens when you delete an alarm sound

You cannot delete the built-in alarm sounds that come with iOS — they're permanent. However, if you added a custom song as an alarm sound and later delete that song from your Music library, the alarm will stop working. Your phone will show the alarm as active, but it won't produce any sound when it goes off.

If this happens, edit the alarm and choose a different sound from the built-in list or pick a different song. Your alarm will then work normally again.

Setting different sounds for different alarms

Each alarm on your iPhone can have its own unique sound. This is useful if you have multiple alarms for different purposes — for example, a gentle sound for a morning wake-up and a louder sound for an important appointment reminder. Edit each alarm separately and assign it a different sound in the Sound menu.

You can also create multiple alarms for the same time with different sounds, though only the first one will actually go off. The others will be skipped automatically.

Troubleshooting when the sound picker won't open

If tapping Sound doesn't open the list of alarms, force close the Clock app and reopen it. Swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or swipe down from the top right on newer iPhones) to open the app switcher, find Clock, and swipe it up to close it. Then tap the Clock icon again to reopen it.

If the problem continues, restart your iPhone. Hold the power button and either volume button until the power-off slider appears, then slide it to turn off your phone. Wait 10 seconds, then press the power button again to turn it back on. The Clock app should work normally after restart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a video as an alarm sound?

No. iPhone alarms only play audio. You can use any song or audio file in your Music library, but video files won't appear in the sound picker.

Will my custom alarm sound play if my phone is locked?

Yes. Alarms play at full volume regardless of whether your phone is locked or unlocked, as long as the mute switch is in the up position and your Ringer and Alerts volume is turned up in Settings.

What if I want the same alarm sound on multiple alarms?

Edit each alarm separately and choose the same sound for each one. There's no way to copy alarm settings from one alarm to another, but selecting the same sound takes only a few taps per alarm.

Do I need an internet connection to use a song as an alarm?

No. The song must be downloaded to your phone, but once it is, your alarm will play it without needing WiFi or cellular service.