How to wake up if you sleep through alarms

Some people genuinely sleep through alarms, and others switch them off without remembering. These tips help with both. Where Orbit Alarm can help, we say how.

Make sure it’s actually loud enough

Phone alarm volume is separate from media and ringtone volume, so check it’s up. Some alarm tones are gentle by design. Pick a harsh one.

In Orbit Alarm: Force Max Alarm Volume (Settings → ALARM SAFETY, on by default) raises the alarm to full volume and stops it being turned down while it rings. Try a harsh tone such as Emergency Klaxon or Hull Breach Klaxon rather than Gentle Chime.

If you’re easily startled, a sound that builds up can be kinder than one that starts at full blast. GRADUAL WAKE UP fades in over 20 seconds.

Use more than sound

Vibration and light reach you differently from sound.

Put the phone somewhere it’ll vibrate against something, rather than on a soft surface.
Open the curtains a little, so the room gets lighter in the morning.

In Orbit Alarm: VIBRATION PULSE is on by default, and FLASH TORCH strobes the phone’s flashlight while the alarm rings.

If you switch alarms off without remembering

This is common, and it’s why putting the alarm out of reach helps. The trouble is that switching it off can become automatic too. An alarm that needs something you can only do awake works better.

In Orbit Alarm: a barcode alarm only stops when you scan a code somewhere else in your home. A maths challenge makes you think before it stops.

Stack your alarms

Two alarms a few minutes apart, with the second being the tough one, gives you a gentle start and a firm backstop.

In Orbit Alarm: each alarm has its own sound, challenge and snooze rules, so the first can be soft and the second can need a scan.

Make sure the alarm can actually ring

Sometimes the problem isn’t you. Phones can stop apps in the background to save battery. See My alarm didn’t go off.

If you regularly sleep through loud alarms, feel exhausted however long you sleep, or struggle to wake up at all, talk to your GP. Sleeping through alarms can sometimes have a cause worth looking into.