Will My Alarm Go Off With Headphones In? (iPhone & Android)

The short answer to this is yes the alarm will go off even with headphones in on both iphone and android, but there’s more to it than that. If you use your iphone or android phone at night to help you get to sleep, either by watching videos, or just listening to some relaxing music and you like to wear headphones so you don’t disturb anyone else, and you’re worried that your alarm will wake the whole house, keep reading. In this article we look at how iphone headphones work, ways to set them up to suit you and all other smart phone related headphone and sleep problems.

Do Android & iPhone Alarms Sound With Headphones Connected?

The alarm in your phone has been designed to operate no matter what the user is doing. That means that in general, if you’re using headphones or earbuds and the alarm activates, it will sound out loud and not necessarily through the headphones. This is especially true for androids because androids don’t have any function for setting the alarm to sound only through the headphones.

If You Want The Alarm To Play Only Through Your Headphones On Android, You’ll Need To Download A Third Party App 

It is possible to set your android to only play the alarm through your headphones but you’ll need to download a third party app first. This is because android devices cannot ring through headphones or ear pieces they use the mobile’s speakers. To find a third party app to operate your alarm, just go to the play store on your phone and search for “Sound about” (or similar) then simply download and install the app.

Once the download has completed, open the app and open its setting, then open alert behaviour, you will then see a list of icons, go to notifications and set to the wired headset. You’ll notice that sounds are coming from the headset and not the speakers. Ensure you set the volume to a safe level so as not to damage your ears.

The alarm should now only sound through your headphones, if you want to change it to sound through the speakers of the phone you’ll need to go back into the app setting and alter it there. As there are a number of alarm clock apps in the app store, always make sure the ones you choose are compatible with your device.

Will My Alarm Go Off With AirPods In?

This depends on the model iphone you’re currently running, if you’re running on ios 12 or above then yes, your alarm will operate with the airpods in. If you’re using ios 11 or lower, then there’s a good chance the alarm won’t operate while airpods are in use. But as your alarm is set to sound on your iphone it’ll go to whatever audio function is in operation at that time.

Will The Alarm Go Off On My iphone With Headphones Connected?

Yes the alarm will go off on your iphone, even if your phone is connected to wired or wireless headphones, the alarm will go off on the phone before being sent to the headphones.

Is It Possible To Get The Alarm Only To Sound On My Airpods?

There are many situations where you don’t want to disturb anyone else with your alarm. Unfortunately to get the alarm to only operate through your airpods and not to sound out loud through your phone, you’ll need to download a third party app. There is an app called “Earphone Alarm” which mutes the phone’s speakers and allows the sound to only come through your airpods.

Will My Smartphones Alarm Run While I’m On A Video Or Voice Call?

If you happen to be on a video call or just talking on the phone and it’s time for the alarm, it will go off even during video calls or phone calls. You will get a slight warning, as the phone will vibrate first and then the alarm will sound off inside the airpods.

Can I Wear My Airpods All Night? (and will the alarm work)

The airpods designed by Apple are incredibly comfortable and shouldn’t hinder your sleep at all. The only drawback could be the battery life, as they might not last a full night. Many run low at around the 4.5 to 5 hour mark so you’d need to get in the habit of charging them and putting them on after a night time toilet break to ensure that all important wake up call.

Will The Alarm Still Go Off Even If I Alter My Airpod Settings?

There are so many setting choices available on Airpods, 

• You can switch between noise cancellation and transparency modes
• You can pause playback just by removing the Airpod
• Resume play just by replacing the Airpod
• The system automatically sets the default for which Airpod microphone to use
• Or the microphones can be manually switched
• They even detect when they’re in an ear or not

The one thing you can’t do though, is stop the alarm ringing through your Airpods once they’re paired to your device. You will need to either disable the alarm, or unpair them. However, as the Airpods don’t have enough battery capacity for a full 8 hours the chances are they will have cut out before the alarm is due to go off anyway.

Will My Alarm Go Off If I’m Listening To Music On My Smartphone?

What will happen is, once it’s time for the alarm to go off, the music will cut out, and the alarm will sound, once you snooze the alarm or turn it off completely, the music will resume playing.

Will The Alarm Sound If The SmartPhone Is In Silent Mode?

When the phone is set to silent mode, it will make absolutely no sound at all with the exception of the alarm. You can be sure of no interruptions at all from your phone if it’s in silent mode apart from the alarm call that you set.

Will The Alarm Still Sound In Airplane Mode?

The alarm will still sound if your phone is in airplane mode. This is because airplane mode inhibits signal functions like call, internet etc and not internal phone functions. So the alarm will operate when the phone is in airplane mode.

How To Set The Alarm On An iPhone

The alarm feature on your iphone is handy for many reasons, waking you in the morning, reminding you of important meetings, the time you need to leave home to catch a train, the list is endless. Thankfully setting the alarm is simple. It is simple to change the settings that control;

• The alarm sound itself
• The time
• The repeat function
• The label
• Snooze

To configure the alarm settings go into the “clock” app that’s a standard feature on all iphones. Tap the “Clock” button on the home screen, then tap the “Alarm” button in the clock menu to display alarm options.

Click on the “+” icon on the top right of your screen, select the time you want from the spin wheel that controls the hour and minute settings, and then click save.

How To Change Settings On The Alarm

Tap on the alarm, where it shows the time that you wish to change settings on, then change either the desired alarm time via the spin wheel that controls the hours and minutes settings, or the repeating or sound options. Once you have your alarm correctly set, tap on “save” which will be displayed at the top right of your screen.

How To Change The Alarm Sound

Once you have set the alarm you wish to edit, simply tap the “sound” button and go through and select the sound you prefer from the available list by selecting a tone and listening to the sound it makes. Once you select the one you prefer, tap “back”

If you want the alarm to repeat every few minutes after initially sounding, swipe the tab next to the “snooze” to the “on” position. Or leave this “off” if snooze annoys you. 

Then touch the “label” button to allocate a name to this alarm and touch “back”. After completing all of the above simply tap “save” which is displayed on the top right of your screen.

To return to the home screen just swipe up from the bottom of your screen. If you now drag down the screen from the top right you will see a small clock icon. This means your alarm has been successfully set.

How To Set The Alarm Volume On A iphone

There is no separate setting for the alarm volume on an iphone, to set the volume for the alarm you need to set the phone volume. To adjust the volume, press either the “+” or “-” buttons to increase or decrease the volume of the device. This will then set the alarm volume to your desired level. If you accidentally or purposely catch the “silent” switch on the left side of the phone, the alarm will still sound.

Why Do I Sleep Through My Alarms?

This is a common problem and it will affect most people at some point. The secret to a good night’s sleep is consistency. Whenever possible, always go to sleep and rise at the same time as this gets your body clock functioning. 8 hours is the recommended time we should sleep so depending on your necessary wake up time, allow yourself 8.5 hours before that as your bedtime.

This should allow your inner clock to regulate and get used to this pattern, over a few weeks of this you will notice you will feel tired around this new time and sleep through until just before the alarm sounds.

Comfortable Sleep Headphones

We mentioned earlier about headphones, but if you are planning on wearing them all night whilst you’re sleeping, you’re going to need something comfortable. Otherwise instead of sleeping, you’ll be tossing and turning all night. So what is needed in sleep headphones?

Sleep headphones need to be;

• Comfortable
• Padded
• Stretchable

They need to be completely forgiving, soft, padded, and made from a breathable, stretchy material that is also hypoallergenic.

Which Type Of Headphones Are Best For Sleeping ?

There are basically two types of headphones, cordless or corded. But which is best? And why?

Corded Headphones Or Sleepphones

There are a number of designs available all of which appear to be comfortable to wear. They need to be physically connected to your phone/laptop/ipad/pc which can limit how far away from your device you can sleep.However they do all seem to have a fairly long cable attachment. The cable is also fairly thin so it should be unobtrusive, but it would be possible to damage it in your sleep.

Cordless Headphones Or Sleepphones

These work via bluetooth and can be connected remotely so no need for any cabling at all. Which makes them a far safer option in our opinion, no chance of damaging a cable that doesn’t exist.

There are cordless headphones that fit directly into your ears, some that slide over your head and others that are incorporated into a headband that not only has sounds via bluetooth connectivity, but also works as an eye patch to keep light sources away from your eyes while sleeping. 

These are often called “AcousticSheep Sleepphones” and are available in a number of styles and designs. They are compatible with mobile phones, ipads, tablets, pcs and many other devices. They use bluetooth connectivity and have a range of between 15 to 30 feet with a 10+ hour battery charge life.

What About Android Phones?

Even if you have your headphones in on an android phone, the alarm will sound out loud. This is because the alarm works via the phone’s speakers and not the headphones. It is possible to download a third party app that will allow the alarm to sound only through the headphones while stopping the speakers from sending the alarm sound as well.

Before downloading any of the available apps check that it’s compatible with your particular make and model phone. Once you install the third party app check that it works correctly before relying on it at night.

To Summarise

Unless you install a third party app, you are in danger of waking everyone up when your alarm goes off no matter which type of mobile phone system you use. There are plenty of third party apps available at your usual app store and many have the functionality you require.

Before using any wireless in ear speaker system check the battery life especially if you’re planning on using it as an alarm as many only have 4 to 5 hours life between charges.

If you really are set on cordless you might do better to consider “AcousticSheep Sleepphones” or similar.

If you choose wired headphones, be aware of the length and thickness of the cable. 

We hope this guide has been of some help, feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below.