How To Make Sure Iphone Alarm Is Loud

iPhone Alarm Volume

Many of us use the iPhone as our primary alarm clocks, but if you're a heavy sleeper then the volume of the alarm may not be sufficient to pull you out of a deep slumber, and you can easily dismiss the alarm in a half-awake state which doesn't help much either.

The first and most obvious solution is to make sure you crank the general iPhone volume up all the way before passing out for the night. But since the general ringer volume and alarm clock volume are one and the same on the iPhone, you can't have one all the way up without the other up too, so it's best to do that with a combination of Do Not Disturb to avoid loud calls and alerts in off hours.

Crank up your iPhone alarm volume by setting the Ringer all the way up, the two are not separate

So, what to do? Well, there are a few other options to make the alarm sound louder, and until Apple separates the Clock Alarm app volume from the general iOS system volume (if they ever do), you may want to try these volume booster tricks out, which range from completely legitimate to a little on the goofy side.

1: Use a Louder Alarm Sound

The actual ringtone / sound effect of the alarm sound can make a big difference in how loud it plays. Alarm sound tones like "Ripples", "Silk", and "Slow Rise" may be nice and peaceful, but they're not necessarily loud or obnoxious enough to pull you out of bed. Thus, aiming for a sound effect that is both very loud and annoying is actually a great strategy. The classic sound "Alarm" fits the bill perfectly, it sounds like some sort of volcano nuclear tsunami alert system that is all but guaranteed to pull you out of the deepest of REM sleep. Or pick a song for the alarm that is particularly loud, that works great too. Change your iPhone Alarm sound effect in Clock app > Alarm > Edit > Sound.

2: Connect the iPhone to External Speakers

Whether a set of Bluetooth speakers, an iPhone speaker dock, or simply plugging the iPhone in through an AUX cable, external speakers can blast your alarm throughout the neighborhood. If you're an extra deep sleeper, you probably won't find a better solution than this, and you can still use one of the more pleasant sounding alarm sound effects since the speaker volume can be so loud that even "Silk" is no longer pleasant.

Having a decent set of Bluetooth speakers is nice outside of the alarm situation anyway. A good iPhone Dock is also a very reasonable option, since it can charge your iPhone too.

3: Use an Amplifying Container or the Stupid Toilet Paper Roll Trick

If you're in a bind you can always try the container amplification trick, or the toilet paper roll trick. Say what? Ok so the amplification container works like this; get a glass or plastic bin and place your iPhone in it, then tilt the open face of the container to your bed. Something like a deep cereal bowl or large coffee cup works too (just make sure it's empty).

The free iPhone Speaker Volume amplifier is a class act

As for the incredibly stupid iPhone toilet paper roll or paper towel roll trick shown above? Yea it works for cranking out a louder more dreadful sounding alarm too, but it looks like… well… you know, not necessarily the most classy bedside item you could have.

Do you have a solution to making your iPhone alarm Clock app sound to play at a louder volume? Maybe ditching the default app and using a third party clock? Let us know in the comments.