Picture this: you’re in a peaceful slumber, enveloped in the warmth of your dreams. Gradually, you become aware of a sound — a gentle yet persistent alarm that begins to build in intensity, rising slowly to a dramatic crescendo. You slowly open your eyes, blinking as you transition into a semi-conscious state. But then your eyes snap open as, to your horror, you discover your alarm has gone off several hours late. The realization hits you like a bucket of cold water to the face, shattering the last remnants of your tranquil morning.
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Disaster, right? However, this problem appears to have been happening to a small number of iPhone users for years.
A post on Reddit (via Android Authority) shows a 10:30 AM sleep alarm going off at 12:42 AM. This sparked more commenters to share that they have also experienced problems with alarms and reminders. These issues are so persistent that some people have had to find alternative methods of waking up reliably.
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iPhone alarm bugs have been reported for a long time, going back at least five years. I’ve received sporadic reports of alarm bugs from iPhone users during this time.
One commentator on Reddit suggested the problem goes back to iOS 9, released in 2015. Another commentator, going by the name hairbowgirl, had an idea what might be causing the issue.
“A friend’s brother that is a software architect at Apple said that usually happens when in standby mode when the phone thinks your face is within view. I believe he is correct because after my friend and me started laying our phones facedown, the alarms have been perfectly reliable.”
If this explanation is correct, turning off Attention Aware should solve the issue.
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I’ve relied on iPhone and Apple Watch alarms for years, and I’ve never had a problem, even with my iPhone next to my bed, looking at my face as I sleep. I’ve also tried to replicate the issue several times over the years, with no success.
However, there’s clearly an issue here. Hopefully, there’s enough information for Apple to track the problem and patch it.
