Alarm clock apps have stopped working with screen off

Question

Level 1

40 points

Alarm clock apps have stopped working with screen off

Up until updating to iOS 13, I used a third-party alarm clock app that I liked. I would set the alarm as the last thing I did, and then turn off the screen, and as expected it would sound at the set time.

But under iOS 13, this particular app stopped working. It will not launch. OK, stuff happens, the developer hadn't updated the app in a while, the OS had evolved beyond it. Time to find another app.

But from what I can see, each app I've tried will not work with the screen off. Alarm clock apps need to be set, with the screen kept on (some have settings to prevent the screen turning off). Is this now a requirement of third-party apps? The stock Clock app works OK, but I'd prefer another. Has it become impossible under iOS 13 for a third-party clock app to continue to function with the screen turned off?

iPhone SE

Posted on Oct 16, 2019 12:51 PM

Reply

Answer 1

rcmit

Level 1

31 points

Oct 24, 2019 7:33 AM in response to ManSinha

Something in iOS 13 broke alarm clock apps. I have tried 4 different alarm clock apps, all of which have worked before the iOS update, and all of them have failed to go off in the morning. When I test them for an hour or two they work fine, but not overnight. Not doing anything fancy, just playing a song that I have on my phone. I keep the apps open (using the display as my clock) and have the phone on a low wattage charger. Nothing I have tried works. Contacted developers and they said they would look into it.

Reply

Answer 2

ManSinha

Level 6

12,203 points

Oct 16, 2019 1:14 PM in response to lkalliance

That is honestly a question for the app developer - also you may need to wait a bit as not all app developers update their apps when a new iOS is launched.

Reply

Answer 3

lkalliance Author

Level 1

40 points

Oct 17, 2019 8:18 AM in response to ManSinha

I'm actually not sure it is, and not sure it isn't, though investigation this morning has (maybe) cast some light on it (or maybe not).

One alarm clock app I downloaded had a specific warning as a notification (and also referenced on a page within the app) that for the clock to function normally one had to make sure the app was in the foreground, that Do Not Disturb was not blocking notifications, and that the screen was turned on. The developer noted in the text that the screen part was the part that had changed.

I don't know how old the message was, whether it was iOS 13 specific (the developer didn't say)...but it was an app that had been recently updated. The message wasn't clear whether it was a change that could be coded around and that the developer COULD make the app work with the screen off and WASN'T GOING TO (or HADN'T YET)...or if this was an insurmountable obstacle introduced in iOS 13.

I was hoping to confirm it one way or anther, so that I could save myself the trouble of trying out a hundred apps.

This morning I did find one app that DID work. I tested it with the screen off and with DnD manually turned on, and it worked fine. So my search is over, at least for the moment. But I'm not sure the question has been definitively answered: one app out of dozen isn't enough to determine that there's just something else different about the app that makes it not REALLY an alarm clock app but that it works somewhat like it.

*shrug*

Reply

Answer 4

Oct 17, 2019 8:43 AM in response to lkalliance

Third party alarm clocks have always been problematic. Every one I've ever used had to be the active app or it wouldn't sound. Many had to have the screen unlocked. That's why, despite some very cool features on third party apps, I've stayed with the built in one.

Developers are stuck with the limitations Apple places on third party apps. Every time there's a major change in iOS, there's a risk that things won't work properly any more. Apps that are created and maintained by individuals may not get updated quickly or at all.

Reply

Alarm clock apps have stopped working with screen off

Similar questions