How do I set my alarm to NOT play through Bluetooth headphones

I sometimes fall asleep while listening to music/podcast but my headphones don’t always make it back into their case. The new iOS now ONLY plays alarms through the Bluetooth connected headphones. How do I restore so that the phone speaker plays the alarm, instead of only through the headphones?

iPhone 12, iOS 14

Posted on Aug 10, 2021 9:08 AM

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26 replies

Aug 11, 2021 8:35 AM in response to ashackel

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities ashackel,


Thank you for contacting us. You have come to the right place and we are happy to assist you. We understand you would like the alarm not to play after you fall asleep.  We can understand why you’d reach out for a solution and actually that was the topic of a conversation recently. To start, make sure you have the most current Operating System on your device (Settings > General > Software Update). There are a couple work arounds that you can try but no way to just change the setting to "not" play via bluetooth.


Adjust audio and visual settings on iPhone - Set headphone accommodations

Play audio using Siri on HomePod - Set a sleep timer: Stop music, podcasts . . .

Add an alarm on Apple Watch - "You aren’t alerted on your iPhone when your Apple Watch alarms go off."


Good luck, hope this options help!


Thank you for contacting Apple Support Communities.


Best regards.

Sep 28, 2021 10:19 PM in response to ashackel

I get the same issue with my iPhone 12 pro and it never happened on my 7…


work around for me is setting automatic ear detection on my air pods so when they fall out while I’m sleeping, they technically disconnect.


once disconnected , the alarm plays through my phone speaker and as an added bonus the battery doesn’t drain while they’re disconnected (I think lol)

Aug 13, 2021 7:15 AM in response to Jeff_W.

Hello Jeff, I’m afraid you misunderstood my question. After upgrading to the latest iOS, the alarm now ONLY plays through my Beats headphones. So if I fall asleep and my headphones are still connected via Bluetooth, the alarm ONLY will play on the headphones and I do not hear it (because the headphones have fallen out of my ear during the night, etc).


So my question is how do I get my alarm to play via the phone’s speaker, and not only through the connected headphones.

Aug 15, 2021 8:44 AM in response to ashackel

ashackel,


Thank you for the clarification.


The alarm should be playing via the iPhone internal speakers, so it should play on both.

How to set and manage alarms on your iPhone

"If you connect headphones or speakers to your iPhone, the alarm plays at a set volume through the built-in speakers on your iPhone as well as wired and wireless headphones and speakers."


Since the alarms not playing via the internal speakers, check out the below steps:

If you hear no sound or distorted sound from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch speaker


Let us know if this fixes the issue.


Cheers

Aug 18, 2021 10:00 AM in response to shani121

I tried the steps listed here: If you hear no sound or distorted sound from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch speaker. No change. Still having same issue.

The alarm would previously play through the phone’s speakers whether the phone was on silent mode or not. I tried with silent mode on and with silent mode off and it still does not play through the speakers if Bluetooth headphones are connected. When I disconnect the headphones the alarm does play through the speakers, so the issue is not with the phone’s speakers.

Aug 23, 2021 2:55 PM in response to Jeff_W.

Same problem! I was sleeping with my airpods, took them out, didn’t put them back into the case and I was late for work, because the alarm was playing in the airpods and not the phone! Now I can’t enjoy anything through airpods before bed! Because I have anxiety I will be late for work if I fall asleep with them and take them out or they fall out! Fix it with an update and stop spamming your useless steps when this is a problem from your side and not ours!!!!!

Aug 24, 2021 8:49 PM in response to ashackel

Same here. I usually meditate using Airpods Pro with latest firmware on IPhone 12 Pro iOS 14.7.1and fall sleep. AirPods fall out of my ears during the night then I get no alarm and late for work. Will try if the issue persists using 3rd party alarm but shame on Apple for not providing the appropriate customization for this basic matter.

Please fix it!

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How do I set my alarm to NOT play through Bluetooth headphones

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