iOS 17: Siri Substitutes a Timer for Alarm

Hisay wrote:

Sometimes I need an alarm not a timer to be set in 20 or 30 minutes because I don’t know the exact time and won’t know the exact time in 20 or 30 minutes but I still need an alarm set. Why did Apple change this wonderful feature. When will you bring back the ability for Surrey to know the time in 20 or 30 minutes, so that she can set an alarm. Please change this feature. I use it a lot.

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Zelda42 wrote:

I'm a nurse and I use this multiple times an hour, and I'm in gloves so I don't want to touch my phone. I will end up missing something because a timer will end and I'll forget by the time I leave the pt room. There is NO 3rd PARTY APP with this functionality. This is the PRIMARY reason I purchased my apple watch 3 months ago. Either FIX this ASAP or allow me to roll my devices back to the last 16.x update.

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Hallisonszoo wrote:

Don’t like the iOS 17 timer in place of alarm update. Bring back the alarm when asking Siri to set an alarm for a specific time. If I want a timer countdown I’ll ask for it. I want the alarm feature back. This is frustrating. Please fix it!

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NFennell wrote:

That's not the issue. We used to be able to say "Siri set an alarm for 1 hour from now" and if it was 4:45 pm it would set the alarm for 5:45 pm. Now, we say "Siri set an alarm for 1 hour from now" and it sets a timer for 1 hour. Added to the fact that this eliminates the options for snoozes (helpful for anything from naps to laundry) since the timer only gives the options of "stop" or "repeat timer", if your hands are busy and aren't holding the phone (cooking for example) you might not have the current time available to you in order to do the correct math.

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Merryme, Siri still sets a Timer though, instead of an Alarm, and responds with “Counting down…” and calls it a Timer instead of an Alarm. Annoying additional steps are required:

1. going to Settings
2. finding Timer, in Settings
3. choosing to be notified when time is up
4. choosing a sound
5. figuring out how to pause instead of turn off sound

YES! I wish they would fix it! It is soooo frustrating!!

Extra steps BUT I just tried

“hey siri set an alarm” once siri asks, “for when?” I said,” ____ hours/minutes from now” AND it worked.

I just reported my feedback about the alarm app and Siri interaction. Everyone should do it as well so this gets more attention

If you tell Siri to set an alarm for a specific time, you’ll get an alarm. I guess I’m satisfied enough

I figured out a workaround! It will set a timer for anything 1 hour or less, but it will set an alarm if you say "hey Siri, set an alarm for an hour and 1 second" lol

So irritating. If I say, "Siri, set an alarm for 45 minutes" I get a timer. Not what I wanted because my timer is set to "turn off" what I'm working on. I want an alarm that notifies me. BUT if I say, "Siri, set an alarm for 45 minutes from now." I get an alarm. Go figure.

17.1 on my new 15. I tried it on my husbands iPhone 10. He’s updating to 17.1 as I’m typing this. His didn’t work. It kept setting a timer. I just tried it again in my phone using the words “set an alarm for 50 minutes from now” and I get the old “Done” reply from Siri and it shows it on the screens as an alarm. I had to do it repeatedly earlier before it finally set the alarm and not the timer.

Well, it worked last night using 17.1 and now this morning it's back to setting a timer instead of an alarm no matter what I say short of telling it the exact time to set the alarm. It's frustrating when they change something a lot of us use in a specific way. Now I have to look at the clock, figure out exactly when the 45 minutes is from that time (math, ugh!) and set the alarm that way.