Separate volume control for alarm and ringer

OK, I've found a reasonably easy solution to my issue with volume levels. If you're happy to wake up to a choice of a music track on your iDevice, then you can change the master volume of your chosen track, so even if leaving the volume of your device on high, then the alarm plays a quiet track. So, choose your track in iTunes, right click and create an aac copy and rename by adding 'alarm' to the end of the track name. Now right click on the new 'alarm' track and click 'get info', under one of the tabs in the get info tab, you can change the master volume of the track, so I set mine to to about 10%. I then synced the new track to my phone and selected this 'alarm' version of the track as the alarm tone. Now with the phone on high volume, my alarm is still quiet. Hope this helps.

Thanks, MattJames -- I'm going to try that -- I couldn't get it to convert to an AAC -- no such option is offered -- but I did manage to change the volume. We'll see how that works out!! Appreciated!

Cheers, Dallas

drdca wrote:

Thanks, MattJames -- I'm going to try that -- I couldn't get it to convert to an AAC -- no such option is offered

You have to change your import settings to AAC.

iTunes prefs > General > Import settings

Imagine my disappointment when I change the track, choose it as my alarm and it plays all nice and quiet in the preview, setting the alarm and then waking up to realise the alarm volume seems to for get my 'quiet ' track and play it at full volume anyway. Sorry for the false hope people. Maybe it worked for you?

Hi Siphone6,

Thanks for being another person trying to sort out a solution, Sadly we're not quite there yet. As far as I can tell turning off the 'volume control with buttons' only separates the volume for audio or call loudness from the alerts and notifications. But the problem is not being able to separate the alert volume from the alarm volume. I think most people here seek a quiet alarm, but not having the alerts quiet too. (being forgetful i tend to miss stuff because the phone was quiet from my alarm preference the prior morning) While I'm not convinced this will ever change (see how long ago this thread started) maybe one day we will get volume settings that are discreet across the entire phone.

Matt

Hi MattjamesB,

That's fine! Just trying to help.

The thing is I've tried it and it works: by separating the ringer settings from the volume buttons, you can set a volume for the alarms I.e in the settings and a separate volume for the phone ringer I.e adjusted through the volume keys.

Have you you tried it out? The only thing I've found is that you can't separate the vibration alert, I haven't tried with a song of mine though.

Simon

That's fine! That's why I posted that comment.

I guess that it hasn't worked for anyone else on this forum but it HAS for me, and the guy who posted the original comment on reedit. I have an iPhone 6 on iOS 8.3 (I think! Lol) and I tried it out yesterday evening with the alarm function several times. The alarm rang at a lower volume than my ringer each time. In fact, I left my ringer on maximum and had the alarm tone set a much lower volume - 3 bars, and the alarm went off at a lower volume this morning, unfortunately with the vibration as I had left that on(!)

If it doesn't work for you guys then I'm sorry but the fact remains that it has for me and at least one other person. Apologies that it doesn't seem to have worked for others but it does beg the question of whether anyone has tried to adjust the ringer higher than the alarm volume after unticking the option, 'change with buttons', through the volume buttons. I just don't understand how mine could be so different.

If they have then I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Hi SiPhone6,

Really glad for you that you've got the two sounds (phone ring volume and alarm clock volume) to be separate 🙂

I couldn't get this to work for me 😟 would you mind writing out the steps that you took?

Was it

1. tick option 'change with buttons'

2. set volume with slider to low

3. untick option 'change with buttons'

4. set volume to high with volume buttons

Probably not, but i'd love to try the steps that got it working for you!

Cheers

Hi there slaterk,

I'm really sorry - I've just got home and the comments got me thinking so I tried out my landline, I apologise most profusely uri66 and MattjamesB - I would've edited my reply but the browser just won't let me for some reason!

What they've said is correct: the volume buttons, when independent, only control the audio - not the ringer or alerts (definitely not the alarm). I guess I should've phoned myself a couple of times before!

I also realised that I had left my ringer on 'low', that's why it was low.

Many apologies again, slaterk, uri66, MattjamesB and anyone else!

No problems, I just wish I had been right...it would've been lovely for everyone. Maybe ioS 8.4? 9.0? lol

Best wishes everyone - I'll keep up-to-date with this forum and hopefully someone will have the answer

SiPhone6 wrote:

and hopefully someone will have the answer

I think that person will have to be either Tim Cook or Johny Ive!!

(Curse their butlers - who do the volume adjustments for them, morning and night!)

LOL @lanicaanvenice - all this does is adjust the ringer volume...which is EXACTLY THE PROBLEM. I suggest you read the thread, starting at the top.

In Android, for example, you can adjust the RINGER volume and the ALARM volume separately. iOS should have this so I don't (1) have an extremely loud alarm or (2) have an extremely quiet ringer. Make sense?

Ok,

well err it works for me. I just tried it. Alarm and ringer volume are separated by the steps I just posted previous to this. I read from the top and that's why I was so surprised. I think you are not reading my post properly. It DOES NOT seperate the volume of each alarm, only the alarm from the ringer... You really should try it... Unless I'm the only one with the magic iphone ...

It is impossible to set low alarm volume and have it remain at that level after using the phone for other things. After you set your wake up alarm to a low volume with your process (something I've done about 1,000 times) please go back and watch a movie at high volume, and turn your ringer up.

Warn your spouse before you go to bed.

Or, do you go in every night and adjust the volume like this? That works. Having to set the alarm volume every night is not what we're after.

Cheers,