If you don’t find yourself stretching across the bed at 15 minutes past five on Thursday morning, blame the iPhone for not tooting because of a software bug.
Over the last few days, some iPhone users across the globe have been complaining about the alarm not going off on the phone, many of whom have taken to social media to talk about the rude awakening.
Apple is aware of the issue and is working on a fix but the company hasn’t offered details about what has brought on the bug and why it’s affecting some users and not all.
Given our dependance on the smartphone for every movement of our waking hours, a missed alarm could result in late school send-offs, missed classes and office meetings. After all, most smartphone users don’t touch some daily alarms for years because wake up we must at a certain hour.
It is unclear how widespread the problem is but in case you are worried that you could be late to your meeting with the first caffeine kick of the day, check a couple of your iPhone settings. First, make sure that the “Ringtone and Alerts” volume slider under Settings > “Sound & Haptic” is turned up because one can unconsciously turn down the volume by toggling on the “Change with Buttons” slider located below it.
Some users are suggesting turning off the “Attention-aware Features” toggle under “Face ID & Attention”. The setting usually allows users to expand notifications while the screen is locked, but it can also turn the alarm down if you look at your screen while it’s going off. It could be an issue if you sleep with the phone facing you on a stand and then try to open your eyes while waking up.
Bugs in the smartphone alarm app are not new. In 2010, a glitch caused recurring weekday alarms on the iPhone not to ring because of the end of Daylight Saving Time in the US. The following year, another iOS bug left the iPhone without functioning alarms on the first of January.
The good news is that the bug is not affecting most users and the bad news for students is they can’t complain that a missed alarm ate their homework. In case you are among the affected few, remember, the ol’ wind-up alarm clock was once an important survival tool.
