Steps checked 5 November 2026

Why is my alarm so quiet?

It's usually the alarm's own volume or sound, and each phone keeps them somewhere different. Here's where to find them, step by step, and what else can turn an alarm down.

Your phone

Your alarm

What happened?

Try these first

  1. Turn on Always Play on iPhone

    With an Apple Watch on in bed, the sleep alarm can play only on the watch. iOS 26.4 and later can play it on the phone too.

    1. Clock
    2. Alarms
    3. Change
    4. Always Play on iPhone

  2. Pick a sound that isn't None

    With Sound set to None, the alarm only vibrates. It's silent if its Haptics is None, Vibration is off in Accessibility, or iPhone is in StandBy.

    1. Clock
    2. Alarms
    3. Edit
    4. your alarm
    5. Sound

  3. Turn up the alarm volume

    On iOS 27, turn off Match Ringtone Volume under Alarms and Timers, then drag that slider up. On iOS 26, drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider. To stop stray button presses lowering it, turn off Change with Buttons.

    1. Settings
    2. Sounds & Haptics
See all 13 iPhone fixes
iPhone: turn up the alarm volume
On iOS 27, turn off Match Ringtone Volume under Alarms and Timers, then drag that slider up. On iOS 26, drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider. To stop stray button presses lowering it, turn off Change with Buttons.

Sources: Apple (1, 2, 3)

Samsung: turn on the alarm's sound, and turn it up
Alarm volume isn't on the phone's Volume screen. Each alarm has its own, at the bottom of the Ringtone screen under Alarm sound. The switch beside Alarm sound must be on too.

Sources: Samsung (1, 2)

Other Android: turn up the alarm volume
Alarms have their own slider, apart from the ringer. Google's Clock warns that under 30% may be too quiet.

Sources: Google (1, 2)

Where to check it, step by step

For the phone's own Clock app. The names come from Apple's, Samsung's and Google's help pages, so yours may differ a little.

iPhone

Change an alarm's sound

  1. Open Clock and tap Alarms.
  2. Tap the alarm's time.
  3. Tap Sound and pick a ringtone.
  4. Go back and save the alarm.

With Sound set to None, the alarm only vibrates. It's silent if its Haptics is None, Vibration is off in Accessibility, or iPhone is in StandBy.

Turn up the volume on iOS 27

  1. Open Settings and tap Sounds & Haptics.
  2. Under Alarms and Timers, turn off Match Ringtone Volume.
  3. Drag the alarm slider up.

Until you turn off Match Ringtone Volume, alarms follow your ringtone volume.

Turn up the volume on iOS 26

  1. Open Settings and tap Sounds & Haptics.
  2. Drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider up.

This one slider sets your ringtone and your alarms together.

Your sleep schedule's alarm

  1. Open Clock, tap Alarms, then tap Change.
  2. Scroll down to Alarm Options.
  3. Pick a sound under Sounds & Haptics, and drag Alarm volume up.
  4. Tap Done, then Change This Schedule.

It has a volume of its own, which iOS 27's alarm slider doesn't change, and it can't use a song.

Samsung

Change an alarm's sound and volume

  1. Open Clock and tap Alarm.
  2. Tap the alarm, and make sure the switch beside Alarm sound is on.
  3. Tap Alarm sound, then Ringtone, and pick one.
  4. Drag the volume slider at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Go back twice and tap Save.

Alarm volume isn't on the phone's Volume screen. Each alarm keeps its own, and the same screen can have Gradually increase volume, which starts it quietly.

One volume for every alarm

  1. Open Clock, tap More options (⋮), then Settings.
  2. Tap Volume.
  3. Choose Use the same volume for all alarms, or Set different volumes for each alarm.

Clock has this choice from One UI 7.

Pixel and other Android

Change an alarm's sound

  1. Open Clock and tap Alarm.
  2. Tap the alarm, then tap its sound.
  3. Pick one of the phone's sounds, or add a sound file of your own.

An alarm set to a silent sound only vibrates, and does nothing with vibration off.

Turn up the volume

  1. Open Settings and tap Sound & vibration.
  2. Drag Alarm volume up.

Alarms have their own slider, apart from the ringer. Google's Clock warns that under 30% may be too quiet.

Checked against Apple's iPhone User Guide for iOS 26 and iOS 27, Samsung's help pages and Google's Clock help on 5 November 2026.

What else can turn it down

Sound and volume right, and still quiet? These come next, most likely first.

iPhone

Test again, and check your Apple Watch

Since iOS 26, many people say alarms showed on screen but made no sound. On iOS 27, some fixed it by updating or unpairing an older Apple Watch. Apple hasn't confirmed this, so test an alarm before bed.

Sources: Apple Community (1, 2)

Turn on Always Play on iPhone

With an Apple Watch on in bed, the sleep alarm can play only on the watch. iOS 26.4 and later can play it on the phone too.

  1. Clock
  2. Alarms
  3. Change
  4. Always Play on iPhone

Sources: Apple, 9to5Mac

Turn off Attention Aware Features

On Face ID iPhones it lowers alert volume when you look at the phone. Some people say it quiets alarms too.

  1. Settings
  2. Face ID & Passcode
  3. Attention Aware Features

Sources: Apple, Apple Community

Use a built-in tone, not a song

Some people found song alarms played only in their earbuds.

  1. Clock
  2. Alarms
  3. Edit
  4. your alarm
  5. Sound

Sources: Apple Community (1, 2)

See all 13 iPhone fixes

Samsung

Turn off Silence alarms when system sound is off

With it on, Mute or Vibrate silences your alarms too. Some phones word it as alarms and timers vibrating only.

  1. Clock
  3. Settings

Sources: Samsung (1, 2)

Turn off Mute all sounds

It silences every sound on the phone, alarms included.

  1. Settings
  2. Accessibility
  3. Hearing enhancements
  4. Mute all sounds

Sources: Samsung (1, 2)

Turn off Mute with gestures

It's usually on. Covering the screen or turning the phone face down while the alarm rings mutes it, and it rings again after the snooze time.

  1. Settings
  2. Advanced features
  3. Motions and gestures
  4. Mute with gestures

Source: Samsung

Disconnect earbuds at night

Samsung doesn't say where the alarm plays with earbuds connected, and one owner says it skipped the speaker. Turn Bluetooth off at night, or test with them connected but out of your ears.

  1. Settings
  2. Connections
  3. Bluetooth

Sources: Samsung, Samsung Community

Restart if it only beeps

Some Galaxy owners say their alarm only beeped, with a note that it can't play during a call, when no call was on. A restart fixed it until their next call. Samsung hasn't said why.

Source: Samsung Community

See all 15 Samsung fixes

Pixel and other Android

Check Clock's alarm settings

Gradually increase volume starts the alarm quietly, Silence after stops it after a set time, and Volume buttons decides what pressing one does while it rings. All three are under Alarms.

  1. Clock
  2. More
  3. Settings

Source: Google

Disconnect earbuds at night

With earbuds connected, the alarm usually plays in them too. If music was playing, it may be no louder than the music.

Sources: Android's code (1, 2)

Keep Clock's notifications on

Google says Clock needs its notifications on for you to hear alarms.

  1. Settings
  2. Apps
  3. See all apps
  4. Clock
  5. Notifications

Source: Google

Test again, and check Silence after

Some Pixel owners say their alarms made no sound, or that Clock said they were automatically silenced. Google hasn't explained it. Some suggest setting Silence after to Never. Test an alarm before bed.

  1. Clock
  2. More
  3. Settings

Sources: Google, Android Authority (1, 2)

See all 14 Android fixes

Test it in 2 minutes

Set an alarm for

2minutes from now

Pick a time two minutes from now.

  1. 1Set it in the alarm app you wake up with.
  2. 2Turn on what you'll have on tonight, like Do Not Disturb or silent.
  3. 3Lock the phone and put it face down.

Questions people ask

Why is my alarm so quiet?

Usually its own volume is low. On iPhone with iOS 27, alarms follow your ringtone volume until you turn off Match Ringtone Volume, and on iOS 26 the Ringtone and Alerts slider sets them. Samsung keeps it on each alarm, at the bottom of the Ringtone screen under Alarm sound, and Pixel has an Alarm volume slider apart from the ringer.

Why is my iPhone alarm not making a sound?

Check that the alarm's Sound isn't None, and that its volume is up. If you wear an Apple Watch to bed, your sleep alarm may play only on the watch. Since iOS 26, many people have also reported alarms that show on screen with no sound, and on iOS 27 some fixed it by updating or unpairing an older Apple Watch. Apple hasn't confirmed this, so test an alarm before bed.

How do I change my alarm sound?

On iPhone, open Clock, tap Alarms, tap the alarm's time, then Sound. On Samsung, open Clock, tap the alarm, then Alarm sound and Ringtone. On Pixel, open Clock, tap the alarm, then its sound. The steps above have the rest.

Why does my alarm start quiet and get louder?

On Pixel, Gradually increase volume in Clock's settings starts alarms quietly, and a Samsung alarm's ringtone screen can have the same switch. Turn it off if the start is too soft to wake you. Apple's guide lists no such setting for iPhone.

Can earbuds make my alarm quieter?

They can. On Android, if music was playing in your earbuds, the alarm may be no louder than the music. On iPhone, Apple says it plays on the speaker and your headphones at once, but some people say alarms, especially songs, played only in their earbuds. Samsung doesn't say where it plays. Disconnect them at night to be sure.

More answers

Known alarm bugs right now

Too quiet

An alarm that keeps ringing until you're up.

Bed Quitter plays as an alarm, not as music. On Android, it warns you the evening before if a low volume would keep it quiet, and turns up a very low alarm volume when it rings. Then it keeps ringing until you're out of bed and moving.

Out December 1 on Android and iPhone. One email at launch, nothing else. Privacy

A woman stretching her arms overhead beside a sunny window, up and out of bed.

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