How to set an alarm on iPhone (iOS 27): step by step, plus the settings that matter

The alarm lives in the Clock app — the white clock-face icon that comes with every iPhone. If you can't see it on your Home Screen, swipe down on the Home Screen, type "Clock" in Search, and open it from there.

Just installed the new update? Setting an alarm works the same way on iOS 27 — the only thing the update moved is where alarm volume lives (see below).

Quick answer: open Clock, tap Alarms at the bottom, tap +, set the time, then tap the check mark (Done). Or just say "Hey Siri, set an alarm for 7 AM."

Set an alarm in the Clock app

1. Open the Clock app.
2. Tap the Alarms tab at the bottom.
3. Tap + (Add).
4. Set the time — check AM or PM, the most common reason an alarm "doesn't go off."
5. Choose the options you want (below), then tap the check mark (Done).

The new alarm appears in your list with its switch turned on. That's it: it will ring at that time even with Silent mode or Do Not Disturb on.

The options on each alarm

When you're adding or editing an alarm, you'll see:

• Repeat — pick the days for a recurring alarm (weekdays, every day, or any mix). Leave it empty for a one-time alarm that switches itself off after it rings.
• Label — a name like "Work" or "Gym" that shows when it rings.
• Sound — the tone it plays. Avoid None: an alarm with no sound only vibrates. If you're choosing for a heavy sleeper, best alarm tones for heavy sleepers ranks them.
• Snooze — turn it on to get a Snooze button when it rings, and set the Snooze Duration. If you sleep through snoozes, turn it off — and if snooze isn't behaving, see iPhone snooze not working.

For everything else that changes how alarms behave — volume, Face ID, Focus — see iPhone alarm settings, explained.

Set an alarm with Siri

Say "Hey Siri, set an alarm for 6:30 AM" — or "wake me up at 6:30", or "set an alarm for 20 minutes from now". Siri adds it to the same Alarms list in the Clock app, where you can change the sound, label or repeat days afterwards.

Edit, turn off or delete an alarm

• Edit: Clock → Alarms → Edit (top left) → tap the alarm, change it, then Save.
• Turn off without deleting: tap the switch next to the alarm so it goes grey.
• Delete: swipe left on the alarm and tap Delete.

More ways — including turning off all alarms at once or skipping one morning — are in how to turn off an alarm on iPhone.

Make sure you'll hear it: set the alarm volume

The volume buttons you use for videos don't set alarm volume. Do this once:

• iOS 27: Settings → Sounds & Haptics → under Alarms and Timers, turn off Match Ringtone Volume, then drag the alarm slider all the way right. Alarms now have their own volume, and turning your ringtone down won't make them quieter.
• iOS 26 and earlier: Settings → Sounds & Haptics → drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider right. That slider is your alarm volume.

Then test it: set an alarm two minutes ahead, lock the phone, and listen. If it's still too quiet, why your iPhone alarm is so quiet has the fixes, starting with the Face ID setting that turns alarms down when it sees you.

What about the "Sleep | Wake Up" alarm?

At the top of the Alarms tab you may see Sleep | Wake Up. That one isn't a regular alarm — it comes from the sleep schedule in the Health app, with its own gentler sounds and its own volume. For a normal alarm, use + as above. If your wake-up alarm has been oddly quiet, that's usually why: Sleep Focus alarm not going off explains it.

No iPhone handy? Set one in your browser

If you're at a computer, the free online alarm clock rings in a browser tab — or jump straight to a time like 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM. For a nap, try wake me up in 20 minutes.

If setting the alarm was never the problem

If your alarm rings perfectly and you still turn it off and go back to sleep, no setting fixes that — the iPhone alarm always stops with one slide. WakeUpBroo is an iPhone alarm with no snooze and no dismiss button: it stops only when you get up and finish a wake-up task — type a code from wakeupbroo.com/code on your laptop, scan a random item in another room, or remember three words.