Open Settings and find the Sounds & Haptics menu

To change your alarm sound, start by opening the Settings app on your iPhone — it's the gray icon with gears that you'll find on your home screen. Scroll down until you see "Sounds & Haptics" and tap it.

Once you're in Sounds & Haptics, you'll see a list of different notification types. Scroll down past the ringtone and text tone options until you reach "Alarm" — it's usually near the bottom of the list.

Tap Alarm to see your sound options

When you tap "Alarm," your iPhone shows you every built-in alarm sound available. The list includes names like "Alarm," "Beacon," "Bells," "Chime," and many others. Each one sounds different — some are gentle, some are loud and jarring, and some have a musical quality.

As you scroll through the list, you can tap any sound to hear a preview of it. This is the best way to find one that will actually wake you up without annoying you too much. The sound will play for a few seconds so you can get a real sense of what it sounds like at full volume.

Key Takeaways

  • Your alarm sound lives in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Alarm, not in the Clock app itself.
  • You can preview each built-in sound by tapping it before you commit to a choice.
  • If you want a song from your music library as an alarm, you need to use the Clock app instead of the Sounds & Haptics menu.
  • The alarm sound you choose in Settings applies to all your alarms unless you change it again later.

Select your new alarm sound

Once you've found a sound you like, tap it to select it. You'll see a checkmark appear next to your choice. That's it — your new alarm sound is now active. The next time any of your alarms goes off, it will use the sound you just picked.

If you change your mind later, you can come back to this same menu and pick a different sound. There's no limit to how many times you can switch.

Using a song from your music library instead

The Sounds & Haptics menu only shows Apple's built-in alarm sounds. If you want to use a song from your music library — something you've downloaded or added to your iPhone — you need to set it up differently. Open the Clock app (the one with a clock face icon), tap the "Alarm" tab at the bottom, then tap the "+" button to create a new alarm or edit an existing one.

When you're setting up or editing the alarm, scroll down and tap "Sound." At the top of the list, you'll see "Pick a song" — tap that, and you can choose any song stored on your phone. Keep in mind that not all songs work equally well as alarms; a song that fades in gently might not wake you up, while one with a sudden loud start will.

Why your alarm might not be using the sound you picked

If you set a new alarm sound in Settings but your alarm still uses the old one, check whether you created that specific alarm in the Clock app. Alarms made in the Clock app can have their own individual sounds, which override the default you set in Settings. To fix this, open the Clock app, find the alarm that's not using your new sound, tap "Edit," then tap "Sound" and change it there.

Another reason your alarm might sound different: if you have your iPhone on silent mode (using the physical mute switch on the side of your phone), the alarm will still go off, but it may sound quieter or different than you expect. Alarms bypass the silent switch, but the volume level can still be affected by your overall volume settings.

Restoring the default alarm sound

If you've tried several sounds and want to go back to the original, open Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Alarm and select "Alarm" — that's the first option in the list and the one most iPhones come with by default. It's a classic, steady beeping sound that's designed to wake you up reliably.

You can also reset all your sound settings to Apple's defaults by going to Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. This will reset your alarm sound along with other audio preferences, so only do this if you're willing to reconfigure other sounds on your phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a video or voice memo as an alarm sound?

No, alarms only work with audio files. You can use songs from your music library or Apple's built-in sounds, but not videos. Voice memos can't be set as alarms either, though you could record a song and add it to your music library if you wanted to use it that way.

Will my alarm still go off if my phone is turned off?

No. Your alarm only works when your iPhone is powered on. If your phone is off or in airplane mode, the alarm won't sound. Make sure your phone is on and has enough battery before you go to sleep if you're relying on an alarm to wake you.

Why does my alarm sound different on different days?

If you have multiple alarms set, each one might have its own sound. Check the Clock app and tap "Edit" on each alarm to see which sound is assigned to which one. You can also check whether you accidentally changed the default sound in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Alarm.

Can I make my own alarm sound and use it?

You can add custom songs to your music library and use those as alarms through the Clock app. To do this, you'd need to get the audio file onto your iPhone first — either by downloading it, syncing it from a computer, or recording it. Once it's in your music library, you can set it as an alarm sound.