6 apps to set up recurring alarms on Android and iOS


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You’d think that something as simple as recurring reminders or alarms would be an integrated smartphone function. And while you can easily set up your device to ring at the same time every day, you still can’t have it vibrate every two hours without creating 12 different alarms. That is, unless you have a third-party app.

Whether you need to take medication three times a day or just want to take a sip of water every 60 minutes, these apps for Android and iOS will help you achieve your goals.

What you can do with your phone

Probably the shortest interval that you can set between the alarms of the built-in clock, the calendar or the reminder app on your device is 24 hours. But there are some arbitrary workarounds.

On Android, you can adjust your phone’s snooze time so that it sounds an alarm every 30 minutes. To do this, go to the Clock app and set up a regular alarm by tapping the big one Plus button below and add your desired parameters. When you’re done, tap that three points in the top right corner of your screen and go to settings. Scroll down, you will find alarm, and Tap Snooze length. Select the last option there, 30 minutes, that’s the longest time you can snooze an alarm clock. Note that the features of Android vary greatly depending on the manufacturer of your device. So don’t be surprised if that option isn’t there or you can actually set up recurring alarms (luckily).

[Related: Ditch your alarm and wake up to podcasts and relaxing sounds instead]

If you need to use this strategy, hit snooze every time the alarm goes off and you will technically get warnings every half hour. Aside from the fact that this is a limited trick, the main downside is that you have to get the job done right away as snoozing becomes the real alarm clock or you risk forgetting about it until the alarm goes off again.

Apple doesn’t allow iOS users to change the default snooze duration of 9 minutes, so you won’t be able to use this trick if you have an iPhone. You can set a timer in the Clock app and press Repeat from your phone’s lock screen every time it is turned off. However, this will only work if your phone is locked when the alert hits. If it doesn’t, your best bet is to open the Clock app and just set a new timer. Of course, this is hardly automated and is far from ideal.

But there are third-party apps available for this task.

Apps for setting recurring alarms on iOS

Hourly Chime is possibly one of the easiest recurring alarm apps available. It only provides hourly alarms. However, you can choose which notifications go off on which days and add notes to each one so you know what to do every time. What you can’t do is edit the times. Hourly Chime hasn’t been updated in five years, but considering how simple it is, this shouldn’t be a problem.

If you want more settings and options, Repeat Timer is a more comprehensive alternative. Memories can diverge every second (why should you ?!) or a whole day. With a basic account, you only get five repetitions for a single timer, but you can set a new timer to repeat five more times when it expires. For $ 5 you get 99 repetitions per timer, plus 35 more sounds and the ability to run up to 10 timers at the same time.

Finally, there’s Alarmed, which is possibly the most feature-rich app on this list. You can set up notifications by using preset times or adding the exact time you want them to go off. You can also name your reminders, add notes, color-code them and put them in a specific category. Alarmed is also the only app on this list that has a nag function that can tirelessly remind you of what to do until you actually do it and discard the warning. The platform also has one of the largest sound libraries on this list. So if you want to recognize every memory by just listening to it, you’ll find dozen of options including simple chimes, “frog symphony,” and growling zombies. Just like Hourly Chime, Alarmed hasn’t been updated in a while (six years) so its look and feel may not have been optimized for newer iPhone models.

Apps for setting recurring alarms on Android

If you’ve ever thought your alarm clock should have a social aspect, Galarm is for you. With this free app, you can share notifications with your friends and family so that you and your siblings never forget your parents’ anniversary. Galarm also lets you set a reminder for someone else and notify you when they go off so you can check in to see if the other person did what they were supposed to. That being said, this app lets you create recurring reminders that last up to an hour, and premium users ($ 0.99 per month or $ 6.99 per year) can cut this down to 45 minute intervals. You can also add a note to your alarm clock, set the tone and even set the number of snooze times.

To Do Reminder is an equally powerful app. It’s definitely not as social as Galarm, but this platform allows you to schedule alarms to go off as often as every minute. You can even set up a notification to remind you that the alarm is imminent. To Do Reminder is flexible and can be helpful whether you want to give your dog the medication recommended by the vet or leave your desk every hour for a minute.

[Related: Choose an alarm app that will actually wake you up]

You can also try to repeat the alarm. Its name isn’t particularly fancy, and neither is its user interface, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. This tool can trigger up to every five minutes, but unlike the other apps on this list, Repeat Alarm lets you set a time period to ensure your “Drink water!” Reminder does not wake you up at 4 a.m. The app also lets you choose between three different snooze lengths (one, five and 10 minutes) each time the trigger is triggered. And when you close the warning it will ask if you actually did what you had to do. You can also choose tones for each alarm, and while a $ 3.49 Premium account has additional settings, the basic features should be more than enough to meet your needs.

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