Problem with feature puts iPhone users at risk of getting fired, flunking out, and getting sick
During the spring, iPhone users were oversleeping and arriving too late at work, school, or at doctor offices all because of an issue with the handset's alarm clock. On April 30th, NBC's Today Show played some TikTok videos from iPhone users complaining that their preset iPhone alarms were not going off. Apple subsequently said that it was working on a fix, but iPhone users are still complaining.
On Reddit yesterday, user bryanlolwut posted a photo of his iPhone and his Apple Watch together to show that the alarm he set for 10:30 am this morning didn't go off until 12:42 pm. The issue is not just messing up alarms but is also screwing up reminders set on the iPhone. According to one Redditor, a couple of reminders he set for 10:30 and 10:45 (am or pm was not specified) went off randomly after 11.
Photo shows that an iPhone alarm set for 1
0 am didn't go off until
2 pm. | Image credit-bryanlolwut, Reddit subscriber
Another Redditor explained that those who are calling this an iOS 18 problem are wrong because he has had alarms and reminders ring hours late and his iPhone is running on iOS 17. And this really isn't a new issue since iPhone users have complained about this problem as far back as 2009. One iPhone user ended up buying a cheap alarm clock after his alarm failed to wake him almost causing him to miss an important exam.
"I thought I was losing my mind. These damn things either go off late, go off silently (despite every setting showing max volume for ringer, alarm, and otherwise), or the alarms TURN THEMSELVES OFF OVERNIGHT?? On that last point, I thought maybe I turned it off overnight while half asleep the first time it happened and then forgot about [it]. The second, third, and fourth times I knew something was up."-stallion 64, Reddit subscriber
This might not sound like a serious problem but it is as serious as the consequences that oversleeping might cause. As one Redditor wrote today, "I use my iPhone alarm along with an alarm I got from Amazon. One morning it just didn’t go off and almost got fired."
Back in 2023 when a similar issue took place, Apple told iPhone users to go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, and type in your passcode. On the next page, toggle off Attention Aware. This is the feature that keeps an iPhone display from getting dim, and will lower the volume of some alerts if it detects that you are staring at your iPhone screen. The thought is that alarms are not going off because the device mistakenly is detecting your face looking at the display on your phone.
Obviously, this is still a problem for too many iPhone users who rely on the alarm clock on their iPhone to get up at a certain time. If you are having this problem you can always turn to the alarm clock on your Apple Watch or iPad. If you have an old phone lying around in a drawer, charge it up, connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and set the alarm on that device. Hopefully we really will see Apple release an update that will fix the problem causing too many iPhone users to get fired from work, flunk out of school, or remain undiagnosed with a serious ailment.
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