Using Cell Phones as Your Alarm Clock

Updated on January 28, 2011
R.F. asks from Plano, TX
42 answers

I know this sounds random - do you (or anyone that you know) use your cell phone as your alarm clock? I do - I keep it on vibrate to wake up gently - not music or that horrid buzzing sound from an alarm clock!
The reason I'm asking is that I got 2 calls at 1am this morning - wrong number with a non English speaking person, so I just had to say wrong number, hang up. It apparently worked. However, my husband was pissed at the time because I use my phone as an alarm - mind you, this is the only middle of the night wrong number I've received and it apparently ruined his 'beauty sleep', so he berated me with his comment "you like to torture yourself, don't you?" (because I really haven't been sleeping well, but I would never anticipate a wrong number at 1am).
I suppose my question (other than venting!) - is it really so odd to use a phone as an alarm? And yes, I will turn my ring to silent at night from now on.

What can I do next?

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B.F.

answers from Chicago on

I use the cel phone as my alarm for years now. So does my husband. There is no point in having a million gadgets around the house when you have one that can do it all.

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

No, I use mine as an alarm clock too. If I wake up to that loud buzzing noise then it just sets the tone for the rest of my day and it's horrible. I wake up more peacefully w/ my phone!!

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J.B.

answers from Phoenix on

I use mine as an alarm. It has gone rang at odd times before, but we get over it. hubby uses his too

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L.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I use mine for an alarm also. Have for years.

Even if I didn't, I wouldn't turn the ringer off, as it's my only phone - no landline - and that makes me uncomfortable in the odd event of a family emergency. But I believe that most phones, at least newer ones will allow you to silence the ringer, and keep the alarm active. Sheesh. Plus, I get alerts when there's a school delay or cancellation, so I don't even have to turn on the tv or get on the computer. Just press a button, and back to dreamland.

Tell your husband to lighten up and to step into the 21st century with the rest of us. With a smile, of course. :)

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R..

answers from Chattanooga on

I do! My phone is a blackberry though, and I set a ringer profile so that only my alarm sounds, but calls are silenced. But before I got my new phone, I had one with no special features... and friends that liked to party... so I would get frequent calls in the middle of the night. I would ignore it, and if they called again answer with 'SLEEPING! NO TALKY!' and they knew better than to call again. lol.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

You may have gotten this already but there are a LOT of responses here lol. I am not sure what kind of phone you have but my last 2 would still allow the alarm to sound with my phone on silent. I would test it to make sure of course but I do that every night. My phone would go off all night long because of work e-mail and the wonderful facebook... Silence is a MUST :D Anyway.. check to see if it will still go off with your phone on silent.

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F.W.

answers from Miami on

I use my cell as my alarm and I also annoyingly have it going off every 10 mins for an hour before I wake up. :-) Good job i'm single!! Hmm might have to stop that if I ever get married again. lol

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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

Ummm.... back when people had landlines they'd get wrong numbers in the middle of the night. And THEY didn't have a vibrate option.

Yup. I use my cell as my alarm. When I need an alarm. Since becoming a mum, I very rarely need a real alarm.

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S.H.

answers from Huntsville on

Yes I use my cell phone for my alarm too. I can set it to only go off Monday thru Friday - so I don't have to worry about it waking me up on the weekends or forgetting to turn it back on for Monday!

Plus, what if the power goes out? That's ok, phone still works! :) No worries about batteries in the radio.

My cell is my only phone, so I don't turn the ringer or anything off. I don't want to be unreachable in case of emergency. Plus my phone is also my weather alarm! I get texts from The Weather Channel when there is severe weather (storms, tornadoes, etc.). I get a text a few seconds - sometimes a whole minute - before the city tornado sirens go off. Plus, I've worked in an office where we could not even hear the city sirens from my desk!! Now I get it on my phone no matter where I am.

I think your hubby is just cranky :)

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K.P.

answers from New York on

I use my cell as my alarm b/c my husband and I get up at different times. I keep mine set to the lowest setting and can quickly turn it off when school is cancelled due to weather. It's convenient for us and I didn't want two separate clocks in the room.

It's not weird and he's just being cranky!

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B.S.

answers from Saginaw on

Yes, I use mine as an alarm clock every weekday. What I love about a phone alarm is that you can set it to just go off M-F. (Maybe some alarm clocks can do this, but I"ve never had one that did.)

Not only that but my husband and I got rid of our land line so we each have our cell phones as the only way people can reach us. So having it by my bedside is important as it would be the only way people could contact me in an emergency. And I have had that 3am call that was an emergency. So it serves two purposes being on my bedside. I also like the feeling of having a phone near in case I would need it in an emergency.

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

Yes I use my cell phone. it is gentler on the ears and is not as disturbing to my DH who gets to sleep in longer than I do. Love using it.

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M.J.

answers from St. Louis on

Yes I use my cell phone as an alarm clock. Most phones you can even set your alarm and turn it off. It will still sound your alarm in the morning. Check your owners manual or go online to see if this is an option on your phone. I love mine as it is easy to snooze and you can set MULTIPLE alarms. I set one to get my son in the shower, then set another to get him out of the shower so I can get in.

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A.B.

answers from New York on

Both me and the hubs use our phones. FYI your home phone could have rung at 1am too! Sounds like hubby is cranky when he doesn't get his full 8 hours poor baby.....NOT!!!

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A.F.

answers from Chicago on

I use my phone as my alarm BUT I turn off the "connection" (it is a bberry) while I am in bed so there is zero chance of getting a call or e-mail while I am sleeping....phone would be the same in airplane mode. Try it! As long as you have a landline and people know if it is an EMERGENCY, they can call you there in the middle of the night (like someone is seriously injured)...then you should be AOK. I don't like the radio waves coming into our bed while I am sleeping anyway...so another thought!

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J.C.

answers from New York on

What's the difference if it rang in your purse in your room or on your night stand.

Sounds like he's being grumpy.

Lots of people use cells as alarms. It's not strange.

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K.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

I use my cell phone as an alarm clock. I do not think the vibrate would wake me but I found a soothing ring tone that is perfect for me to wake up to.

With my phone if I turn it to silent so is the alarm, but I could set everything to vibrate... I say do what works best for you, and hopefully you will not get any more late night/early morning calls that will disturb hubby.

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B.M.

answers from Chicago on

I woke up this morning to the gentle tones of my cell phone. If you can put your incoming calls on silent then do that... There is no difference between having a cell phone by your bed or an extension phone . Anyone remember the old "princess phones with the light up dial" ? Mine was powder blue !!

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J.C.

answers from Lincoln on

Not unusual at all. I do it, my husband does it, and so do my kids. Works great!

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J.B.

answers from Dallas on

My husband and I both use our phones as alarm clocks. I wake up an hour before him. We started doing this when our alarm clock when we got married over 20 years ago finally decided to no longer be an alarm clock. Rarely has my husband complained (especially since I am the one who usually makes the coffee).

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B.D.

answers from Wichita on

I always used my cell phone as my alarm. Comes in really handy when you lose electricity in the middle of the night and your alarm clock sets back to 12:00.

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L.L.

answers from Topeka on

Yes I use it daily it also has all my calendar info set to the time then a reminder will go off as my alarm reminding me of what event I have to attend to an appt. or time to get up & moving.My hubby has an alarm by his side of bed me my cell I will not purchase another alarm clock just for myself since I have one built in to my cell phone.No it's not odd to use a cell phone as your alarm clock.
Wrong numbers happen all the time so what do you turn off your home phone to avoid wrong number calls?

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R.B.

answers from Dallas on

I know many people that use their cell phones as their alarm clocks.

R.

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N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

I got an EVO 4G phone last summer..then my teen daughter did and hubby followed a month later. We all started using them as our alarms and it works great for us!

EDITED to add...my hubby has his phone on vibrate all the time, and DD has hers on silent but the alarms ring loud. I never changed the setting for mine, and I do get early morning texts (facebook update texts). So I know they can be set on our phones for JUST the alarm to sound, not the phones. We all 3 have ours set different. Check with your phones features!

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T.R.

answers from Orlando on

I suppose it's not so odd, but does the alarm work if the ringer is off? I always have to have my phone off, because just the thought of a call in the middle of the night irks me, and if I got one and it interrupted my sleep, I would be livid! Haha... I agree too that regular alarm clocks are an awful way to wake. I have a great alarm clock from Sharper Image that has a huge list of sounds to wake to, and it has a ramp-up feature, where the alarm sound starts out soft and slowly gets louder. I'm a light sleeper and like the softness to wake to. I guess if your phone works for you, and you can turn the ringer off for calls, then just use it :-)

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D.R.

answers from New York on

my husband and i both do, though a few weeks ago i really took a look around my bedroom... tv, alarm clock, house phone(s) and charger, dvd player, baby monitor, and 2 cell phones and one docking station. i suddenly felt awash in radiation while i sleep! i have no idea if its a real thing or not, but it freaked me out a little, plus my cell is right next to my head. so ive been going back to just using my alarm clock over there.

C.F.

answers from Boston on

we both use our phones as alarm clocks ..... Not a thing wrong w/ it! My phones on 24/7...
Seems to me your hubby may have had your best interest in mind, knowing you havent been sleeping well, but IMO went about expressing it in the Wrong way!!!

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I have been using my phone as an alarm for years. I started using it because I took care of my ill parents and if they called in the middle of the night I needed to hear my phone and wake up. I would put it on my headboard right by my head. So I figured if its right there might as well put it to work too. Now I am trained that whenever I hear my phone, no matter what ring tone, I wake up. I am also trained to wake up to my specific alarm on my phone.
My SO uses his phone as an alarm too. I guess when he was a bachelor he never thought of getting an alarm clock, and of course when we got together I used my phone too, so I didn't have an alarm clock. =)
Funny thing is, i did buy an alarm clock, mostly because I liked the way it looked, but most of the time we forget to set it. lol

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

I guess I'm the odd one, judging by your other responses. No, I don't use my phone as an alarm (and neither does my husband). I use the old fashioned clock radio, lol. I wake to soft music and hit the snooze button for another 10 min of rest. :)

I keep my cell phone in my purse. So it is on the kitchen counter pretty much at all times when I am at home. But then, I don't ever have to look for it or try to remember where I left it when i get ready to leave the house, either. It's always right where I left it (in my purse)... and I have it when I leave home, because I never go anywhere without taking my purse.
:)

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S.R.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Whatever happened to a good old fashioned clock radio? I like waking up to music playing softly, not a buzzing. My husband uses an alarm clock. However, in the summer we camp every weekend and if we have to be up at a certain time, we use our cell phones there. I would be annoyed if a phone rang in the middle of the night, but no ones fault, so nothing I would say.

S.
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S.H.

answers from Spokane on

Yes, I use my cell for my alarm clock. There should be an option in the volume that says "alarm only" that way random texts or phone calls in the wee hours of the morning aren't heard, just your alarm.

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J.C.

answers from Dallas on

There have been MIT sleep studies done and cell phone radiation disrupts sleeping patterns.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324140,00.html

I have an airplane mode on my phone that I switch on before bed and still use my phone as an alarm, but at least it's not emitting radiation next to my head while I sleep. If I forget to switch it off, I usually feel more tired the next day (so I can tell a difference, personally). If my children ever have cell phones I will make sure they put it on airplane mode or not talk on the phone before bedtime, since their sleep is so much more important.

T.N.

answers from Albany on

I've got an old school alarm clock, but all three of my kids (13, 16, 18) use their phones everyday as an alarm clock!

:)

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

No, if it had been your house phone it would have been no different. I would not turn my phone off even during the night due to possible family emergencies.

I use my phone as my alarm and have it set for 6:45, 7am, 7:15, and 7:30 to get the kids going, they know each song and just how much time they have before they need to be in the car.

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K.U.

answers from Dallas on

I have used my cell phone alarm for years! I set it on vibrate because the horrible beeping on alarms sounds terrible and the music setting doesn't wake me!

A.G.

answers from Houston on

yes, i have 4 alarms on it that go off throughout the day, "wake up", "time for my oldest to go outside for the bus" "work out", and "time for my oldest to be home"............i hate alarm clocks

My husband uses his iphone too as a wake up alarm, but his alarm noise is like a really annoying sound, like a breech of security alarm

L.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

Both my husband and I use our cell phones as alarm clocks. We only add the old alarm clock if we need to make sure that we need to be up at a certain time. It's not odd, why can't you use your cell phone the way as it's intended? I mean I use mine as a computer, personal assistant, calendar, etc. I stay so much more organized with my iPhone than I ever have before.

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K.B.

answers from St. Louis on

yes I do and so does my boyfriend. However, we have a feature on the ring volume options where it can be set to "alarm only" so people can call me all night long if they want, but I won't know till my alarm goes off in the morning and I look at my phone.

✤.J.

answers from Dover on

Yup, my husband & I both use our cell phones for our alarm clocks as well. I use a nice soft ringtone that gets a little louder as it goes because I'm with you that older type alarm clocks have terrible rings to them & who wants to wake up scared to death every morning?

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

yes, I use my cell phone for my alarm.

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R.G.

answers from Albany on

i have been using my phone as an alarm clock for years!!! i cant put it on silent tho, the few times i did that, i didnt wake up lol. Atleast with a phone you can choose the tone :)

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A.C.

answers from Atlanta on

I don't right now, but I did in college. And I never once got a wrong number! I had a very nifty cell phone that played "Life Goes On." Loved it. Wish I had a cell phone that nice now!

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