Open Settings and find the Clock app alarms

To change an alarm tone on your iPhone, start by opening the Clock app — the one with a clock face icon on your home screen. Tap the Alarm tab at the bottom of the screen. Find the alarm you want to change and swipe left on it, or tap Edit in the top left corner.

Once you are in edit mode for that alarm, scroll down until you see Sound. That is the line that shows your current alarm tone. Tap on it to open the sound picker.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Clock app, go to the Alarm tab, and tap Edit next to the alarm you want to change.
  • Tap the Sound line to open a list of built-in tones and any custom sounds you have added to your phone.
  • Select a tone from the list — you will hear a preview before you confirm.
  • Tap Save at the top right to explore the new tone to that alarm.
  • Each alarm can have a different tone, and you can also set a default tone for all future alarms in Settings.

Choose from built-in tones or custom sounds

When you tap Sound, your iPhone shows a list of built-in alarm tones. These include names like Alarm, Beacon, Bells, Chime, and others. Each one plays a short preview when you tap it, so you can hear what it sounds like before you commit.

If you have added custom sounds to your iPhone — ringtones or audio files you downloaded — they will appear in this same list below the built-in options. You can use any sound file you have stored on your phone as an alarm tone. The preview feature works for custom sounds too, so you can test them before saving.

Save your choice and test it

Once you have selected a tone, tap the Save button in the top right corner of the screen. Your iPhone returns to the alarm edit screen and shows your new tone in the Sound line.

Your new alarm tone is now active for that specific alarm. If you have multiple alarms set, each one can have a different tone — just repeat these steps for any other alarms you want to change. There is no limit to how many different tones you can assign across your alarms.

Change the default tone for all new alarms

If you want all future alarms to use a particular tone by default, you need to adjust a different setting. Open the Settings app, scroll down and tap Sounds & Haptics (or just Sounds on older iPhones).

Tap Alarm in the list. This shows you the tone that will be used for any new alarm you create. Select a different tone from the list, and it becomes your new default. Existing alarms keep their current tones unless you change them individually through the Clock app.

Why some tones work better than others

Built-in alarm tones like Alarm, Beacon, and Chime are designed to wake you up — they start quietly and get louder, or they use patterns that cut through sleep more effectively than a song would. If you use a song or custom sound as your alarm, it plays at full volume from the start, which can be jarring but also might not wake you if you sleep through the opening seconds.

If your alarm is not waking you up, try switching to one of the dedicated alarm tones rather than a song. You can also check that your phone is not in Silent mode — the physical mute switch on the side of your iPhone silences alarms even when the screen is locked or the phone is in your pocket.

What to do if you do not hear your alarm

If you changed your alarm tone but it is not playing when the alarm goes off, check whether your iPhone is in Silent mode. The mute switch on the left side of your phone silences alarms even if your volume is turned up. Flip it so the orange indicator is not showing.

Also verify that your alarm is actually turned on — in the Clock app, the toggle next to each alarm should be green. If the alarm still does not sound after checking these things, try changing the tone back to a built-in option like Alarm or Beacon, which are more reliable than custom sounds. Restart your phone if the problem persists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a song from my music library as an alarm tone?

Not directly from the Music app. You can use custom sounds you have added to your phone, but songs in Apple Music or your library need to be converted and added as ringtones first. This requires using a computer and iTunes or Finder, which is more involved than selecting a built-in tone.

Why does my alarm not play the tone I selected?

Check that your iPhone is not in Silent mode — the mute switch on the side of the phone silences alarms. Also make sure the alarm toggle is turned on (green) in the Clock app. If you are using a custom sound, try switching to a built-in tone to see if that plays.

Do all my alarms have to use the same tone?

No. Each alarm can have its own tone. Edit each alarm separately and choose a different sound for each one. This is useful if you want to distinguish between a work alarm and a personal one, for example.

What happens to my alarm tone if I update my iPhone?

Built-in tones stay the same across updates. Custom sounds you added may be affected depending on how you added them, but alarms you have already set will keep their tones unless you manually change them.