Open Settings and find the Clock app alarms

To change an alarm sound 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. You'll see a list of all your alarms. Find the alarm you want to change and tap the Edit button in the top left corner.

Once you tap Edit, the alarm opens in edit mode. You'll see several rows of options: the time, the label (like "Wake up"), which days it repeats, and near the bottom, a row that says Sound. That's the row you need to tap to hear and choose a different sound.

Key Takeaways

  • Open the Clock app, tap Alarm, find your alarm, and tap Edit to change its settings.
  • Tap the Sound row to hear all available alarm tones and pick a new one.
  • iPhone comes with about 30 built-in alarm sounds, and you can also use songs from your Music library.
  • Changes save automatically when you tap Done — you don't need to confirm separately.
  • If you want the same sound for multiple alarms, you'll need to change each one individually.

Tap Sound and scroll through the built-in options

When you tap the Sound row, a new screen opens showing all available alarm tones. At the top you'll see Vibration — this controls whether your phone vibrates when the alarm goes off, separate from the sound. Below that are the built-in sounds, listed by name: Alarm, Beacon, Bells, Chime, and so on. Each name describes roughly what the sound is like.

Tap any sound name to hear a preview of it. The preview plays for a few seconds so you can decide if it's loud enough and annoying enough to actually wake you up. Scroll down to see all the options — there are roughly 30 built-in sounds. Once you find one you like, tap it to select it.

Use a song from your Music library as an alarm

If none of the built-in sounds appeal to you, scroll to the very bottom of the Sound screen. You'll see a section labeled Sounds (the built-in ones) and below that, Music. Tap Music to see songs stored in your iPhone's Music app. You can pick any song you own or have downloaded.

Keep in mind that when a song plays as an alarm, it starts from the beginning — not from wherever you last paused it. The song will play at whatever volume you set in your phone's volume settings, so test it once before relying on it to wake you. Some people find songs less jarring than the standard alarm tones, but they're also easier to sleep through if you're a heavy sleeper.

Save your changes by tapping Done

After you've chosen your new sound, tap the Done button in the top right corner of the edit screen. Your alarm now uses the new sound. The next time this alarm goes off, it will play the sound you selected. You don't need to confirm the change or restart the Clock app — it takes effect when ready.

If you have multiple alarms and want to change more than one, go back to the Alarm tab and repeat the process for each alarm. There's no way to change all alarms to the same sound at once, so you'll need to edit them individually.

Troubleshooting: Why your alarm might not be playing the sound you chose

If your alarm goes off but you don't hear the sound you selected, check whether your phone is in Silent mode. When the physical mute switch on the side of your iPhone is flipped toward the back (so you see the orange dot), your phone is in Silent mode. In this mode, alarms still vibrate, but they won't play sound. Flip the switch back toward the front to turn off Silent mode and hear your alarm sound.

Another common issue: if you chose a song from your Music library and it's not playing, make sure that song is actually downloaded to your phone. Songs you're only streaming (not downloaded) may not play as alarms if your phone doesn't have an internet connection when the alarm goes off. Open the Music app, find the song, and look for a read icon or checkmark to confirm it's stored locally on your device.

Changing the default alarm sound for all new alarms

The steps above change the sound for one specific alarm. If you want to set a default sound that new alarms will use automatically, you'll need to go through the Settings app instead. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Sounds & Haptics, then tap Alarm. Choose your preferred default sound here. Any new alarms you create will use this sound unless you change them individually.

This default setting doesn't change alarms you've already created — only new ones going forward. So if you've been using the same alarm for months and want to switch its sound, you still need to edit that specific alarm in the Clock app using the steps described earlier.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Not directly through the Clock app. You can only use built-in alarm tones or songs from your Music library. If you want to use a voice memo, you'd need to save it as an audio file in your Music app first, which requires additional steps outside the Clock app.

Why does my alarm sound different than what I selected?

If Silent mode is on (the mute switch shows orange), your phone will only vibrate, not play sound. Also check your volume settings — if your phone's volume is turned all the way down, the alarm will be very quiet. Alarms bypass Silent mode for vibration but not for sound volume.

Can I set different alarm sounds for weekdays and weekends?

No, each alarm can only have one sound. You'd need to create separate alarms — one for weekdays and one for weekends — and set a different sound for each one. Then turn off the weekday alarm on Saturday and Sunday, and turn off the weekend alarm on weekdays.

Will my alarm still work if I delete the song I used as the alarm sound?

No. If you delete a song from your Music library that's set as an alarm sound, the alarm will fall back to a default tone instead. Before deleting any song, check your alarms to make sure none of them are using it.

How loud will my alarm be?

Your alarm uses whatever volume level you've set in your phone's volume settings. The alarm will play at that volume, regardless of whether you're in Silent mode (which mutes sound but not vibration). Test your chosen alarm sound at your normal volume to make sure it's loud enough to wake you.