Many of us rely on the iPhone as an alarm clock these days, but unless it has been changed, the default alarm clock sound effect is usually the same as the default iPhone ringtone. That can cause some frustration and confusion as you’re half asleep and the alarm goes off, sounding like you’re getting a phone call, but fortunately if you would rather hear something else play it’s really easy to change the alarm tone.
You can either change an existing alarm sound, or set it when you create a new alarm. Here is how to edit an existing alarm sound, but the process is practically identical for setting a new alarm as you can select a sound option during that configuration as well.
Open the “Clock” app and choose the Alarm tab
Tap the “Edit” button in the corner, then tap on the alarm you wish to change the sound effect for
Tap on the “Sound” option and choose the new tone to set as the alarm, all ringtones and text tones are possible to select
Tap on “Back” then choose “Save” to set the new alarm sound effect
There are plenty of good choices for the alarm sound, from fairly mellow to incredibly annoying, so you can choose however you want to be woken up. Because the alarm clock provides access to all the ringtones and text tones on the iPhone (or iPad and iPod touch), you can also easily create your own ringtones or text tones using iTunes or QuickTime, and add them to the sound choices by syncing them to the iOS device. That option allows you to wake up to your favorite song if you’re into that sort of thing.
It’s a good idea to have the alarm clock sound be completely different from the general incoming phone call and text message tones, both to help prevent confusion and also so you know what’s going on in your half-asleep state of mind. Similarly, it can be helpful to have unique text tones and ringtones assigned to specific contacts and callers.