Tap Schedule or + Add Alarm, then set your time, days, sound, and other options. Save when you're done.
How to edit an alarm
Tap an existing alarm card, change what you need, and save.
Turn an alarm off before it rings
Toggle the alarm off on the alarm card.
Delete an alarm
Swipe left on the alarm card and tap Delete.
What the alarm features mean
Time is when the alarm will go off.
Days controls which days it repeats on. Leave it empty to create a one-time alarm that only rings once.
Sound lets you pick a ringtone from Unbed's built-in library. Tap the speaker icon next to any sound to preview it. You can also import your own custom sounds (MP3, M4A, WAV, and more) by tapping Add Custom Sound at the bottom of the sound list.
Shuffle lets you select multiple sounds and Unbed will randomly pick one each time the alarm goes off, so you never get used to a single tone.
Vibration can be toggled on or off. When enabled, your phone will vibrate alongside the alarm sound.
Volume controls how loud the alarm rings.
Mute length lets you mute the alarm once per morning for a set number of seconds, useful for avoiding waking up roommates or family. Once the mute timer runs out, the sound and vibration restart.
Alarm fade-in controls how long it takes to ramp from silent to full volume. Set it to 0 seconds for instant full volume.
Note: Volume, Mute, and Fade-in apply when Unbed is active in the background. See AlarmKit below for iOS 26 behavior.
How to scan your Unbed Block
To dismiss your alarm, you need to tap your phone on your Unbed Block using NFC. Hold the top of your phone (near the camera area) close to the block, similar to how you tap your phone when paying at a store. Keep it steady for a moment and Unbed will detect the block and stop the alarm.
How does AlarmKit work? (iOS 26)
On iOS 26 and later, you can enable AlarmKit in Unbed's settings. AlarmKit is Apple's system-level alarm framework, which means your alarm rings even if Unbed has been swiped away or terminated by iOS.
When an AlarmKit alarm goes off, iOS shows a Stop button. Tapping it silences the current ring and opens Unbed so you can properly dismiss the alarm by scanning your block. If you don't scan in time, Unbed schedules a follow-up AlarmKit ring moments later. This repeats until you actually get up and scan your block.
AlarmKit alarms only fire when Unbed is not running in the foreground or background. They act as a failsafe to guarantee you always wake up.
When using AlarmKit, the alarm's vibration and sound volume are managed by your iPhone's ringer and vibration settings in the iOS Settings app, not by Unbed's volume slider.
Battery Saver Mode (iOS 26)
Battery Saver Mode is available on iOS 26 and later. When enabled, Unbed relies on AlarmKit to schedule your alarms instead of keeping the app running in the background overnight. This significantly reduces battery usage.
Some features are limited in this mode. For example, alarm fade-in is fixed at 30 seconds unless you set it to 0 seconds for instant full volume. When Battery Saver is on, Unbed also automatically suppresses the "app terminated" warning notifications since AlarmKit handles wake-up regardless.
How do alarms work (general)
For consistent alarms on iOS, keep Unbed running in the background at night by not force-quitting the app. Unbed will fire at your set time with your chosen sound, volume, and vibration settings. If the app gets terminated by iOS, AlarmKit on iOS 26 serves as your backup.
How to stop an active alarm
Open Unbed, tap Stop, then scan your Unbed Block with NFC to finish. You can mute the alarm temporarily using the speaker button if you need a moment before getting up.
Emergency Stop
Emergency Stop lets you dismiss your alarm without your Unbed Block for situations where you're away from your block or any other emergency. You start with 5 emergency stops. When you use one, the alarm is silenced immediately.
To get more emergency stops, contact support and we'll give you a code. Each code adds 5 more stops. Once a code is redeemed, it can't be used again. You can enable or disable Emergency Stop and redeem codes in the Settings screen inside Unbed.
How streaks work
Tap the Streaks card to set a weekly goal. Hit your goal and your streak grows. Miss your weekly goal and your streak resets to 0. Multiple alarms in one day still count as one day.
How time reclaimed works
Set your baseline in onboarding or by tapping the Time Reclaimed card. Unbed tracks how many minutes you gain back each day. It updates once per day and multiple alarms still count as one.
Note: We don't store or see this. It stays on your phone and is fully private to you.
How bedtime reminders work
Set a bedtime reminder to nudge you to open Unbed, set your alarm, and head to bed.
How to schedule an alarm
Tap Schedule or + Add Alarm, then set your time, days, sound, and other options. Save when you're done.
How to edit an alarm
Tap an existing alarm card, change what you need, and save.
Turn an alarm off before it rings
Toggle the alarm off on the alarm card.
Delete an alarm
Swipe left on the alarm card and tap Delete.
What the alarm features mean
Time is when the alarm will go off.
Days controls which days it repeats on. Leave it empty to create a one-time alarm that only rings once.
Sound lets you pick a ringtone from Unbed's built-in library. Tap the speaker icon next to any sound to preview it.
Vibration can be toggled on or off. When enabled, your phone will vibrate alongside the alarm sound.
Volume controls how loud the alarm rings.
Mute length lets you mute the alarm once per morning for a set number of seconds, useful for avoiding waking up roommates or family. Once the mute timer runs out, the sound and vibration restart.
Alarm fade-in controls how long it takes to ramp from silent to full volume. Set it to 0 seconds for instant full volume.
How to scan your Unbed Block
To dismiss your alarm, you need to tap your phone on your Unbed Block using NFC. The NFC reader location varies by phone, but on most Android devices it's in the upper back of the phone. Hold that area close to the block, similar to how you tap your phone when paying at a store. Keep it steady for a moment and Unbed will detect the block and stop the alarm.
If you're not sure where your phone's NFC reader is, search online for your phone model followed by "NFC location" to find out exactly where to tap.
How do alarms work on Android
Unbed uses Android's built-in alarm system, the same one that native alarm clock apps rely on. Your alarms fire reliably even when your phone is in Doze mode or battery optimization is active. You'll see the alarm icon in your status bar whenever an alarm is scheduled.
When the alarm goes off, Unbed runs a small background service to play your alarm sound and keep the alarm active until you scan your block. If your phone restarts, all your alarms reschedule automatically with no action needed from you.
Tip: For best reliability, don't force-stop Unbed in your phone's settings and allow it to run in the background.
Permissions and setup
Unbed needs a few permissions to work properly. The app will walk you through most of these during setup, but here's what each one does and how to find it if you need to enable it manually.
Exact alarms are used by Unbed so your alarms fire at exactly the right time. Since Unbed is an alarm app, Android grants this automatically.
Notifications are needed so the alarm can show a full-screen alert when it rings. Without this permission, you won't see or hear the alarm properly. Go to Settings → Apps → Unbed → Notifications and make sure notifications are enabled.
Display over other apps is especially important. This allows Unbed to show the alarm screen on top of whatever you're doing, including when your phone is locked. Without it, the alarm might ring in the background but you won't see the screen to stop it. Go to Settings → Apps → Unbed → Display over other apps (on some phones this is called "Appear on top") and turn it on.
NFC must be turned on for Unbed to read your block. Go to Settings → Connected devices → Connection preferences → NFC and make sure it's enabled. On some phones, NFC is under Settings → More connections or you can search "NFC" in your Settings search bar. You can also toggle NFC from your quick settings panel by swiping down from the top of your screen.
Battery optimization should be disabled for Unbed so the alarm service isn't killed in the background. Go to Settings → Apps → Unbed → Battery and select Unrestricted (or "Don't optimize" depending on your phone). This ensures Unbed stays alive overnight to ring your alarm.
If you accidentally denied a permission during setup, you can always re-enable it by going to Settings → Apps → Unbed on your phone.
How to stop an active alarm
Open Unbed or tap the full-screen notification, then tap Stop and scan your Unbed Block with NFC to finish. You can mute the alarm temporarily using the speaker button if you need a moment before getting up.
Emergency Stop
Emergency Stop lets you dismiss your alarm without your Unbed Block for situations where you're away from your block or any other emergency. You start with 5 emergency stops. When you use one, the alarm is silenced immediately.
To get more emergency stops, contact support and we'll give you a code. Each code adds 5 more stops. Once a code is redeemed, it can't be used again. You can redeem codes in the Settings screen inside Unbed.
How streaks work
Tap the Streaks card to set a weekly goal. Hit your goal and your streak grows. Miss your weekly goal and your streak resets to 0. Multiple alarms in one day still count as one day.
How time reclaimed works
Set your baseline in onboarding or by tapping the Time Reclaimed card. Unbed tracks how many minutes you gain back each day. It updates once per day and multiple alarms still count as one.
Note: We don't store or see this. It stays on your phone and is fully private to you.
How bedtime reminders work
Set a bedtime reminder to nudge you to open Unbed, set your alarm, and head to bed.