Frequently Asked Questions

Allarise is currently iOS only. We may consider expanding to Android in the future.

Allarise is designed to remain active in the background so your alarms can run reliably, respond to inbound MQTT commands, and play at your chosen volume independent of your ringer settings. Because of this, it may use more battery than a typical alarm app.

You can reduce battery usage by turning off background persistence in the app’s settings. Keep in mind that doing so may limit features like custom alarm volume and Home Assistant integration.

For a full breakdown of what’s affected, see the persistence setting inside the app.

Pro unlocks unlimited alarms, themes and custom alarm & sleep sounds.

Although Allarise is not open source, we believe in the buy-it-once model and that core functionality should be free. Purchase the app once, or subscribe monthly to support ongoing development — either way, you're in control.

Open the app, go to Settings, and tap Purchase | Restore . Make sure you are signed in to the same Apple ID used for the original purchase.

Yes — Allarise is designed to play audio through the iOS media/playback channel, which is separate from the ringer switch. This means your alarm can still sound even if your phone is set to silent.

Actual behavior can still vary depending on your device’s audio settings.

Focus modes can silence notifications depending on how they’re configured. In some cases, this may prevent alarms fron sending notifications.

To ensure your alarms show notifications, add Allarise as an allowed app in your Focus settings:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone
2. Tap Focus
3. Select the Focus mode you use overnight (e.g. Do Not Disturb or Sleep)
4. Tap Apps under “Allowed Notifications”
5. Tap Add App
6. Select Allarise

This ensures your alarms are allowed to alert you even when Focus is active.

Allarise schedules a system-based AlarmKit backup alarm so your alarm can still fire even if the app isn’t running. The backup experience may differ from the in-app alarm mode. For example, alarms will play at your ringer volume. For the full alarm experience — including custom volume, inbound MQTT actions, and more — keep the app running in the background.

Missions are tasks you must complete before the alarm can be dismissed — so you can't just tap dismiss half-awake and go back to sleep. Options include math problems, a phone shake challenge, and Home Assistant actions.

No. Home Assistant and MQTT are completely optional. Allarise is designed to work as a standalone alarm app without any smart home setup.

Allarise is designed to work with standard MQTT brokers over TCP or TLS. Most users run the Mosquitto add-on inside Home Assistant. See the Home Assistant setup guide for step-by-step instructions.

Yes. Each phone uses a unique Device Name as part of its MQTT topic, which helps keep devices separated in normal use. Add one integration entry in Home Assistant per device.

Usually, yes. Sleep sounds use the iOS media playback channel and are designed to continue when the screen locks. Lock screen and Control Center playback controls are typically available, subject to iOS behavior.

Yes. When setting up sleep sounds you can choose a stop time — either a fixed time or when your next alarm is set to fire. The app will fade out and stop playback automatically at the selected time.