How to Change Alarm Volume on iPhone (Separate From Ringer in iOS 27)

For almost twenty years, the iPhone alarm had no volume of its own. It was tied to the ringer, so turning your ringtone down before bed also made your alarm quieter, and pressing the volume buttons in the dark could quietly ruin your morning. iOS 27, released in September 2026, changed that with a separate alarm slider, but it's off by default and easy to miss. This guide shows how to change your alarm volume on every iOS version, and how to fix an alarm that's too quiet, too loud or keeps changing by itself.

Which slider controls your alarm?

It depends on your iOS version and on which kind of alarm you use. To check your version, open Settings > General > About and look at iOS Version.

One thing is the same everywhere: the volume you hear in videos, music and games is media volume, and it doesn't control your alarm. That's why a video can be loud while your alarm is barely audible, or the other way round.

How to change alarm volume on iPhone (iOS 27)

iOS 27 lets you set alarms and timers to their own volume, separate from your ringtone. It works for alarms you create in the Clock app.

1. Open Settings and tap Sounds & Haptics.
2. Find the Alarms and Timers section.
3. Turn off Match Ringtone Volume. A new slider appears.
4. Drag the slider to set your alarm and timer volume.

Match Ringtone Volume is on by default, so after updating to iOS 27 your alarm still follows the ringer until you change it. Once it's off, you can turn your ringtone all the way down at night and still wake up to a loud alarm. To go back to the old behaviour, just turn the switch on again.

There's a second Match Ringtone Volume switch further down, under Alerts and System Sounds. That one is for text tones and system sounds, not alarms, so you can leave it alone if you only care about waking up.

Alarms that have their own volume control keep it. The main one is the Sleep schedule "Wake Up" alarm, which ignores the new slider (see below).

How to change alarm volume on iOS 26 and earlier

Before iOS 27, the alarm simply uses your ringer volume. You can't make one louder than the other, but you can stop the buttons from changing it:

1. Open Settings > Sounds & Haptics.
2. Drag the Ringtone and Alerts slider. As you drag, iPhone plays a sound so you can hear the level. For mornings that matter, put it most of the way up.
3. Turn off Change with Buttons. Now the side buttons only change media volume, and your alarm stays where you set it.

The trade-off: your calls and notifications ring at the same level as your alarm. If that's a problem at night, use a Focus or Do Not Disturb to silence calls and notifications. Alarms still ring in Silent mode and with Do Not Disturb on.

The Sleep schedule alarm has its own volume

The alarm shown as Sleep | Wake Up at the top of Clock > Alarms isn't a normal alarm. It belongs to your Sleep schedule in the Health app, and it has its own sound and its own volume slider on every iOS version, including iOS 27. That's why it can be loud while your other alarms are quiet, or the other way round.

1. Open Clock > Alarms and tap Change next to Sleep | Wake Up (or open Health > Browse > Sleep > Full Schedule & Options).
2. Make sure Wake Up Alarm is on.
3. Pick a Sound, drag its volume slider, then tap Done.

On iOS 26 and earlier, this is the only way to have an alarm with a different volume from your ringer.

iPhone alarm too quiet? Check these

• The wrong slider. Turning up the volume while watching a video changes media volume, not the alarm. Use the slider from the iOS 27 or iOS 26 steps above.
• You lowered the ringer by accident. With Change with Buttons on (or Match Ringtone Volume on in iOS 27), pressing the volume buttons when nothing is playing lowers your alarm too. Turn Change with Buttons off.
• Attention Aware Features. On iPhones with Face ID, this lowers the volume of alerts when you look at the screen. If the alarm starts loud and drops when you pick up the phone, turn it off in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
• A quiet sound. Some tones and songs are much softer than others. Pick a loud built-in ringtone in Clock > Alarms > Edit > Sound. If it only vibrates, the sound is probably set to None.
• Headphones or a speaker connected. Disconnect anything you don't need before bed.

If your alarm has no sound at all or didn't go off, go through our full list of fixes for an iPhone alarm that's not going off.

iPhone alarm too loud? How to make it quieter

• Lower the right slider. On iOS 27 with Match Ringtone Volume off, the alarm slider is separate, so lowering your ringer doesn't help: lower the alarm slider instead. On iOS 26 and earlier, lower Ringtone and Alerts.
• "Loud even though my volume is low." If Change with Buttons is off, the side buttons only lower media volume. Your phone looks quiet, but the ringer and alarm are still high.
• Pick a gentler sound. A soft tone or a calm song is easier on the ears than the default alarm. Our guide on how to set a song as your alarm shows how, and we've collected gentle songs to wake up to.
• Use vibration only. Set the sound to None and pick a strong Haptics pattern. Note that alarms don't vibrate while the iPhone is charging in StandBy.

Why does my iPhone alarm volume keep going down?

Your iPhone doesn't change the alarm volume on its own, but two settings make it look that way:

• Change with Buttons. When it's on, the volume buttons change the ringer (and on iOS 26 and earlier, the alarm) whenever nothing is playing. A button pressed in a pocket, a bag or under a pillow is enough. Turn it off, or on iOS 27 turn off Match Ringtone Volume so the alarm has its own level.
• Attention Aware Features. The alarm gets quieter as soon as you look at the phone. Turn it off in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.

If the volume changes after an iOS update, open Sounds & Haptics and check every slider again. Updates sometimes add new settings, as iOS 27 did.

Test your alarm volume before bed

Set an alarm for two minutes from now and put the phone where it sleeps: on the nightstand, face down, plugged in. Walk to the door and listen. If it's too quiet, change the slider and try again. It takes two minutes and saves you from finding out at 7 a.m.

For an exam, a flight or a first day at work, add a backup that doesn't depend on your own settings at all: ask a friend or your partner to send an alarm to your phone with PingPal. It rings even on silent, with their voice or a song.

Can't afford to miss tomorrow? Let a friend set a backup alarm on your phone with PingPal, free.

FAQ

Does the iPhone have a separate volume for alarms?

Yes, since iOS 27. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics, turn off Match Ringtone Volume under Alarms and Timers, and use the new slider. On iOS 26 and earlier, normal alarms use the Ringtone and Alerts volume; only the Sleep schedule alarm has its own slider.

Why is my iPhone alarm so quiet even on full volume?

Usually you turned up media volume, not the alarm. Raise the alarm slider (iOS 27) or Ringtone and Alerts (iOS 26 and earlier) in Settings > Sounds & Haptics. If it gets quieter when you look at the phone, turn off Attention Aware Features in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.

Why is my alarm so loud when my volume is low?

The volume you lowered was probably media volume, which doesn't control the alarm. On iOS 27 the alarm may also have its own slider set high. Lower the alarm slider or Ringtone and Alerts in Settings > Sounds & Haptics.

Does ringer volume affect the alarm on iPhone?

On iOS 26 and earlier, yes: the alarm plays at the ringer volume. On iOS 27 it does too by default, until you turn off Match Ringtone Volume under Alarms and Timers.

Will my alarm ring if my iPhone is on silent?

Yes. Silent mode and Do Not Disturb don't stop Clock alarms; the alarm plays at the volume you set. Calls and texts are different: they stay silent, which is why a friend's call won't wake you but an alarm will.

Related: iPhone alarm not going off · set a song as your alarm · why you sleep through your alarm · send an alarm to a friend's phone · all blog posts