Use Automations to Keep Alarms From Going Off When You Don’t Need Them

I use the alarm feature in the iPhone’s Clock app to remember when to feed my cat. I find that she bugs me less if she thinks the alarm, and not me, is in charge of the meal time (it sounds stupid but it works). When I’m out of the house, though, this alarm is mostly just a nuisance. That’s why I set up my alarms to only trigger if I’m at home.

This is useful for more than just cat people. Maybe you don’t want your usual morning alarm to trigger while you’re on vacation, for example, or maybe you have alarms that are useful at work that you don’t want to hear at home. The point is you can set up alarms to only trigger when you’re in a specific place using the iPhone’s built-in shortcuts feature—here’s how.

First: set up alarms and name them

The first step should be obvious: set up a couple your alarms, if you haven’t already. Head to the Clock app, tap the Alarm tab, and click the plus sign in the top-right corner. Pay attention to the Label field—the next steps are going to be a lot easier if you accurately name your various alarms. I, for example, named them after the food my cat gets at certain times.

Second: set up shortcuts to turn these alarms on and off

Next we need to set up a couple of shortcuts: one to turn the alarm off when you leave your home and one to turn the alarm back on when you get back.

Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone then create a new shortcut—I recommend naming the first one “Get Home.” Tap Add Action and find the Clock app, tapping Toggle Alarm. Make sure the shortcut is pointed at your specific alarm and that it is set to turn of alarm on. Add as many alarms as you want to toggle and save your shortcut by tapping Done.

Credit: Justin Pot

Now, make another shortcut, this time named “Leave Home.” Repeat the process, making sure the same alarms are set up to turn back on.

You should now have two new shortcuts—one for turning your alarms on when you get home and another for turning them off when you leave home. Now we need to set them up to run automatically.

Third: Automate things

Tap the Automation tab in the Shortcuts app—you’ll find it at the bottom of the screen. Click the plus button in the top-right corner and choose the Arrive option. Enter your home address as the location. I also recommend using the Run Immediately option—otherwise the shortcut will only run if you happen to look at your phone when you get home.

Credit: Justin Pot

You will be asked which shortcut to run when you get home—look for the one you named Get Home. You’ve now set up an automation that will turn on your alarms when you get home. Now we need to make a second automation, this time turning off your alarms when you leave home.

Tap the plus button to create a new automation—this time we’re going to use the Leave option. Use your home address as the location, same as before, and I again recommend using the Run Immediately option. This time set the automation to run your Leave Home shortcut.

Everything should now be set up! Go ahead and test it—next time you leave home open the clock app and verify that your alarms are turned off, then check to make sure they’ve turned on when you get home. I’ve been using this for almost a year and I love it—I hope it’s helpful for you.