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How do you prefer to wake up? One of your smartphone’s stock alarm sounds? Maybe a particular song that really gets the day started? Well, if you’re like me, none of these work for you, and you’re left snoozing the alarm endlessly to kick off each and every day. Maybe you need a solution that’s a bit more custom. The best alarm to get you up might just be the one you record yourself.
As reported by XDA Developers, Google is rolling out a new feature to the Clock app that lets you record your own alert sound for any alarm you want. If you want to wake up to yourself screaming “GET UP,” or you want to say “STOP PLAYING PS5 AND GET IN THE CAR” to an alarm to remind yourself when it’s time to leave the house, you can. You also don’t need to rely on your own voice, of course: Record your favorite sound byte from a movie or show, and you have yourself the perfect alarm.
Now, you might already be doing this. Android supports custom alarm sounds, so you’ve always been able to record your own alarm sounds—however, it’s never been the easiest thing to set up. XDA highlights the process, which involves recording the sound in a separate recorder app, then adding it to the Alarms folder in your file manager app. If done right, you’ll see the sound pop up when you choose “Add new” from the “Alarm sound” and “Timer sound” pages in the Clock app. Doable, but not very intuitive.
How to record your own alarm sounds on Pixel
All you need is a Google Pixel running version 7.3 of the stock Clock app. Once updated, you’ll find the new “Record new” option in the “Alarm sound” and “Timer sound” pages. Tap it, and the Recorder app will pop up, letting you record whatever you want. When you’re done, it’ll show up as a new sound under “Recorded sounds,” which you can pick from for any new alarms or timers.
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Unfortunately, Google hasn’t added it to the Clock app for any other Android devices, since it looks dependent on the Pixel’s specific Recorder app. However, if you have the Recorder app on your phone through a custom ROM, this feature should appear on your device