Alarm clock settable for each day of the week

May 10, 2023 5:22 AM

I want to sleep without my phone by my bed. Can you recommend a good alarm clock that allows me to set different alarms for different days of the week? Can also have a wake up light, which I'm interested in trying out.

I would like to have an alarm clock by my bed that is free from all distractions a phone offers, but still allows me to pre-program all my alarms. I have different wake up times for different days of the week, and usually no alarm on weekends, or a one off. I'd like to have the repeating ones pre-set so I don't forget. It turns out these features are surprisingly hard to google, so I'm turning to you for recommendations.

If you have good experiences with a sunrise alarm/wake up light with the above features, I'm also interested in that. I haven't tried them yet, but am interested.

posted by cameleon to Technology (13 answers total)

I have an Amazon Echo Spot (discontinued, but next iteration is the Echo Show) on my nightstand and we have different alarms every day of the week at different times. It takes a little bit of dinking around in the settings to turn off the recommendations, news, etc screens that 'helpfully' interrupt the clock display, but we think it's worth it.

There is a wakeup light-ish function that brightens the screen as you approach the morning alarm but we don't use it because I like being able to roll over and see what time it is.
posted by kimberussell at 5:36 AM on May 10, 2023

I have a sunrise alarm clock--I love waking up to the light--but it only has two alarm settings. There are phone apps that have sunrise wake up, but since you want to keep your phone away that won't help. This is the clock I have. It does sundown and sunrise so if you want to go to sleep to light that gradually fades down to dark you can. I see that my clock is the one recommended by Wirecutter. I've had it for 5 years and I like it a lot.
posted by ceejaytee at 6:08 AM on May 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

It wouldn't have a light, but you could put a Bluetooth speaker near your bed and then use your phone's alarm, if you keep the phone within Bluetooth range.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:32 AM on May 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Loftie is pricey, but it does what you ask for - has a wake up light, can customize different alarms for different days.
posted by Geameade at 6:34 AM on May 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have used a Hue lightbulb in the bedside table lamp as a sunrise alarm clock, which can be programmed via the app for different days and times. Once you do that its a set and forget situation. This wouldn't get you sound though.
posted by paradeofblimps at 6:53 AM on May 10, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have a Hue system and an iPhone. I use the Home app to turn on the light by my bedside each morning -- as well as a few other lights in the house.

I just checked and one could set up an iOS Shortcut that turns on Hue light(s) when the phone's alarm goes off. That would get sound and light.

1. Open Shortcuts
2. Tap "Automation" at bottom of screen
3. Tap + at top of the screen to create a new automation.
4. Tap "Create Personal Automation"
5. Tap "Alarm" on next screen
6. Choose "Goes Off" from the next screen. (Not sure it matters if one chooses Any, Wake-up or Existing from the Alarms section.)
7. Tap "Add Action" on next page
8. Search for "Hue" and then select Hue from the results.
9. Here you have options, but I would use either "Activate a Scene" or "Room or Zone on/off". (I will choose the latter for this example)
10. on the next screen tap "Turn Off" to change it to "Turn On"
11. Tap "Room/Zone" to choose which light(s) to turn on.
12. Tap "Next" at top of the screen
13. Toggle OFF the "Ask Before Running"
14. Choose "Don't Ask" from the nag popup
15. Tap "Done"

One would have to set a new automation for each day that the time changes.
posted by terrapin at 7:11 AM on May 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

I use a Withings Aura which, combined with the Withings app, allows you to set any number of alarms for different days. It's got a wake up light (and sleep light, if you like).

It's apparently discontinued, but it looks like they can be had relatively inexpensively from eBay.
posted by hanov3r at 8:33 AM on May 10, 2023

This is a totally different tack, but I use a Fitbit (previously a different fitness watch) for this purpose (having different alarms for different days, not the wake-up light). I set the watch so that it doesn't receive any notifications from my phone, although it does require a phone to set up. It's nice because it vibrates to wake me up, and if I snooze, I don't disturb my partner
posted by Paper rabies at 8:50 AM on May 10, 2023

Nthing that Hue bulbs are easy to set up as day of the week visual alarms.

For the sound part, there was a Lenovo 4" smart display that was getting cleared out for around $25 a few months ago that would be easy to set up like that. It's more expensive now but you might find a cheaper one on eBay.
posted by Candleman at 1:27 PM on May 10, 2023

The first gen is available for $12 and I believe would cover your use case. (Bizarrely, when I go in through a Google search for Lenovo Smart Clock, it shows as available and for $12 but stripping out the Google ad spam stuff it shows as unavailable and $36.)
posted by Candleman at 1:29 PM on May 10, 2023

I have an older model of this 7 day clock/radio, which has worked well for years. Pretty sure it was recommended here on Ask.Me. That Lenovo looks pretty nifty, though.
posted by theora55 at 7:50 PM on May 10, 2023

Another option is if you have a very old iPad or phone that is no use to you, since its operating system can't be upgraded to the point that currently available apps work, you can get a stand for it, remove all the apps from from the iPad except for the clock, make it forget the wifi password and put it in airplane mode, get a long charging cable and a wall charger so you can keep it plugged in all the time since the battery's likely shot by now, and set a different alarm for each day of the week or whatever, repeating as necessary. I like the way the screen lights up a dark room a bit when the alarm goes off, and I like the choice of many pleasant ringtones and volume settings.
posted by metonym at 12:12 PM on May 12, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I ended up going with the Lumie BodyClock Shine 300, which is a wake up light that has weekly alarms. I like the suggestions for DIY solutions using old devices or Hue bulbs, but don't have the time to spend on setting everything up right now.
posted by cameleon at 12:34 PM on May 16, 2023