Help Hating Alarm Clock

[Adara]

The title says it all. I'm hating the Alarm Clock on the default clock. Largely because of the "days of the week" feature which is built in to every alarm. There's no option to get rid of it, and I'm sure that one of these days, I'm going to forget to change the day when I activate an alarm, and end up setting it for six days in the future.

I just want an alarm that I can set to go off "at the next 6:30 p.m." (or whenever).

Am I missing a way to disable the day-of-the-week setting on this alarm clock? Alternatively, can anyone recommend a good, basic, does-what-I-need-it-to-do app?

 

[RhysLlewellyn]

I absolutely hate this app too. I also hate that a very simple to the point flash light requires a 2x1 widget. Practically everything I use on this phone is alternatives to Samsung apps.

Alarm clock plus is free and highly regarded, whatever the same annoyance as you with this app. Ideally I want one like on my old HTC phone where I can tap the digital clock on my home screen and it takes me to an alarm page aswell as other useful features like countdown and stopwatch but I haven't found anything like that yet. Seems stupid having unnecessary icons on the screen when one should be able to cover a host of them.

 

[itsallgood]

I feel the same way. As of right now, I'm trying to work with it and give it a chance. I have to really pay attention to what I'm doing when setting alarms. I haven't seen anything in the settings to stop the default day of the week being automatically set.

 

[shmn]

Practically everything I use on this phone is alternatives to Samsung apps.

I like the phone hardware a lot, but Samsung cannot write software. I agree, all their software sucks, is poorly written and feels like it's in beta. Doesn't anyone try this stuff out in the real world before hitting the market? Shame on them for foisting this crap on us. All the "Smart" features are...in fact...quite stupid.

There. I feel better already.

 

[RhysLlewellyn]

Absolutely agreed shmn.

I've forked out for a decent remote control app and ended up switching most of the unique features on this phone off! I'm hoping they'll be useful some time down the line but I still wouldn't trade the phone for anything else since in my opinion there is nothing better right now.

 

[Szadzik]

Instead of complaining, head over to Google Play Store and get yourself 1 of million alarm clocks available there.

 

[4Gee]

I must be odd, but I really like the alarm clock. You can have more than one. My girlfriend has half a dozen alarm clocks set for different times and days. It always works and she hasn't been late for anything.

Just because it is a 'Smart Phone' doesn't mean we don't have to become dumb.

 

[itsallgood]

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Just because it is a 'Smart Phone' doesn't mean we don't have to become dumb.

Got a good laugh from this. .

 

[lotus49]

I just want an alarm that I can set to go off "at the next 6:30 p.m." (or whenever).

This is exactly what happens if you ignore the Day of the Week feature. Set an alarm and don't select any days and the alarm will go off at the next occurrence of the selected time.

There's nothing wrong with the default alarm clock.

 

[Beards]

Just because it is a 'Smart Phone' doesn't mean we don't have to become dumb.

Classic. Nice one...

 

[Beards]

This is exactly what happens if you ignore the Day of the Week feature. Set an alarm and don't select any days and the alarm will go off at the next occurrence of the selected time.

There's nothing wrong with the default alarm clock.

Totally agree. Exactly how I use the daily alarms.
I also use HD Widgets and have it set for when I tap on the time it brings up the Alarm, etc.

 

[tnedator]

I also like the built in alarm. Specifically, I love the smart wake or whatever it's called (don't have the phone in front of me right now), where it will first come on with some soft music that slowly gets louder, and if I sleep through that, it blasts my loud annoying alarm ringtone that I always wake up to.

I miss the widget that the S3 had which showed you the next alarm and let you scroll through all alarms.

 

[sntaylor]

Gotta admit I quite like the stock alarm...I just set it for every day then change the time depending on the day I need it, as I usually work back shift I don't use it too often to get up and this just tends to work for me.

However this is the great thing about android is, if it don't suit you, get another in the play store or make one yourself, the code is all available after all!

 

[WalkaboutDavid]

Instead of complaining, head over to Google Play Store and get yourself 1 of million alarm clocks available there.

While I agree with you, I also think these posters all have a point too. There is almost nothing added by Samsung that is at all useable. I have basically disabled everything.

The end result is that I have a lot of junk software on my phone that I never use and can't delete.

I am guessing that the bulk of the 10 million users who purchased the S4 last month are not going to spend their time disabling Samsung features and replacing them with good apps from the market.

For those who are not will to do the work, I honestly think that other phones make a lot more sense.

 

[Frisco]

I just want an alarm that I can set to go off "at the next 6:30 p.m." (or whenever).

Am I missing a way to disable the day-of-the-week setting on this alarm clock?

Yes. You're missing something.

Don't select a day of the week; just set up the time. Your alarm will then sound at that same time every day.

 

[Adara]

This is exactly what happens if you ignore the Day of the Week feature. Set an alarm and don't select any days and the alarm will go off at the next occurrence of the selected time.

Yes. You're missing something.

Don't select a day of the week; just set up the time. Your alarm will then sound at that same time every day.

OK. This is where I'm confused. I pick up my phone. I want an alarm at 11:30 today, so I set up a shiny new alarm. I don't care about the day, so I don't pick one. The alarm very kindly goes off at 11:30 today, Saturday. (Good phone.) Now, I pick up the phone tomorrow, wanting to use my 11:30 alarm again. The 11:30 alarm is now preset to Saturday. In order to make it go off at 11:30 on Sunday, I need to deselect Saturday. If I forget to do that step, the alarm which I intended to go off in a couple hours will actually be set for 6 days in the future.

The only way it works as you're suggesting is if I never reuse old alarms and start from scratch with new ones each time.

Also:

Instead of complaining, head over to Google Play Store and get yourself 1 of million alarm clocks available there.

Wow. So helpful. In the OP, I asked if someone could recommend a good one -- I was hoping to rely on the experience of this forum rather than individually pawing through the plethora of alarm clock apps.

 

[bradyapba]

try alarm clock extreme free. It does what you want. You can set an alarm for 9am. and just turn it on and off as needed, and will go off on the next 9am.

 

[WalkaboutDavid]

try alarm clock extreme free. It does what you want. You can set an alarm for 9am. and just turn it on and off as needed, and will go off on the next 9am.

I use that app myself. It is pretty good but the interface has a few minor hiccups, IMO.

 

[bradyapba]

I use that app myself. It is pretty good but the interface has a few minor hiccups, IMO.

agreed. But minor. It works, its easy to use, and does what the OP wants, so I suggested it.

 

[Adara]

try alarm clock extreme free. It does what you want. You can set an alarm for 9am. and just turn it on and off as needed, and will go off on the next 9am.

Thanks! I'll check it out.

 

[Szadzik]

While I agree with you, I also think these posters all have a point too. There is almost nothing added by Samsung that is at all useable. I have basically disabled everything.

The end result is that I have a lot of junk software on my phone that I never use and can't delete.

I am guessing that the bulk of the 10 million users who purchased the S4 last month are not going to spend their time disabling Samsung features and replacing them with good apps from the market.

For those who are not will to do the work, I honestly think that other phones make a lot more sense.

So you are telling me, that Smart Stay, Quick Glance, Smart Alert, etc., etc., are disabled on yours? What did you buy this phone for if not all this stuff that makes your life easier? Also,, if you look above, someone already gave an answer telling how to skip days of the week and just sett the allarm for the next occurrence of the settings, so I see no reason to complain here. In my opinion, Samsung is THE ONLY manufacturer who pays attention to what is most important - software. Hardware has come to a level, where everyone is basically equal and software is the only way to make a phone special.

 

[sntaylor]

OK. This is where I'm confused. I pick up my phone. I want an alarm at 11:30 today, so I set up a shiny new alarm. I don't care about the day, so I don't pick one. The alarm very kindly goes off at 11:30 today, Saturday. (Good phone.) Now, I pick up the phone tomorrow, wanting to use my 11:30 alarm again. The 11:30 alarm is now preset to Saturday. In order to make it go off at 11:30 on Sunday, I need to deselect Saturday. If I forget to do that step, the alarm which I intended to go off in a couple hours will actually be set for 6 days in the future.

The only way it works as you're suggesting is if I never reuse old alarms and start from scratch with new ones each time.

Also:


Wow. So helpful. In the OP, I asked if someone could recommend a good one -- I was hoping to rely on the experience of this forum rather than individually pawing through the plethora of alarm clock apps.

Your other option is to select every day, then it will go off everyday at that same time unless you turn it off...which lets face it isn't such a hardship!

 

[WalkaboutDavid]

So you are telling me, that Smart Stay, Quick Glance, Smart Alert, etc., etc., are disabled on yours? What did you buy this phone for if not all this stuff that makes your life easier? Also,, if you look above, someone already gave an answer telling how to skip days of the week and just sett the allarm for the next occurrence of the settings, so I see no reason to complain here. In my opinion, Samsung is THE ONLY manufacturer who pays attention to what is most important - software. Hardware has come to a level, where everyone is basically equal and software is the only way to make a phone special.

Yes, everyone of those features is disabled on my phone.

I disagree that all this stuff "makes my life easier". I think it is useless bloat that just consumes resources.

I certainly did not buy this phone for those features. I bought it knowing I could disable all that crapware, download Apex, and have a fairly stock experience. If a Nexus s4 was available on Verizon, I would definitely have gotten that instead.

I don't recall complaining about the clock. Never use it, in fact. Already own alarm clock extreme.

I love the phone. I just think all the Samsung features are useless bloat, with a few notable exceptions. I like the mail client, browser, and text messaging client. I also mostly like zSamsung's take on the notification center.

ymmv.

 

[Szadzik]

Yes, everyone of those features is disabled on my phone.

I disagree that all this stuff "makes my life easier". I think it is useless bloat that just consumes resources.

I certainly did not buy this phone for those features. I bought it knowing I could disable all that crapware, download Apex, and have a fairly stock experience. If a Nexus s4 was available on Verizon, I would definitely have gotten that instead.

I don't recall complaining about the clock. Never use it, in fact. Already own alarm clock extreme.

I love the phone. I just think all the Samsung features are useless bloat, with a few notable exceptions. I like the mail client, browser, and text messaging client. I also mostly like zSamsung's take on the notification center.

ymmv.

Well, interesting use of the phone then. Maybe you needed this upgrade just as much as the lady in this video:

You need an upgrade - YouTube

 

[WalkaboutDavid]

Well, interesting use of the phone then. Maybe you needed this upgrade just as much as the lady in this video:

You need an upgrade - YouTube

In any case, I don't think everybody here views all those "features" as positively as you. There are a large number of us who long for a more vanilla experience.

But, like I said, ymmv. We all have different interests when it comes to phones. I totally get ( and respect) that some enjoy all those Samsung add-ons.

I only wish that VZW and other providers offered phones with "purer" experiences, so we could all have the exact phone we want.

Op, sorry we got a tad OT, but glad you seem to have your question answered.