Why does my timer not make a sound?

Check Your Device’s Sound Settings

One of the first things to check if your timer app is not making a sound is your device’s overall sound and notification settings. To check these on an Android device:

Open the Settings app and go to the Sound & vibration or Sound settings. Make sure that volume is turned up and the phone is not silenced or set to vibrate only. Specifically check the media volume and notification/alarm volumes. Confirm that Default notification sound is enabled and a sound is selected (not None or Silent).

Additionally, go into the app permissions for the timer app and make sure it has access to notifications. The app may need notification access enabled to make sounds.

According to the Android Help guide from Google, you can customize notification sounds and volumes specifically for apps under Sound & vibration settings (https://support.google.com/android/answer/9082609?hl=en). So check there to make sure proper sound alerts are set for your timer application.

Try Restarting Your Device

A simple restart can often resolve temporary software issues that may be preventing sounds from working properly. When a device has been running for an extended time, some processes may get “stuck” and cause glitches. Restarting your phone or tablet forces all components to shutdown and restart fresh, which clears out any software bugs. Experts recommend rebooting your device as one of the first troubleshooting steps for sound issues.

To restart an Android device, press and hold the Power button for a few seconds until a menu pops up. Tap “Restart” and wait for your phone to shut down and boot back up. For iPhones without a Home button, press and hold the Side/Power button with either volume button until the slider appears to power off. All third-party apps and processes will restart, which often resolves temporary glitches, audio issues included.

Update Your Apps

Outdated apps can sometimes develop bugs that lead to problems with sounds. When apps are updated, developers often fix bugs and improve performance. According to a discussion on Apple support forums, some users found that updating to the latest iOS 17 caused third-party apps to default to a low beep sound instead of their normal alert tones [1]. Updating those apps to the newest available version fixed the missing alert tones.

On Android devices, an update to the core system apps also caused some users to lose sounds from other apps, as noted in a Google support thread [2]. Updating the affected apps brought the sounds back for those users.

Check the App Store or Google Play Store to see if any of your apps have updates available. Install all pending updates and then test your timer app again. With bugs fixed, the latest version of your apps may now play sounds as normal.

[1] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255213282
[2] https://support.google.com/android/thread/160580383/lose-of-sound-after-updating-applications?hl=en

Check App Permissions

One common reason an app’s timer or alarm may not make a sound is if the app does not have permission to access the device’s audio. On both Android and iOS, apps need explicit permission from the user to play sounds.

To check if this is the issue, open your device’s settings and look for the “Apps” or “Applications” menu. There should be a section here that allows you to view and manage the permissions for each app installed on your phone.

Find the app with the non-working timer or alarm, and check if it has permission to access the microphone or audio. If audio access is disabled, tap the option to enable it. This will prompt you to grant the app permission to play sounds.

According to Google Support, revoking microphone/audio access is a common way users limit apps from playing unwanted sounds. So if your timer worked previously, a recent permissions change could explain the issue.

Granting the app access to audio should allow the timer alerts and alarms to play sounds as normal. If the issue persists, there may be another cause for the silent timer.

Try Other Apps

A good way to determine if the sound issue is isolated to a particular app is to see if sound works properly in other apps on your device. Open up a few different apps like your phone dialer, music player, YouTube, games, etc. and test if sound effects, music, and alerts work as expected in those apps.

If sound works fine in other apps, then the problem is likely limited to just the timer app itself. However, if you notice no sounds in any apps on your device, then there is likely a more system-wide issue with your audio settings or hardware. This can help narrow down where the root cause lies.

Some recommended free apps for testing sound on both iOS and Android include Clear Wave, TestHiFi, and Speaker Test. Experiment with testing alerts, music, and sound effects in these apps to see if any sounds come through properly.

By isolating the apps with sound issues, you can determine if it is a device-wide problem or something specific to the timer app configuration. This should provide helpful clues to resolve your timer not making any sound.

Adjust In-App Settings

The app itself may have sound disabled. Open the app’s settings and look for options related to sound, notifications, or alerts. For example, in the iPhone Clock app, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics and make sure the slider for Timer is turned on and volume is up. Check if the app needs permission to access notifications or sounds. In app settings, enable sounds and test if alerts now work properly. If other apps have sound but this one doesn’t, dig into its settings for a solution. Check support sites and forums to see if others have reported similar no-sound issues within the app itself.

As suggested in this RepCount support article, first open the Settings app, go to Notifications, find the timer app, and ensure Sounds are toggled on. If sounds in the app itself are enabled but you still hear no alert, there may be a deeper issue.

Check Hardware and Volume

One reason your timer app may not be making a sound is if your device’s physical volume controls are turned down or muted. Try adjusting the hardware volume buttons or sliders on your device to make sure the volume is turned up:

On a smartphone, use the physical volume buttons typically located on the side of the device to turn the volume up. Older phones may have a slider or wheel to control volume hardware instead of buttons.

On a tablet, there are often physical volume buttons present. If not, try looking for a volume slider along the side or top of the device.

For desktop computers and laptops, adjusting the physical volume knob or buttons on your speakers can help increase the sound. There may also be hardware volume buttons located on the computer itself you can try.

Double check that any physical mute switches on your device are not enabled, and that the volume is not muted through hardware controls. Turning up hardware volume can override any muted software settings.

If adjusting the physical volume controls does not resolve the issue, there may be a problem with software settings instead. Continue troubleshooting by looking at the app’s permissions, testing different alerts and sounds, and updating your device’s software.

Test Different Alerts/Sounds

One potential solution is to switch the notification sound associated with the timer app. The sound file may have become corrupted or “glitched,” preventing it from playing properly when the timer goes off. To test this, go into your device’s settings menu and change the timer alert sound to something different. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Sounds (or Sounds & Haptics) and under Ringtone, select a new tone for your Timer alarm [1]. On Android, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications > Advanced > Timer and select a different sound [2]. Trying a fresh sound file may resolve any glitches that were preventing the original tone from ringing.

Update Device Software

Old operating system (OS) versions sometimes have bugs that cause sound issues in apps or system alerts. Updating your device to the latest software version can resolve these sound glitches. As an example, some Android devices have experienced sound problems after system updates that were fixed by installing newer updates.

To update your device software, go to your phone’s settings and check for available updates. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. On Android, go to Settings > System > System Update. Install any pending updates, including major OS updates and security patches. Once your device reboots, test if sounds are now working properly in your timer app and for alerts.

Updating to the latest OS version can improve performance, fix bugs, and resolve sound issues caused by outdated system software. Keep your device up-to-date to prevent and troubleshoot audio problems.

Contact Developer Support

If you have tried all of the above troubleshooting steps and are still having issues with your timer not making a sound, contacting the app developer may be your next step. As the app developers, they will have the most in-depth knowledge of the app and may be able to further troubleshoot or provide solutions. They can also confirm if it is a known issue on their end and provide a timeline for when a fix may be available via a software update.

To contact the app developer, check the app store listing for support contact information. There may be an email address, web form, or phone number listed. Be prepared to provide details on your device, OS and app version, as well as detailed steps to reproduce the no sound issue. Reporting the problem directly to the developers can help ensure they are made aware of the bug so it gets prioritized for fixing in a future release.

Citing Apple Support, contacting the app developer is the last troubleshooting step before determining if a hardware issue with your device may be the root cause of the problem.