January 2, 2022

How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

With each passing day, computer technology is developing and activities more advanced than yesterday can be performed today. While this list of activities keeps expanding, it is easy to forget that your PC is also capable of performing a plethora of mundane tasks. One such task is setting an alarm or reminder. Many Windows users like you, might not be aware of the Alarms and Clock application that is natively present in the operating system. We bring to you a perfect guide that will teach you how to set alarms in Windows 10 and how to allow wake timers. So, continue reading!

How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

Alarms & Clock app originally rolled out with Windows 8 and was absent in the previous versions. Shocking, right? People use PC to set up an alarm, or remainders for their daily activities. In Windows 10, along with the alarm, there is an additional feature of a stopwatch and a timer. In this article, we will show you how to set alarms & wake timers in Windows 10.

Why Use Alarms in Windows 10?

Even though we use clocks for setting up alarms, Windows alarm feature will help you keep your tasks & work-life organized. Some of its prominent features are:

  • Your meetings won’t be delayed or forgotten.
  • You won’t forget or miss out on any events.
  • You will be able to keep track of your work or projects.
  • Moreover, you will be able to keep up with deadlines.

What is the Use of Wake Timers?

  • It enables or disables Windows OS automatically to wake your PC from sleep on a timer for tasks that have been scheduled.
  • Even if your PC is in sleep mode, it will wake up to perform the task that you priorly scheduled. For example, if you set a wake timer for your Windows update to take place, it will ensure that your PC wakes up and performs the scheduled task.

If you are one of those users who gets lost in web browsing, gaming, or any other PC activities and completely forgets about meetings or appointments, just set an alarm to knock you back into reality. Read the next segment to learn how to set alarms in Windows 10.

Method 1: Through Windows Application

The alarms in Windows 10 work exactly as they do on your mobile devices. To set an alarm on your PC, select a time, choose the alarm tone, the days you would like it to repeat and you are all set. As obvious, the alarm notifications will only appear if your system is awake, so only rely on them for quick reminders and not to wake you up from a long slumber in the morning. Below is a detailed guide on how to set up an alarm in Windows 10:

1. Click on Start, type Alarms and Clock, and click on Open.

press windows key and type alarms and clock and click on Open. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

Note: The application retains its previous state and displays the last active tab.

2. If this is your first-time launching Alarms & Clocks, switch from the Timer tab to the Alarm tab.

3. Now, click on the + Add an alarm button in the bottom right corner.

Navigate to Alarm on left pane and click on the Add an alarm button.

4. Use the arrow keys to choose the desired alarm time. Choose carefully between AM and PM.

Note: You can edit the alarm name, time, sound, and repetition.

Use the arrow keys to choose the desired alarm time. Carefully choose between AM and PM. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

5. Type the alarm name in the textbox next to a pen-like icon.

Note: The name will be displayed on your alarm notification. If you are setting the alarm to remind yourself of something, type out the whole reminder text as the alarm name.

Give a name to your alarm. Type the name in the textbox next to pen like icon

6. Check the Repeat Alarm box and click the day icon to repeat the alarm on particular days or all days as needed.

Check the Repeat Alarm box and click the day icon to repeat the alarm on the days mentioned.

7. Click the drop-down next to the music icon and choose the preferred alarm tone from the menu.

Note: Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t allow users to set a custom tone. So choose one from the existing list, as depicted.

Click the dropdown next to music icon and choose preferred alarm tone from the menu. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

8. Finally, choose the snooze time from the drop-down next to the snooze icon.

Note: If you are a master procrastinator like us, we recommend choosing the smallest snooze time, i.e. 5 minutes.

Finally, set the snooze time from the drop down next to snooze icon. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

9. Click Save button to save your customized alarm, as shown.

Click Save to save your customized alarm.

You have successfully created a new alarm and it will be listed in the Alarm tab of the application.

You will receive a notification card at the bottom-right of your screen when an alarm goes off along with the options to snooze and dismiss. You can adjust snooze time from the notification card as well.

Note: The toggle switch allows you to quickly enable or disable an alarm.

A toggle switch allows you to quickly enable or disable an alarm.

Also Read: Windows 10 Clock Time Wrong? Here is how to fix it!

Method 2: Though Cortana

An even quicker way to set an alarm in Windows 10 is to use the built-in assistant i.e. Cortana.

1. Press Windows + C keys simultaneously to launch Cortana.

2. Say set an alarm for 9:35 pm to Cortana.

3. Cortana will set an alarm for you automatically and display I’ve turned on your alarm for 9:35 PM on as depicted below.

On your Cortana, type set an alarm for X XX am or pm in the Cortana bar and the assistant will take care of everything. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

Also Read: How to Enable Calculator Graphing Mode in Windows 10

Pro Tip: How to Delete Alarm in Windows 10

Follow the steps listed below to delete an existing alarm:

1. Launch Alarms & Clock as earlier.

press windows key and type alarms and clock and click on Open. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

2. Click on the saved alarm card, shown highlighted.

To delete an alarm, click on the saved alarm card

3. Then, click on the trash icon from the top-right corner to delete the alarm.

Click on dustbin button on the right corner to delete your customized alarm. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

Apart from setting an alarm, the Alarms & Clocks application can also be used to run a timer and a stopwatch. Read the next section to set & allow wake times in WIndows 10.

Also Read: Synchronize Windows 10 Clock with an Internet Time Server

How to Create Task to Wake PC/Computer

As mentioned earlier, alarm notifications only appear if your PC is awake. To automatically wake up the system from sleep at a specific time, you can create a new task in the Task Scheduler application & customize it.

Step I: Create Task in Task Scheduler

1. Hit Windows key, type Task Scheduler, and click Open.

open task scheduler from windows search bar

2. In the right pane under Actions, click on Create Task… option, as shown.

In the right pane under Actions, click on Create Task… How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

3. In Create Task window, enter Task Name (e.g. Wake Up!) in Name: field and check the box marked Run with highest privileges, shown highlighted.

Type task name as pleased next to Name field and check the box Run with the highest privileges.

4. Switch to the Triggers tab and click New… button.

go to Triggers tab and click on New button in Create Task window of Task Scheduler

5. Choose the Start date & time from the drop-down menu. Press on OK to save these changes.

Note: If you want your PC to regularly wake up, check Daily in the left pane.

set new trigger to daily and start time and date in Create Task window Task Scheduler. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

6. Navigate to the Conditions tab, check the box titled Wake the computer to run this task, as illustrated below.

Navigate to Conditions tab, check Wake the computer to run this task

Also Read: How to Enable Telnet in Windows 10

Step II: Set Action in Create Task Window

Finally, at least set one action such as playing some music or a video clip, that you would like the PC to perform at the trigger time.

7. Go to the Actions tab and click on New… button, as shown.

Got to Actions tab and click on New…

8. Next to Action: choose to start a program from the drop-down menu.

Next to Action Choose start a program from the dropdown. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10 and allow wake timers

9. Click Browse… button to choose the location of the application (music/video player) to open.

click on Browse button in New Action window for Create Task in Task Scheduler

10. In the Add arguments (optional): textbox, type the address of the file to be played at the trigger time.

Note: To avoid errors, make sure there are no spaces in the file location path.

In the Add arguments (optional): textbox, type the address of the file to be played at the trigger time. Next you need to allow wake timers

Also Read: 9 Best Calendar Apps for Windows 11 

Step III: Allow Wake Timers

Moreover, you will need to enable Wake Timers for the tasks, as follows:

1. Click on Start, type Edit power plan, and press the Enter key, as shown.

Type Edit power plan in the Start menu and hit Enter to open to allow wake timers. How to Set Alarms in Windows 10

2. Here, click on Change advanced power settings.

Click on Change advanced power settings to allow wake timers

3. Double-click on the Sleep and then Allow wake timers option.

4. Click Enable from the drop-down menu for both On battery and Plugged in options, as depicted below.

Navigate to Allow wake timers under Sleep and click Enable from the dropdown. Click on Apply button to save changes.

5. Click on Apply > OK to save these changes.

That’s it. Your PC will now automatically wake up at the specified time and hopefully, be successful in waking you up by launching the desired application.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Is there a way to set an alarm on my computer?

Ans. You can set an alarm from within the Alarms & Clock application or simply, command Cortana to set one for you.

Q2. How do I set multiple alarms in Windows 10?

Ans. To set multiple alarms, open the Alarms & Clock application and click on the + Add an alarm button. Set an alarm for the desired time and repeat the same procedure to set as many alarms as pleased.

Q3. Can I set an alarm on my computer to wake me up?

Ans. Unfortunately, the alarms set in the Alarm & Clock applications only go off when the system is active. If you would like the computer to wake itself and you at a specific time, use the Task Scheduler application to allow wake timers instead.

Recommended:

We hope the above methods helped you with how to set alarms in Windows 10 & also allow wake timers. If you have any queries/suggestions regarding this article, then feel free to drop them in the comments section. Also, do not forget to share this article with others.