You have a 6:00, a 6:05, a 6:10 and a "REALLY get up" at 6:20. Every evening you switch them on one by one, and every weekend you switch them off again. So you go looking for a way to group them.
The short answer
The iPhone Clock app has no alarm groups. You can still turn several alarms on or off at once in three ways:
- A shortcut in the Shortcuts app, one tap to switch a set of alarms.
- A sleep schedule in the Health app, for different wake-up times on different days.
- An alarm app with groups.
And if you set five alarms because one never gets you up, there is a fourth way: one alarm you can't sleep through.
1. Make a shortcut that switches a set of alarms
The Shortcuts app comes with every iPhone. It has a Toggle Alarm action that turns one Clock alarm on or off. Put several of them in one shortcut and you have an alarm group.
- Open Shortcuts and tap + to make a new shortcut.
- Tap Add Action, search for Toggle Alarm and add it.
- Pick the first alarm and set the action to turn it on.
- Add one more Toggle Alarm action for each alarm in the group.
- Name the shortcut, for example "Work alarms on".
- Make a second shortcut that turns the same alarms off, for example "Work alarms off".
Add both shortcuts to your Home Screen, or run them with Siri by saying their names. You can also use a personal automation to run them at a set time, such as every Friday evening.
To turn every alarm off at once, ask Siri to "turn off all my alarms". Or make a shortcut with Get All Alarms, then Repeat with Each, with a Toggle Alarm action inside the loop.
2. Use a sleep schedule for different days
If you group alarms because your wake-up time changes during the week, a sleep schedule may do the job without any switching. In the Health app, open Sleep, then Full Schedule & Options. Set a wake-up time for your work days, then add a second schedule for your other days. Your iPhone wakes you at the right time each day on its own.
A sleep schedule gives you one wake-up alarm per day, not a series of them.
3. Use an alarm app that has groups
Some alarm apps have real groups. MultiAlarm – Group Your Alarms lets you sort alarms into groups for different routines and switch a whole series on or off with one tap. It is free to download, with paid plans, and it needs iOS 26 or later.
Keep in mind that an app's alarms live in that app. Turning a group off in the app does not touch the alarms in Apple's Clock app.
Why do we set so many alarms?
You are not alone. In a 2023 study in the Journal of Sleep Research, about 69% of 1,732 adults said they snooze or set several alarms at least some of the time.
The same study found that several alarms are not as bad as people say. In a lab test, 30 minutes of snoozing did not harm habitual snoozers' thinking after they woke up, and it cost them about 6 minutes of sleep. So if five alarms work for you, that is fine.
But most people don't set five alarms because they enjoy it. They set them because they don't trust one alarm to get them up. The weak spot is the moment the alarm rings: one tap on Stop, half asleep, and the alarm is gone. The next alarm is there to catch you. And the one after that.
4. Or wake up with one alarm you can't sleep through
Instead of more alarms, you can use one alarm that you can't turn off while you are still asleep. That is what we built RingLink to do.
You have to be awake to stop it
Add a wake-up challenge to the alarm. To stop it, you have to solve math, type a phrase, take a photo of a spot you chose (like the bathroom sink), walk, play a memory game, keep your face on screen or shake the phone. You can't do any of those in your sleep.
Ignore it, and it rings again
If you ignore the alarm, it rings again. You don't need a 6:05 and a 6:10 to catch you, because the one alarm keeps trying.
Someone knows if you got up
Share the alarm with a friend, a partner or your team. Everyone in the alarm shows as on time, late, snoozed or missed. Knowing that someone will see "missed" next to your name is a strong reason to get up.
How to set it up
- Get RingLink from the App Store.
- Create an alarm and pick the time and the days.
- Add a wake-up challenge.
- If you like, invite a friend by their RingLink username.
- Turn off the extra alarms in your Clock app, and try it for a week.
RingLink is free to use. The free plan includes the Math challenge and one shared alarm with a friend. RingLink Pro adds every challenge, unlimited shared alarms and bigger groups. RingLink needs iOS 26 or later.
When several alarms still make sense
One alarm is not right for everyone. Keep a set of alarms, and group them with a shortcut, if:
- You work shifts and wake up at very different times.
- You use alarms as reminders during the day, like for medicine or picking up the kids.
- You simply like waking up slowly, and it works for you.
Questions people ask
Can you group alarms on iPhone?
Not in the Clock app. It has no alarm groups. You can get the same result with a shortcut in the Shortcuts app, with a sleep schedule in the Health app, or with an alarm app that has groups.
How do I turn off all my alarms at once on iPhone?
Ask Siri to turn off all your alarms, or make a shortcut that uses the Get All Alarms action and a Toggle Alarm action inside a Repeat with Each loop.
Is it bad to set multiple alarms?
Not necessarily. In a 2023 study in the Journal of Sleep Research, 30 minutes of snoozing did not harm habitual snoozers' thinking after waking, and cost about 6 minutes of sleep. The bigger problem is that alarms are easy to turn off while you are still half asleep.
How can I wake up with only one alarm?
Use an alarm that makes you do something to stop it, like solving math or walking, and that rings again if you ignore it. Adding a friend who can see whether you got up also helps.
Can I share an alarm with someone on iPhone?
Not with the Clock app. A shared alarm app such as RingLink lets you make one alarm, invite friends, and see who got up on time. Our guide to group alarm apps for iPhone explains how it works.
One alarm. Actually awake.
Add a wake-up challenge and turn off the backup alarms.
Free · iPhone