Setting a Sleep Timer On Your iPhone

If you want music to automatically stop playing after a period of time, there is a sleep timer on the iPhone. But you won't find it in the Music app or in the Settings. Instead, you'll need to know where to look in the Clock app.

Video Transcript: Hi this is Gary with MacMost.com. On today's episode let's look at setting a sleep timer on your iPhone or iPad so music automatically stops playing after a period of time.
So let's say you want to listen to music in the evening, perhaps while you're going to bed. You've got your iPhone or iPad hooked up to a set of speakers or maybe you've got some headphones on. One of the things you want to do is have the music automatically turn off after a period of time, after say you might fallen asleep.
Now in the past you may have done something like play a single album of your music or played a short playlist and then the playlist will end. But now we've got things like iTunes radio and, of course, Beats 1 it is very easy to put music on that will never end unless you have your iPhone set to turn off after a period of time. A sleep timer is what it is usually called in terms of functionality.
You would expect to find maybe a sleep timer function in the music app. But it is not there. You can search all through Settings, settings for music, and it is not there either. Other apps, like say audible apps for audio books have sleep timers built in. But not the music app. You won't be able to find it anywhere. As a matter of fact you can search all over the place and most people will never find out where this functionality is. But it is on your iPhone. It's been there since the beginning. Let me show you where to look.
So I exit the music and say I have it playing at this point. So it is playing music. I go to the Clock app. Now the clock app has a lot of different functions. For instance it's got the World Clock there and you can set it for different areas. It's got an Alarm. It's got a Stopwatch. And it has a Timer. 
You can set the Timer to do all sorts of different things. You can set it When Timer Ends to play a sound, for instance. Or at the very bottom there is an option there for Stop Playing. That is exactly what we want.
The Stop Playing function will turn off the music from the Music app. The great thing is you can set the timer for any time you want per minute. Whereas a lot of sleep timers are a specific amount of time like ten minutes or a hour. This you can actually set to the exact time that you want for it to end.
All you've got to do is set it going. Now you've got a countdown there and when this timer ends it will stop playing and I've got my sleep timer.
So you can get in the habit of just using this to turn off music when you are playing it in the evening.

Comments: 7 Responses to “Setting a Sleep Timer On Your iPhone”

Paul Reber

8 years ago

Gary this is a great tip! You really provide a super service. Thanks Much

Paul

Jim Anderson

Along same lines, how 'bout article on using music as alarm?

Peggy

Gary, thank you! Great information - had no idea this function was available.

Jenifer Nech

Wow, as usual you have the greatest tips!

Phil

Gary...I always learn something new from you. Great tip. Note, that this also works for streaming video / TV / movies.

forkboy1965

Wow. I never new this even existed. Not that I want to use it... I prefer using an app that plays the sound of crickets with a built in timer, but still.. this is good to know. Maybe useful for something other than going to sleep.

Corinna

Great tip; thanks, Gary. I had no idea this was available. You're so clever :)

~Corinna

Comments Closed.

Setting a Sleep Timer On Your iPhone

Comments: 7 Responses to “Setting a Sleep Timer On Your iPhone”

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