Spotify to blame for Google Alarms not going off; Google working on a fix

There have been many recent reports about alarms not going off on Android phones. Google has finally acknowledged the problem and is working on a fix. It turns out that one of Spotify’s latest updates is to blame. Here’s what really happened.

For the last couple of weeks, there have been numerous reports of people’s Google Clock set alarms not ringing. At first, it was thought that the problem was with the Google Clock app itself. The native alarm clock app for Android received many one-star reviews in the Google Play store since the problem first appeared.

In a recent development, it turns out that Spotify is to blame for the problem. Liliputing reports that the problem affects people who have chosen an alarm ringtone from Spotify. This function was first introduced in 2018 and it worked without a hitch until a recent update to Spotify was rolled out. According to a post in the Spotify Community site, the update was rolled out on August 24.

Google confirmed it is working on a fix on September 3 on its official PixelCommunity Reddit page. Here’s the statement found on the page:



There is no word from Google on when the fix will be rolled out and in what form. It can either update the Google Clock app itself or include the solution in a future Android update. In theory, the non-ringing problem can also be fixed by a Spotify app update.

How to fix silenced Google Alarms?

If you are experiencing the same problem with your Google Clock app you don’t need to wait for a fix from Google itself. The problem affects only people who have chosen Spotify to be the source of their alarm ringtone. To fix the unfortunate mishap, you should simply go into settings and choose an on-device ringtone. If you don’t like those you can always download another from apps like Zedge.