How to Set a Timer to Stop Playing Audio or Video on Your iPhone

West Bangal, India February 20, 2023 : Apple Clock app on phone screen stock image. Credit: sdx15 / Adobe Stock
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Every once in a while, we rediscover iPhone features that have been around for years but fly under the radar. This has been especially true with the anticipation leading up to the iPhone 16 and iOS 18 over the course of the last year.

These useful tools are often hiding in plain sight in the Apple apps we use every day. In its release of iOS 17 in late 2023, Apple added the ability to set multiple timers in the Clock app. We reviewed that process and gently teased Apple for (finally) bringing this functionality to the iPhone, years behind the Apple Watch and HomePod. In that same article, we mentioned the Clock app includes the ability to use the timer as a sleep timer. Here’s what that means and how it works.

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sleep timer iphone

Some of the more common uses of the timer in Apple’s clock app are for cooking meals, setting a reminder, or giving your kids a few extra minutes before bed. Most of us are probably familiar with the ability to select different sounds for when the timer ends.

However, if you scroll to the bottom of the list of sounds, you’ll see “Stop Playing” as an option. Selecting this option essentially turns your iPhone into a sleep timer. If you’re streaming audio or video from your iPhone and set a timer via the Clock app to Stop Playing, your media will stop. It will even stop third-party apps like Spotify.

Here’s how to set up a veritable sleep timer from your iPhone’s Clock app:

  1. Open your iPhone’s Clock app.
  2. Tap Timers in the bottom-right of your screen.
  3. Set the timer for when you want your media to turn off. The default setting is 20 minutes.
  4. Tap When Timer Ends and scroll down the list of sounds to the bottom. You’ll see Stop Playing. Tap it.
  5. If you wish to save this timer for future use, you might want to label it. Tap Label and name it whatever you’d like. In the example from the image above, the label is “Goodnight Music.”
  6. Tap Start.

That’s all there is to it! Your streaming audio or video will automatically stop playing at the time you set.

sleep timer 2

Next time you open the Clock app and return to the timers, you’ll see your previous “sleep timer” saved for easy use. If you like to fall asleep listening to music, a podcast, or watching shows or movies, try using the Clock app’s buried sleep timer feature. Sleep well!



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