In the event of Windows 10 Alarms and Clock not working, there could be an error with your date and time and you should consider correcting them. You will also have alternatives like running the troubleshooter, checking the Focus assistant, updating, resetting, or uninstalling the reinstalling your application, and re-enabling notifications. To get your alarm back, this article has highlighted all the solutions you need.
Windows 10 Alarms And Clock Won’t Work: Reasons
Focus Assist
For your information, Focus Assist is a Windows utility that allows users to dismiss distracting notifications when they have to concentrate. By default, Focus Assist is set to turn on automatically during specific durations of the day. Therefore, if you set an alarm that falls within the active period of Focus Assist, you will miss it.
Date And Time Settings
All in all, alarms go off depending on the date and time of your computer. If you mess up the date and time settings, there is a good chance that alarms won’t work as expected. Because of that, once it comes to Windows 10 Alarms and Clock not working, you should give date and time settings some thought.
Notifications
On Windows, you can choose to disable/enable notifications that pop up on your screen. Needless to say, with notifications disabled, you won’t see a thing as you use your PC. Since alarms from Alarms and Clock count as notifications, you can’t see them if you disable notifications.
A Few Fixes
Check Out Date And Time
In the beginning, take a look at the time and date settings of your computer.
- Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Step 2: Select Time & Language, look to the left and choose Date & Time.
- Step 3: Toggle the switches next to Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically to “enabled”.
- Step 4: Close Setting, restart your computer and set the alarms again.
Run App Troubleshooter
In case you don’t know, Alarms and Clock is a Windows app. Thus, if you notice Windows 10 Alarms and Clock not working, it’s wise to run the app troubleshooter.
- Step 1: Press Windows + R to open Run.
- Step 2: Type control then hit Enter to open Control Panel.
- Step 3: Select Troubleshooting then choose Hardware and Sound.
- Step 4: Pick Windows Store Apps then hit Next to run the troubleshooter.
- Step 5: Assuming that the troubleshooter manages to identify the problem, select Apply this fix and wait until the process wraps up.
Take Focus Assist Into Account
If Focus Assist is responsible for Windows 10 Alarms and Clock not working, all you have to do is to disable it/reconfigure its settings.
- Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Step 2: Select System, look to the left and choose Focus Assist. Next, you can choose to turn it off completely or allow the Alarms & Clock app to show notifications when Focus Assist is on.
- Step 3: Click Customize your priority list, scroll down to Apps then click Add an app.
- Step 4: From the list, pick Alarms & Clock.
Update
- Step 1: Go to Search bar, type ms store then hit Enter to open Microsoft Store.
- Step 2: Look to the left, select Library and choose Apps.
- Step 3: Navigate to Alarms & Clock then hit Update to start the update process.
- Step 4: Once the update concludes, launch the application and see how things turn out as you set alarms.
Reset
If the cache files of Alarms & Clock become corrupted, a reset will restore the performance of the app.
- Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Step 2: Select Apps, look to the left and choose Apps & Features.
- Step 3: Hit Alarms & Clock then pick Advanced Options.
- Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom, click Reset and determine whether the issue persists.
Uninstall And Reinstall
Since the Alarms & Clock app is a system application, you will not see an option to uninstall it normally. However, you can run a set of commands in PowerShell to uninstall and reinstall the app.
- Step 1: Press Windows + X to open Quick Link Menu.
- Step 2: Select Powershell(admin), type get-appxpackage *WindowsAlarms* | remove-appxpackage then hit Enter. That is going to uninstall Alarms & Clock.
- Step 3: To reinstall the app, type the following command then hit Enter: Get-AppXPackage *WindowsAlarms* -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}
- Step 4: Restart your computer
Reenable Notifications
- Step 1: Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Step 2: Select System, look to the left and choose Notifications & Actions.
- Step 3: Toggle the switch below Get notifications from apps and other senders to “enabled”.
- Step 4: Scroll down to Get notifications from these senders then enable notifications from Alarms & Clock.
Can I See What I Have Missed While Focus Assist Was On?
On windows, after disabling Focus Assist, you can see a summary of what you have missed. To do so, press Windows + I to open Settings, look to the left and pick Focus Assist. Scroll down to the bottom then check the checkbox beside Show me a summary of what I missed while focus assist was on.
Is It Possible For Alarms To Go Through In Sleep Mode?
If your computer enters sleep mode, all of the programs will be closed including Alarms & Clock. That means that your alarm will not go off so you need to prevent your PC from going to sleep. Press Windows + R, type control then hit Enter to open Control Panel. Next, Select Power Options then click Change when the computer sleeps. From the dropdown menu beside Put the computer to sleep, select Never then click on Save changes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVA1T2V1yr0
Lessons
- Make sure that the alarm sound is loud enough to attract your attention
- If you are a heavy sleeper, set at least two alarms 5 minutes apart.
- Need to quickly turn off Focus Assist? Click on the Action center and hit Focus Assist once.
Michael Kan has been with Ginno Security Lab since October 2017, covering a wide range of topics, including consumer electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Prior to working at Ginno Security Lab he was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for over five years, covering the tech scene in Asia.
Areas of Expertise: Michael Kan has been working as a journalist for about 15 years— He start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City. Amazingly he is still here. Lately, he has been following SpaceX’s Starlink network, emerging online cyber threats, and the PC graphics card market (which led him to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000). He is always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send he tips.
The Best Tech he has Had:
- First video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
- Sega Saturn despite PlayStation’s popularity.
- The iPod Video received as a gift in college
- Xbox 360 FTW
- The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone he was proud to own.
- The PC desktop he built in 2013, which still works to this day.
