

How my iPhone made me miss my first flight of the year - helmutgranda
http://www.helmutgranda.com/2011/01/01/how-my-iphone-made-me-miss-my-first-flight-of-the-year/

======
drgath
While I do use my mobile's alarm app often, I've always been hesitant to use
it as my -only- alarm. There are too many things that could go wrong when
compared to a good ol' alarm clock.

When I need to catch those 6am flights, I set multiple alarms on my alarm
clock, as well as my phone. Always have a backup.

~~~
ams6110
I have had so many problems with alarms and alerts not sounding on a variety
of mobile devices, going back many years, that I don't rely on them for
anything important. Hotel wake-up call service has always been my backup when
traveling.

~~~
pierrefar
I've had hotel wake up calls NOT happen. For really-must-wake-up-on-time
situations, you need to diversify: phone + hotel + a tiny clock.

~~~
yardie
I wonder if this is a bug in general? Hotel wakeup calls are done by automated
services these days, atleast for every hotel I've stayed in for the last 10
years.

If you think hotel wakeup calls are unreliable and they all use the same
wakeup call software then the problem may be in the code.

------
mortenjorck
Once is a fluke, but twice is a pattern:

[http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/11/01/iphone-alarm-bug-
wake...](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/11/01/iphone-alarm-bug-wakes-users-
up-late/)

Apple is going to have to restore faith in the clock app like Google needs to
restore faith in Android's SMS app.

~~~
nosht
What is wrong with Android's SMS app? I don't want to start another Google VS
Apple thread, I honestly haven't noticed anything.

~~~
pierrefar
Valid question. There is a bug in the Android SMS app that sends your text to
unintended recipients. See:

<http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9392>

[http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/31/android-still-has-
horribl...](http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/31/android-still-has-horrible-
text-messaging-bugs-thatll-get-you-f/)

[http://www.bgr.com/2010/12/31/android-bug-that-sends-sms-
mes...](http://www.bgr.com/2010/12/31/android-bug-that-sends-sms-messages-to-
random-recipients-is-being-ignored-by-google/)

~~~
gaustin
Interesting. I get mail addressed to people with GMail addresses that are
similar to mine (gaustin vs. g.austin). I sometimes wonder if other people get
emails addressed to me...

~~~
pierrefar
Don't worry: both these addresses are yours! See the first item in this help
page:

[http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=10313...](http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=10313&topic=1564)

------
mattparcher
Does anyone have a theory to explain the bug [1]?

[1] _Any non-recurring iPhone alarm between January 1 and 3 will not go off_

~~~
jamesaguilar
That's weird, because my alarm went off this morning at 5:30 AM and was non-
recurring. Does the bug afflict only a particular software version? I'm on 4.1
on an iPhone 4.

~~~
helmutgranda
I haven't seen any official report from Apple, but if you follow the thread
link below you can see most people report 4.2.1

<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2702635>

------
sbierwagen
A backup that uses the same mechanism is worse than no backup at all, since it
gives you a false sense of security.

~~~
jamesaguilar
Not really, since iPhones can run out of batteries, one could get turned off
reflexively, they could break down during the night, etc. There are plenty of
reasons to use two iPhone alarms over one that do add security.

~~~
sbierwagen
It was an aphorism, but I'll grant you that.

But a backup that would take the same effort (a $10 alarm clock) using
entirely different hardware and software would be _significantly_ more robust
than just using another iphone.

The 747 has two sets of controls and four completely redundant hydraulic
systems for the control surfaces, rather than two controls for a common
hydraulic system. In the cockpit it looks the same, but the backend is far
safer.

Two iphones share all their software and hardware. Any bug in either would
affect both. Additionally, they're both connected to the internet. If they
both get a SMS of death, or if AT&T's NTP server decides to tell everything
that connects to it that it's January 1st, 1970, 12:00AM, or if someone with a
warrant tells them to remotely shut down both phones, etc etc etc. In
contrast, the only thing I can think that would take out both a cell phone and
a clock radio would be an EMP, or an explosion in the same room.

~~~
ramchip
> In contrast, the only thing I can think that would take out both a cell
> phone and a clock radio would be an EMP, or an explosion in the same room.

Perhaps more likely: the phone is close to discharged and a blackout happens.
Both devices run out of power before morning.

Of course your point still stands.

------
lutorm
Maybe that's the reason my wife's new WakeMate (she got it yesterday) didn't
wake her up this morning either? She's like "this thing sucks!" but maybe it's
Apple's fault then?

~~~
w1ntermute
No, IIUC, the WakeMate app's got its own alarm. This only applies to Apple's
built-in clock.

------
auxbuss
Apple support discussion:

<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2702635>

~~~
extension
_My son has type one diabetes and is on an insulin pump. Because of this I
have to check his blood sugar levels every two hours at night. I rely heavily
on my iPhone 4 alarm. Last night went to bed with all my alarms set as usual.
None of them went off. I woke up at 8 am in a panic not knowing what I'd find
in my sons room. Thankfully he hadn't gone low in the night and died. Instead
he was extremely high, which is also bad but not fatal in the short term. But
still carries health problems._

My first thought was how irresponsible it is to rely on a consumer gadget for
something life critical. But then I wondered, is there is any such thing as
mission critical alarm clock that this person could find and afford? Can the
average layperseon be expected to understand how various gadgets are prone to
fail at such simple tasks? We rely on so many non-industrial grade things to
not incidentally kill us: shoes, doorknobs, bubblegum, faucets, etc. Maybe
it's reasonable to think of a virtual alarm clock in the same way, especially
on a device that tries so hard to look and feel like an elementary object
rather than a complex machine.

~~~
WalterBright
I use a windup mechanical alarm clock for critical wakeups. I've had batteries
fail on battery clocks, and the power go out on plugin clocks. The windup ones
have never failed me.

~~~
sbierwagen
Anecdote. A mechanical clock has dozens of moving parts, and is powered by a
large, fragile, spring. I wouldn't trust it for anything critical, (which
"waking up on time" isn't) but then again, I wouldn't trust any single alarm.

In response to the guy behind you: I did some googling for high-reliability
alarm clocks, and didn't find anything relevant. Designing one would be
amusing, in the standard vein of engineering humor. (Ha ha, isn't this
horribly over-designed.) Redundant power supplies! Integral UPS! Three rad-
hard microcontrollers which vote on the correct time! Two displays, in case a
LED segment on one fails, and gives you the impression of the wrong time!
Costs $5000, and weighs 40 pounds!

------
Bud
See also:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2057896>

~~~
helmutgranda
Thanks for the reference, I wasn't aware some one had already already reported
the issue.

~~~
ljf
Still interesting to here how it affected someone - good blog btw. We have all
come to rely on our phones these days - when they do fail us it leaves you
feeling pretty lost!

------
blhack
Out of curiosity, how many of you depend on an alarm to wake you up? I don't
think I've used one in over 2 years.

~~~
dbz
All of us with sleep apnea do.

~~~
tseabrooks
I'm not sure that's true. I have sleep apnea and I've never used an alarm on a
daily basis in my entire life. I've only been using a CPAP for about 2
years... but neither before nor after have I ever needed an alarm. I simply go
to bed when my body is tired... and I sleep until I'm not tired. It usually
means, for me, I sleep from about 9:30 p.m. - 5:00 a.m. and work 7-3...

Prior to using a CPAP I wouldn't expect sleep apnea folks to need an alarm
because they'd already be waking up pretty frequently.. after the CPAP machine
I'd expect it to be super easy to just go to sleep when tired and wake up when
you wake up...

and before you say, "I have to be up at X o clock and if I slept until I was
done sleeping I wouldn't be able to do it" .. I call hogwash... If you
purposefully go to sleep early a few nights you can control your 'well rested'
time until you get it to the right point.. and after using an alarm for a few
weeks should be able to remove it and let your body wake you up... as long as
you will listen to your body when you are tired.

I think this previous post talks about this type of sleep ( "free running
sleep"?)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=673726>

------
paul9290
The author can also buy one of the many alarm clock apps in the store in which
will avoid this issue. It's a reoccurring issue as it happened when the time
changed in the fall.

Pardon shameless plug but we have an alarm app that wakes you up & speaks the
status of your airline flight(delayed, canceled or on-time). We use
flightcaster.com as our data resource.

<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep-fm/id388631053?mt=8#>

~~~
jamesaguilar
Thanks for the plug. They can be useful. But:

1\. Why use "promotional pics" rather than screenshots of the actual program?

2\. Ugh, why use non-native controls?

3\. The Facebook and Twitter icons look low-res, which would make for an ugly
appearance on my iPhone 4.

There is no chance I would buy this app without an accurate screenshot
representation of it, and there's further no chance I would buy it if it
really does look the way it does in the screenshots.

------
TheBranca18
In contrast, I bought a ticket on Continental while I was in line for Jetblue
at Logan airport right after Jetblue cancelled my flight. I was panicking
putting in my credit card in Mobile Safari (and still have never got a
confirmation email) but I was able to get out and make it home for New Year's.
I try to never rely just on my phone alarm for whatever reason, call that
being overly cautious.

------
siglesias
I simply set a timer before I go to bed (specifying how many hours of sleep I
want). The input merhod is much faster and less bug prone.

------
threej
Exact same thing happened to me this morning. I set the alarm on my iPhone and
my girlfriend set hers as a backup. Woke up 45 minutes later then I was
planning and was completely perplexed. Luckiy, I was not trying to catch a
flight, just going skiing.

------
albemuth
I wouldn't have gone to bed at all. Even if the alarm had gone off I would
have slept through it on so little sleep.

------
itistoday
This reminds me of the time my iPhone saved my ass.

The fault was completely mine, I'd miscalculated how long it would take me to
get from the apartment, onto the BART and into the gate at SFO. I could see
I'd miss my flight if I tried to run to BART, so I whipped out Siri and said,
"Get me a cab." Within literally a minute or two, a cab arrived at my
apartment and I got to SFO with time to spare.

Technology can be a great thing, when it works. ;-)

------
visakhcr
That's why I still carry around my old alarm clock wherever I go!

------
cageyjames
or, "How I failed to see the thousands of blog posts and tweets telling me
this was going to happen".

~~~
mattwdelong
In his defense; While I don't have an iPhone, I'm an avid reader of all things
technology and check HN multiple times daily. I also failed to see these so
called "thousands of blog posts and tweets". Again, not familiar with the
iPhone, but can't Apple send out notifications of some sort?

~~~
cageyjames
A good way to find the notification bug in iOS4! ;)

