iOS 17.1 After setting alarm to play a song, it plays default alert sound instead.

I have tried freshly downloading several songs from Apple Music (to which I subscribe), and have selected them when setting my alarm notification sound, and when the alarm goes off it plays the default alert sound instead.


I have also tried selecting songs that have been in my library for years. Out of four or five such songs, the clock app will now only use two of them. It allows me to make the setting, but then ignores the setting when the alarm goes off and plays the default alert sound. If I change my general default alert sound and then repeat the process (select one of my songs that it doesn't want to play), it will revert to the system default alert sound (overriding my personalized alert tone selection).


I have rebooted my iPhone several times, and just today upgraded to 17.1 from the previous version.


All of this began just a few weeks ago.

iPhone SE, iOS 13

Posted on Nov 7, 2023 10:51 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 21, 2024 02:38 PM

Hello all,

I’ve just found a workaround (I’m using iOS 17.3.1)


Go to

  • Setting
  • Music
  • Audio Quality
  • Deactivate « Lossless Audio »
  • Delete and re-download the song you want to use from Apple Music
  • Assign the song again in the Alarm


It works for me!

My assumption is that the Alarm app from iOS cannot play the lossless format music file (we’re in 2024, it’s just a joke!)


I hope that my workaround helps!

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8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 21, 2024 02:38 PM in response to Farm Dave

Hello all,

I’ve just found a workaround (I’m using iOS 17.3.1)


Go to

  • Setting
  • Music
  • Audio Quality
  • Deactivate « Lossless Audio »
  • Delete and re-download the song you want to use from Apple Music
  • Assign the song again in the Alarm


It works for me!

My assumption is that the Alarm app from iOS cannot play the lossless format music file (we’re in 2024, it’s just a joke!)


I hope that my workaround helps!

Dec 13, 2023 11:13 AM in response to Farm Dave

Same issue as everyone else. I use different music for different alarms and now only the default tone will work. I subscribe to apple music, have deleted, re-downloaded, reset (and the music plays fine when I select to hear a sample of it) but the alarm will not recognize it. I've used it for years and cannot figure out how to fix. It's been this way for a number of months now...help!!!

Nov 10, 2023 02:07 PM in response to Farm Dave

I just updated to 17.1.1 and now all of my alarms play the default alarm sound rather than the they have been playing for years. Each alarm had a specific song so that I knew what the alarm was for. This way I could just tap my watch and do whatever I was supposed to do with that particular time which is usually take a specific medication. Now I have to stop and find my phone and look at it and then look at my medicine app to see what I’m supposed to take, I hate this can I roll back to 17.0?

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iOS 17.1 After setting alarm to play a song, it plays default alert sound instead.

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