Choosing a wake-up challenge

Orbit Alarm can make you complete a challenge before an alarm stops. You choose one per alarm, so a workday alarm can be tough and a weekend one gentle.

Switching challenges on

Challenges are off by default. In the alarm editor, switch on OVERSLEEPING COUNTERMEASURES, then pick one of the four below.

The four challenges

Challenge	What you do	You can adjust
Math Solving	Solve sums on screen	Difficulty (EASY, MEDIUM, HARD) and how many sums (1–5)
Physical Shake	Shake the phone	Number of shakes (10–50)
Tap the Screen	Tap the screen repeatedly	Number of taps (10–100)
Wake up QR / Barcode Scan	Scan a barcode you registered earlier	Which code

Which one should I use?

If you switch off alarms without really waking up: use Math Solving. You can’t do sums on autopilot. Start on MEDIUM with 3 sums and raise it if it’s too easy.

If you fall back asleep once the alarm stops: use Wake up QR / Barcode Scan. Put the code in another room, and you’re out of bed before it stops. See How to set up a barcode alarm.

If you want something quick but physical: use Physical Shake. Twenty shakes is short, but it gets your arms moving.

If you want the lightest option: use Tap the Screen. Good for a second alarm, once you’re already semi-awake.

Mixing them up

Each alarm has its own challenge, so a common setup is:

• First alarm: gentle, no challenge or a short Tap the Screen.
• The one that really matters: Wake up QR / Barcode Scan or hard maths.

Test before you rely on it

Tap PREVIEW ALARM in the alarm editor to run the alarm now, challenge included. Adjust until it’s hard enough to wake you but not so hard you give up.

Snooze and Emergency Dismiss still apply

• You can snooze up to the alarm’s MAX SNOOZES limit. After that, you have to complete the challenge. See How snooze limits work.
• Emergency Dismiss is always there for real emergencies unless you switch on NO OVERRIDE. It’s a deliberately fiddly tap game, so it isn’t an easy way out.