# Captain Wake

> Captain Wake is an iOS alarm clock app that makes you complete a real-world "mission" before the alarm will turn off, so heavy sleepers and chronic snoozers actually get out of bed. Instead of a swipe-to-dismiss button, you solve math, take a photo of a real object, scan a barcode, shake the phone, or spin — the alarm re-arms through app kills, restarts, and volume changes, so the only way to silence it is to complete the task.

Captain Wake is developed by Zuxy Capital LLC-FZ. It runs on iPhone (iOS 17 or later), is free to download with an optional Premium subscription (3-day free trial, then $29.99/year; regional pricing may vary), is available in 48 languages, and holds a 4.6 / 5 rating on the App Store.

## Get the app

- [Captain Wake on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/captain-wake-alarm-missions/id6770994614): Download Captain Wake: Alarm & Missions for iPhone (iOS 17+).
- [Captain Wake website](https://captainwake.io): Official homepage with features, screenshots, and download links.

## What makes it different

- Unkillable alarm engine: the alarm survives force-closing the app, restarting the phone, and turning the volume to zero. Only completing the mission stops it.
- Mission types: Photo (photograph a real object, verified on-device with Apple Vision), Math (adjustable difficulty), Barcode (scan a code placed in another room), Shake, and Spin.
- Photo missions are verified entirely on-device — images are never uploaded.
- Sleep-side features: sleep forecast (predicts how rested you'll feel based on bedtime), bedtime reminders, "still awake?" check-in, repeating alarms, gentle ringtones, and dark mode.
- Progress tracking: streaks, all-time best, average mission-completion time, and weekly and monthly trends.

## Who it's for

- Heavy sleepers and deep sleepers who sleep through normal alarms
- Chronic snoozers who dismiss alarms in their sleep
- Students, night-shift workers, and anyone building an earlier, more consistent wake-up habit
- People with ADHD who struggle with mornings

## Guides and articles

- [Why is it so hard to wake up](https://captainwake.io/blog/why-is-it-so-hard-to-wake-up): The science of sleep inertia and why alarms fail heavy sleepers.
- [What is a mission alarm clock](https://captainwake.io/blog/mission-alarm-clock-explained): How mission-based alarms work and why they beat snooze.
- [Best alarm app for heavy sleepers](https://captainwake.io/blog/best-alarm-for-heavy-sleepers): What to look for in an alarm that actually wakes you up.
- [Alarmy alternative](https://captainwake.io/blog/alarmy-alternative): How Captain Wake compares to Alarmy.
- [Why you turn off alarms in your sleep](https://captainwake.io/blog/turning-off-alarm-in-your-sleep): The neuroscience of sleep-dismissing alarms and how mission alarms prevent it.
- [Night shift sleep schedule](https://captainwake.io/blog/night-shift-sleep-schedule): A realistic sleep and wake-up plan for night shift workers.
- [Revenge bedtime procrastination](https://captainwake.io/blog/revenge-bedtime-procrastination): Why you stay up late scrolling and how a fixed wake time breaks the cycle.
- [iPhone alarm not going off](https://captainwake.io/blog/iphone-alarm-not-going-off): The settings-level causes of an iPhone alarm that never rang, and how to check each one.
- [Does the iPhone alarm work on silent](https://captainwake.io/blog/iphone-alarm-silent-mode): Clock alarms do ring on silent — and why people still wake up to nothing.
- [Captain Wake blog](https://captainwake.io/blog): Guides on waking up, oversleeping, and sleep science.
- [Full article text](https://captainwake.io/llms-full.txt): Every guide in full, in one plain-text document.

## Common questions, answered

- [Is Captain Wake Worth It? An Honest Review](https://captainwake.io/blog/is-captain-wake-worth-it): Captain Wake is worth it if you're on iPhone and switch alarms off half-asleep. What's free, what Premium costs, the real pros and cons, and who should skip it.
- [Captain Wake vs the Built-in iPhone Alarm: Do You Need an App?](https://captainwake.io/blog/captain-wake-vs-iphone-clock-alarm): The iPhone Clock alarm is enough if you wake up and stay up. You need an app like Captain Wake only if you tap Stop or snooze half-asleep. Full comparison.
- [Captain Wake vs Sleep Cycle: Which Should You Use?](https://captainwake.io/blog/captain-wake-vs-sleep-cycle): Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep and tries to wake you in a lighter phase; Captain Wake makes sure you get up. Which fits your problem, and how to use both.
- [Best Captain Wake Settings for Heavy Sleepers](https://captainwake.io/blog/how-to-set-up-captain-wake-for-heavy-sleepers): The strongest Captain Wake setup for heavy sleepers: a barcode or photo mission in another room, the phone across the room, a backup alarm, and a set bedtime.
- [Is There an Alarm App With No Snooze Button?](https://captainwake.io/blog/alarm-app-with-no-snooze): Yes. You can switch off snooze per alarm in the iPhone Clock app, but Stop is still a tap or swipe away. A real no-snooze alarm needs a task before it stops.
- [Are There Free Alarm Apps for iPhone That Actually Wake You Up?](https://captainwake.io/blog/free-alarm-apps-for-iphone-that-wake-you-up): Yes. The iPhone Clock app is fully free, and mission alarms like Captain Wake and Alarmy are free to download with paid tiers. What free really means, compared.
- [What's the Best Alarm App for ADHD?](https://captainwake.io/blog/best-alarm-app-for-adhd): The best alarm app for ADHD makes you engage before it stops, stays varied so you don't tune it out, and is easy to set up. Here's how the options compare.
- [What's the Best Alarm App for College Students?](https://captainwake.io/blog/best-alarm-app-for-students): The best alarm app for college students gets you up for 8am classes after late nights without waking a roommate. Here's what to look for and how they compare.
- [Is There an Alarm App My Teenager Can't Turn Off?](https://captainwake.io/blog/best-alarm-app-for-teenagers): Yes: mission alarm apps keep ringing until your teen completes a task, like photographing the sink. Here's how they work, their limits, and how to set one up.
- [What's the Best Alarm App for Night Shift Workers?](https://captainwake.io/blog/best-alarm-app-for-night-shift-workers): The best alarm app for night shift workers wakes you from daytime sleep, handles rotating schedules, and can't be dismissed half-asleep. Here's what matters.
- [Is There an Alarm That Makes You Get Out of Bed and Walk to Another Room?](https://captainwake.io/blog/alarm-that-makes-you-get-out-of-bed-and-walk): Yes. Mission alarms with barcode or photo missions only stop once you scan a code or photograph an object in another room, like your bathroom sink. Here's how.
- [Is a Phone Alarm or a Real Alarm Clock Better for Heavy Sleepers?](https://captainwake.io/blog/phone-alarm-vs-alarm-clock): A loud clock across the room beats a phone on the nightstand, but a mission alarm beats both at stopping the switch-off-and-sleep loop. Here's how to choose.
- [Vibrating Bed Shaker vs Alarm App: Which Wakes a Deep Sleeper?](https://captainwake.io/blog/bed-shaker-vs-alarm-app): A bed shaker wakes you through vibration when sound fails; a mission alarm app stops you switching off and going back to sleep. Deep sleepers often need both.
- [How Do I Wake Up Someone Who Sleeps Through Every Alarm?](https://captainwake.io/blog/how-to-wake-up-someone-who-sleeps-through-alarms): Use bright light, their name, a firm touch, and get them sitting up. Then set them up with an alarm they can't switch off asleep, so you stop being their alarm.
- [How Do I Stop Oversleeping When I Work From Home?](https://captainwake.io/blog/how-to-wake-up-on-time-working-from-home): Working from home removes the commute that forced you up. Replace it: a fixed wake time, morning light, a first task out of bed, and an alarm that gets you up.
- [Will My iPhone Alarm Go Off on My Apple Watch?](https://captainwake.io/blog/iphone-alarm-apple-watch): An iPhone alarm can alert on your Apple Watch and be dismissed from your wrist. How it works, where the setting is, and how to make sure the phone wakes you.
- [Does an iPhone Alarm Go Off If the Phone Is Off, Dead, or in Low Power Mode?](https://captainwake.io/blog/does-iphone-alarm-work-when-phone-is-off): No if your iPhone is off or the battery is dead. Yes in Low Power Mode, Airplane Mode, silent mode and Do Not Disturb. A clear table and night-before checklist.
- [Can You Change the Snooze Time on an iPhone?](https://captainwake.io/blog/change-snooze-time-iphone): For years iPhone snooze was fixed at 9 minutes. On iOS 26 and later you can set it per alarm. Here's how, how to turn it off, and why length isn't the real fix.
- [How Do I Set a Song as My iPhone Alarm?](https://captainwake.io/blog/set-song-as-iphone-alarm): Open Clock, tap your alarm, tap Sound, then Pick a Song and choose a track from your library. Here's what you need, and which songs actually wake you up best.
- [What's the Difference Between the iPhone Sleep Schedule Wake Up Alarm and a Normal Alarm?](https://captainwake.io/blog/iphone-sleep-schedule-vs-regular-alarm): The Sleep Schedule Wake Up alarm is tied to a bedtime, Wind Down and Sleep Focus in Health. A normal alarm stands alone. How they differ and which to use.

## Tools and reference data

- [Sleep calculator](https://captainwake.io/sleep-calculator): Works out bedtimes and wake-up times that land on a sleep-cycle boundary, with a page for every time from 4:00 AM to 9:00 AM and every bedtime from 9:00 PM to 1:30 AM. States plainly that the 90-minute cycle is an average of roughly 80-110 minutes, not a fixed constant, and that total sleep matters more than cycle timing.
- [Clock change dates by country](https://captainwake.io/clock-change): Daylight saving transition dates for 40+ countries, computed from the IANA timezone database, including which countries have abolished DST entirely.
- [Sunrise and sunset times by city](https://captainwake.io/sunrise): Month-by-month sunrise and sunset times for 65 cities, the latest sunrise of the year in each, and why waking before sunrise is biologically harder.

## Optional

- [Privacy policy](https://captainwake.io/privacy): How Captain Wake collects and uses data.
- [Contact](https://captainwake.io/contact): Get in touch with the Captain Wake team.