# Make the app feel right for you

Open the menu on the alarm list and choose **Settings**. You can change the theme, time format, clock picker, first day of the week and light sensor sensitivity.

![English Settings screen showing appearance and clock options.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/settings.png)

Settings brings the app preferences together. Scroll down to find the light sensor controls.

## Light or dark theme

Choose **Light** or **Dark**. Your alarms and times stay the same; the colours change so you can read the screen comfortably.

![English alarm list with the dark theme enabled.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/dark.png)

The dark theme changes the colours of the list and editor.

## 12-hour or 24-hour format

Under **Clock format**, choose **12 Hours** or **24 Hours**. In 12-hour format you will see am / pm; in 24-hour format, 19:30 means half past seven in the evening.

This changes how times are displayed and selected. Check am / pm when setting an alarm in 12-hour format.

## Analog or digital picker

Under **Default clock style**, choose the picker you prefer for new alarms. You can also show or hide the clock type choice inside the editor.

Cannot find **Digital clock** in an alarm? Check that the clock type choice is set to show. When it is hidden, the default style is used.

![English analog alarm editor with the dark theme enabled.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/dark-editor.png)

The theme and picker style are separate choices.

## First day of the week

Under **Start week on**, choose a day or follow the phone’s configuration. This changes the order of days on screen, without changing a Monday or Friday alarm’s schedule.

## Language

The app is translated into English, Spanish and other languages. If your Android version offers **App language** on the app’s settings page, you can choose it there. Otherwise, check your device language.

This manual uses screenshots of the app in English. The **Español** link changes both the guide text and its screenshots.

## Light detection sensitivity

In **Settings**, scroll to **Light detection sensitivity**, under **General**. You can choose the global sensitivity or use **Auto-calibrate** to adapt it to your room lighting. This section only appears when your phone has a compatible light sensor.

![English settings with the light detection sensitivity slider and the Auto-calibrate and Select and apply to all buttons.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/settings-light.png)

Auto-calibrate adapts the scale to your room. The slider selects a sensitivity within the current scale.

- **Less sensitive**, to the left: a larger increase in light is needed to react.
- **More sensitive**, to the right: it can react to a smaller increase in light.

Moving the slider shows **Not applied**. To save that selection using the current scale, tap **Select and apply to all** and accept the confirmation. Moving the slider alone does not save the change.

The selection applies to **all saved alarms and new ones**, including disabled alarms and those with light control turned off. Their times, enabled state and chosen light action are kept. This does not turn light control on: enable it in each alarm and choose whether it stops or snoozes the alarm, as explained in [Light, shake and buttons](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/en/light-shake-volume/).

## Auto-calibrate the light sensor

Auto-calibration compares the lighting with the room light off and on to prepare a sensitivity scale for your room and a recommended selection.

1. Place your phone where it will be when the alarm rings, with its light sensor uncovered. Keep it in the same position for both measurements.
2. Tap **Auto-calibrate**.
3. Turn the room light off and tap **Measure with light off**. Keep the phone still while **Measuring…** is shown and wait until the app asks you to turn the light on.

![First step of Calibrate light detection in English, with instructions and the Measure with light off button.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/light-calibration-dark.png)

First measurement: keep the phone still in its usual position, with the sensor uncovered.

4. Switch on the lamp you will use to stop or snooze the alarm. Without moving the phone, tap **Measure with light on** and wait for it to finish.

![Second step in English, asking you to switch on the light and start the second measurement.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/light-calibration-bright.png)

Switch on the light without moving the phone, then take the second measurement.

5. When **Calibration ready** appears, the slider shows the recommended sensitivity. You can move it towards **Less sensitive** or **More sensitive** before continuing. **Start again** repeats both measurements.
6. Tap **Set and apply to all** to review the confirmation.

![Real calibration result in English, with the recommended sensitivity, slider and Set and apply to all button.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/light-calibration-result.png)

The proposal has not been saved yet. You can adjust the slider or start again.

7. Accept the confirmation to save the new scale and selected sensitivity for all alarms and as the initial setting for new ones.

![English confirmation asking whether to apply these settings to all alarms and new ones.](https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/assets/screenshots/en/light-calibration-confirm.png)

Check which alarms are affected before accepting. Cancelling this confirmation leaves the proposal unapplied.

**Cancel** closes the calibration dialog without applying the proposal. If readings are unstable or the light increase is too small, the app keeps your previous settings and lets you repeat the measurement. If leaving the screen interrupts it, start again; if the sensor cannot provide valid readings, check the message before retrying.

After applying, test an alarm a few minutes ahead with the phone in the same position: it should keep ringing before you switch on the lamp and perform the chosen action when you turn it on. If you change rooms, lamps or phone position, repeat calibration when needed.

You can choose another sensitivity inside an alarm’s editor and save it for that alarm. Applying a global setting later also replaces these individual selections.

## Restore defaults

At the bottom of settings, **Restore defaults** asks you to confirm before returning to the app’s initial preferences, including the original light sensitivity scale. It also applies the default sensitivity to all alarms. Afterwards, review your settings and check your alarms before relying on them.

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Reviewed 22 October 2026. Updated 28 October 2026. Based on app 1.8.1.

Source: https://alarmclock.adrianillo.name/manual/en/appearance-and-settings/