Apple has confirmed an iOS bug where non-repeating alarms fail to ring on the
first few days of the new year, recommending that users set recurring alarms
until Jan. 3, when the alarms will resume working properly.
As various time zones entered the new year, reports began cropping up from
iOS users whose one-time alarms had stopped functioning after the device's clock
had ticked over to January 1, 2011. According to reports, the issue affects
devices running the iOS 4.2.1, the latest version of iOS.
Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison responded to the reports by confirming to
Macworld that Apple is aware of the problem. "We're aware of an issue related to
non repeating alarms set for January 1 or 2," Harrison said. "Customers can set
recurring alarms for those dates and all alarms will work properly beginning
January 3."
The issue is reminiscent of the iOS alarm bug that caused alarms to miss the
daylight savings time change that occurred earlier this fall. After Australian
users were woken up an hour early because of the bug, Apple Australia told ZDNet
that the company was "aware of this issue and already developed a fix which will
be available to customers in an upcoming software update."
In November, a number of European readers contacted AppleInsider to note
having trouble with their iPhone alarms. Apple subsequently released a support
document detailing the bug and recommending that users turn off their recurring
alarms
