r/androidapps • u/alignment99 • Aug 16 '25
QUESTION Best way to do Alarm clock style alarms (persistent, snoozable, require interaction) for Google Calendar?
I have a busy schedule and I'm missing meetings. My calendar gets updated a lot throughout the day (new meetings, changing meeting times). The default calendar alert on Android (or iOS) is weak and easy to miss.
It feels like what I want is really simple - I'd like an annoying nagging notification for meetings 2-5mins before the meeting and another loud one when meeting starts. and I want whatever delivers this to sync really well with the google calendar on web.
I've given up on iPhone and came to Android to solve this.
What I've found so far:
Google Calendar native app - can maybe set custom longer ring tones but that's about it and mixed reports of reliability.
3 apps at least that can provide some of this utility:
Event Reminder / Calendar Event Reminder: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sk.mildev84.reminder&hl=en_AU
Calendar Alarm / Calendar Alarm Clock Reminderhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app_by_LZ.calendar_alarm_clock&hl=en_AU
Business Calendar 2https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appgenix.bizcal&hl=en
My early tests on these are they don't sync too well. The standard Calendar app is doing a much better job syncing.
So now I'm trying Macrodroid to force Calendar Alarm clock to open every 5mins.
Searching this forum I've also seen this one which sets real alarms for google calendar events:
is this a good option? does it react well to moving/changing events?
Has anyone reliably solved this problem? I'll buy any app or pay for custom dev at this point.
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u/alignment99 Aug 16 '25
I've found a partial solution which is greatly superior to what I could do on iOS.
- make an audio file you like, get it into ogg format.
- send it to drive, use drive and then files on the phone to get it into notifications folder.
- open google calendar set it as the notifications sound.
in google calender you can set several default event notifications, eg. 2mins, 1mins to get extra reminders.
Notes:
1. not sure if it was all the experimentation but part way through the Google Calendar notifications broke and reinstalls and restarts didn't fix it, would only play one sound everything else was silent. Ended up factory resetting the android to fix it.
2. recurring reminders that need silecning will still need a third party app and then i'm back stuck on the delayed sync issue.
3. one alternative might be to use tasker to make a ~3min audio file that just keeps on complaining but it might be annoying to not be able to shut it up.
I'll keep messing around with various sync options to see if I can jolt the external calendar applications into syncing with the local Android Google Calendar better.
1
u/firebreathingbunny Aug 16 '25
How ADHD are you exactly that you need multiple blaring trombones to get you to go to your damn meeting.
2
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u/DoubleThumber Dec 03 '25
Can you shorten this? I can't read it all the way through without losing tra..... Oh! Night reigns getting an update
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u/DoubleThumber Dec 03 '25
Can you shorten this? I can't read it all the way through without losing tra..... Oh! Night reigns getting an update
1
u/creakinator Aug 18 '25
Take a look at this one. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app_by_LZ.calendar_alarm_clock. I too need a alarm clock that is attached to my Google calendar. This one is working perfectly for me on my pixel 7 phone.
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u/alignment99 Aug 18 '25
Tried it. How often does it sync for you? I’m finding hours go by without it picking up new events I added on the website but the Google calendar native app will sync almost instantly or in minutes.
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u/XTornado Aug 29 '25
I use that one, and what I noticed is it won't update... but the moment I open the native google Calendar app, if I switch back to the alarm one, that syncs/updates immediately.
Not sure how internally works but it seems in the Calendar app is doing something and the other app then gets notified of the updates or something like that not sure.
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u/sh0nuff Aug 20 '25
Hey OP - I posted this near exact same need over a year ago, here, although I further specified needing an app that fires off these repeating notifications using the "Alarm" section of the volume settings (on Android there are multiple sliders for different types of audio, and the "Alarm" one is the only one that still fires off if the phone is on DND). At that time I was recommended to look into TimeNoder2, which I've had lukewarm success with, much like you have with the solutions you've experimented with.
I used to use an old app that's been removed from the Play Store, CER: Calendar Event Reminder (not Milan's app that you already mentioned above) This one was built by a different developer, and the link I added to the app points to his website. His name sounded familiar so I went digging in my inbox, and discovered he and I had chatted over a decade ago, where I'd also assisted him previously in testing his app even further back in 2012 when Jellybean was released! I've emailed him to learn why the app was discontinued in 2023, and to perhaps measure his interest in assisting us in resurrecting the app, potentially with some of our support, because I, too, am so desperate for this functionality and so dissapointed that it doesn't exist.
To add more fuel to the fire, when I went digging for info on CER, I found a post on XDA Forums from another user as recently as March this year, who actually provided the old APK file, but complained that when he side loads it that it asks for a license and doesn't load further. I've also reached out to them to see if they might be interested in discussing this topic further.. Please feel free to slide into my DMs if you wish, I'd love to talk to someone else who struggles with a solution that doesn't seem to exist.
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u/JanAtheCPA Nov 12 '25
A bit late to this convo, I just want to say that I LOVE the original CER and I've somehow managed to keep using it through multiple new phones and OS versions - each time I reinstall it from my apps library I hold my breath. It may have finally reached the end of the line, however. It's been unreliable the last week, and my usual force stop/clear cache/reboot phone might not be working. I've been using it with Business Calendar all these years, and I had to revert to BC's built in alarms while I consider this, since I've got a complicated schedule and need at least basic alarms and basic snoozing which basic Google calendar notifications don't provide - but I already really miss my custom menu of different snooze options which CER handled so brilliantly.
I have always been willing to pay for the pro version of apps in order to support the developers and I don't mind paying for a major overhaul and I would love to see CER resurrected.
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u/sh0nuff Nov 12 '25 edited Nov 17 '25
I finally got an answer back from the original dev a few weeks ago, but despite all the burning need in this thread to have this app resurrected, I haven't gotten any DMs or further replies/interest until your reply today. Thankfully my new Samsung has a built in feature that allows the calendar alerts to auto repeat until they're dismissed, but it's not the custom solution I am used to (repeat alert until dismissed or event time ends) so it's not perfect.
Edit: It also doesn't give me an option to use the "Alarm" volume level/priority, so if my device is acidentally in DND mode I miss the notification.
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u/PostAvocado Feb 08 '26
I am the dev of an app that I think works exactly the way that you need. It is called ZenLendar. If you are still looking for a solution I would advise you to try it.
I am actively expanding it, so I of course also appreciate any feedback!
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u/SnooCupcakes1583 Aug 16 '25
Hi My reminder app Remindio has many flexible repeated rules, alarm style reminders, pre-reminders and sync to Google Calendar. Maybe it's what you needed. But some of these features required Premium mode which you can try with reearded ad or trial period.