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Support

Answers to the questions people actually write in about, and how to reach a human.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn on hourly chimes?

Open Tinny(not) and allow notifications when iOS asks. Chimes are delivered as local notifications, so without that permission nothing can sound.

If you declined earlier, the app now says so under the switch and offers a direct link. You can also go to Settings › Notifications › Tinny(not) and turn Allow Notifications back on.

A chime arrived but made no sound. Why?

Four things silence a notification, in the order worth checking:

  1. The ring/silent switch on the side of the iPhone.
  2. A Focus mode. Focus silences notifications until you turn it off, and the chimes you missed are not replayed. Allow Tinny(not) in Settings › Focus if you want it to sound through.
  3. Settings › Notifications › Tinny(not) › Sounds switched off.
  4. Volume set to zero for ringtones and alerts in Settings › Sounds & Haptics.

Tinny(not) follows your system sound settings on purpose. It never overrides silent mode or Focus. For the full walkthrough, see our iPhone hourly chime not working guide.

How do I change the chime sound?

The sound list is always on the main screen, under Sound. Tap any name to select it and hear it play once. There are 14 built-in sounds plus the speaking clock.

Can each quarter hour have a different sound?

Yes. Set the interval to 15 or 30 minutes and a row of marks appears: :00, :15, :30, :45. Pick a mark, then pick a sound for it. Each mark keeps its own sound, so you can tell the quarter without looking at the screen.

Can I silence one of the marks?

Yes. Choose No sound for that mark and it schedules nothing at all, not a silent banner. The :00 mark always keeps a sound, otherwise an hourly schedule would be empty.

What is the speaking clock, and which voice does it use?

Instead of a chime, the app speaks the time aloud. It uses any speech voice installed on your iPhone, in your language and time format, and you pick which one from the Voice menu. Speech is generated on your device; nothing is sent anywhere.

Can it say my own words instead of the time?

Yes. Type your text in Custom Notification Text and it becomes the body of the notification, so it appears on the lock screen with any sound.

For it to be spoken aloud, the mark has to use the speaking clock. With any other sound selected the text is shown but not read out.

Can I use my own audio files?

Yes, up to 3 of your own recordings. Supported formats are .wav, .caf and .aiff, each up to 30 seconds. That limit comes from iOS: longer files are not played as notification sounds.

I selected many hours, and the finer marks stopped chiming.

iOS allows any app at most 64 pending notification requests at a time (Apple's UserNotifications documentation). A wide schedule asks for more than that, so the finest marks are the first to go.

Narrow the hours, the days or the interval and they come back. Opening the app also refreshes the schedule.

What is free, and what does the purchase unlock?

Free: hourly chimes, every day, with 5 of the built-in sounds.

The one-time purchase adds all 14 built-in sounds, the speaking clock with voice choice, custom notification text, intervals of 15 and 30 minutes with a separate sound per mark, weekday or weekend filtering, and importing your own audio. No subscription, no ads, nothing recurring.

How do I restore my purchase on a new iPhone?

Open the upgrade screen in the app and use Restore Purchases, signed in with the same Apple Account that bought it. Purchases are handled entirely by Apple; for billing questions contact Apple Support rather than us, since we never see the transaction.

Does it work when the iPhone is locked or the app is closed?

Yes. Chimes are scheduled with the system and fire from the lock screen with the app closed. You do not need to keep Tinny(not) open or running in the background.

Can I hear the chimes without seeing banners?

Yes. In Settings › Notifications › Tinny(not) turn off Lock Screen, Notification Centre and Banners, and leave Sounds on. The app shows this tip on its main screen with a direct link.

Which languages does the app support?

Six: English, German, Italian, Japanese, Turkish and Arabic. The spoken time follows your device language and 12 or 24 hour format.

What data does Tinny(not) collect?

None. No analytics, no accounts, no advertising SDKs, no network requests of any kind. Details are in the privacy policy.

Contact

If none of the above answers it, write to us. One person reads this mailbox, so please include your iPhone model, your iOS version, and what you expected to happen.

Purchases and refunds: every transaction is handled by Apple, and we never see payment details or purchase history. For billing, refunds or subscription questions, contact Apple Support directly. For anything about how the app behaves, write to us.