Ringer off, Focus on, phone face down in a bag: a timer that only sends a notification is easy to miss. On iOS 26, Shared Timer rings as a real alarm, on your phone and on every phone you shared the timer with.
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Ringer off. Still rings.
The Silent switch and Focus modes exist to hush notifications, and that is exactly how most timer apps alert you, including every app that can share a timer with someone else. Flip the switch or turn on Do Not Disturb and the timer still finishes, but you only find out when you pick the phone up. Apple's own Clock app avoids this because its timer is an alarm, not a notification. Until iOS 26, no other app could do that.
It rings, whatever the switch saysThrough Silent mode, Do Not Disturb and every other Focus, at your alarm volume, with the app open, closed or the phone locked.
A full-screen Stop buttonThe alarm takes over the Lock Screen, like a Clock alarm, and keeps ringing until you stop it. No swiping away a banner you didn't notice.
On every phone at onceEach person who opened the link gets their own alarm at the same absolute moment, even if their phone is offline or they haven't opened the app in days.
And on the wristAn Apple Watch taps at the same moment, then reminds you twice more until you open the app or stop the timer.
Get Shared TimerIt's free on the App Store. When it first opens, tap Allow so it can schedule alarms. You can change this later under Settings > Shared Timer > Alarms.
Set a timerTap +, enter a duration or pick an exact time, and tap Create Timer. Every countdown is an alarm; there is nothing extra to switch on.
Share it if you likeTap Share Timer and send the link. Whoever opens it gets the same alarm on their phone. How sharing works.
Earlier versions of iOS don't let apps ring as alarms, so there the timer alerts with a Time Sensitive notification. That follows your Silent switch and your Focus settings. If you use a Focus a lot, allow Time Sensitive notifications in it, or add Shared Timer to its allowed apps, so the timer gets through.
Yes, on iOS 26. Every Shared Timer countdown is a real system alarm, the same kind the Clock app uses, so the Silent switch doesn't mute it. The phone sounds at your alarm volume, shows a full-screen Stop button and keeps ringing until you stop it.
Yes, on iOS 26. Alarms are allowed through Do Not Disturb, Sleep, Work and every other Focus, so the timer rings even when notifications are held back. You don't have to add Shared Timer to the Focus's allowed apps.
Because they alert you with a notification, and the Silent switch and Focus modes exist to hush notifications. Until iOS 26, only Apple's Clock app could ring as an alarm. Shared Timer now uses that same alarm system, and unlike the Clock app, it can share the timer.
Yes, if they have Shared Timer on iOS 26. Every phone that joined the timer gets its own alarm at the same moment, each one ringing through silent and Focus on its own device. An Apple Watch taps the wrist at the same time.
On those versions the timer alerts with a Time Sensitive notification, which follows your Silent switch and Focus settings. In a Focus, allow Time Sensitive notifications or add Shared Timer to the allowed apps so it comes through.
Open Settings > Shared Timer > Alarms and make sure alarms are allowed; the app asks for this the first time you open it. Check that the phone is on iOS 26, and that the alarm volume (Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Ringtone and Alert Volume) isn't at the bottom. If it still doesn't ring, the support page has more steps.
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