Agree a time before the morning
Ask them what time they need to be awake, not what time you find convenient to dial. A 5:30 ring for a 7:00 shift can be right for them and awful if you guessed. Agree the days as well. A weekday start and a Sunday sleep-in are different schedules. Write the time down so neither of you is negotiating it half asleep.
Agree the message too. A short line in a familiar voice ("It is 6:15, time to get up for the early shift") is easier to act on than a joke they have to decode. If they would rather hear an AI voice than your recording, say so. Own-voice recording is available on every plan. AI text-to-speech is AI TTS from Focus and up.
Agree where the phone will be. A handset in another room, face down under a pillow, or left on silent will not do the job even if the call goes out. Ask them to leave it where they can reach it, on a normal ring, with your number saved. If they share a room, keep the message plain. A roommate may hear it. Do not put anything in the recording that you would not say in front of that person.
Plan to call twice
The first ring is easy to miss. People roll over, tap the side button, or let it go to a missed call without waking enough to stand up. Calling twice, with a few minutes between, gives the second ring a better chance. Tell them the second call is part of the plan so it does not feel like pressure.
If you are dialing yourself, set a timer for the gap so you do not forget the second attempt while you make coffee. If a service is placing the calls, use a retry that runs even after voicemail, and check that each retry uses a call from the plan. On Focus, Keep Calling can retry up to 5 times after the first dial, 3 minutes apart, on your own number. On Support, Call Until Answered can retry up to 3 times with 5-minute gaps. Starter does not retry on its own.
Ask them to allow your number through Do Not Disturb
A wake-up call fails quietly when the phone is in Do Not Disturb, a sleep schedule, or a setting that silences unknown callers. The call can be "delivered" and still make no sound in the room. Ask them, the day before, to save your number and to mark it as a contact that may ring during sleep hours.
On an iPhone, check Silence Unknown Callers and the Focus mode that covers sleep. That Focus mode is a phone setting, not the Focus plan. On Android the names differ by phone: Do Not Disturb, a bedtime mode, or a spam filter. The steps for both are in calls not ringing. You cannot change those settings from your side. They have to do it on their phone.
Schedule a wake-up call to someone else
If you will not be awake to dial, schedule the ring. On Time Call calls the number at the time you set and plays your message. It does not connect you live to them. They hear the recording, then the call ends. That is enough for "get up now." It is not a conversation about how they slept.
Waking someone else needs the Support plan: you plus up to 4 other people. Get their permission first, and ask them to save the caller ID. The numbers we call from are US: +1 (740) 693-0907 · Canada: +1 (431) 500-0907 · UK: +44 7426 930907. Support emails you if the call is not answered, so you know when to try them yourself. Starter is 3 free calls on your own number only, with no card. Focus can wake you, on a repeating schedule, and cannot add their number.
Calls go to mobiles and landlines in the UK, US, and Canada. They do not need a smartphone or the app to receive the call. Pro lists up to 50 recipients and is Coming Soon. It may roll out in phases.
For a wake-up on your own phone, the walkthrough is on wake-up calls. If the problem is that alarms on the bedside table do not wake them, why people sleep through alarms covers ordinary reasons and when to talk to a doctor. A scheduled call is a practical backup. It is not a medical device, and it is not an emergency service. If the email says the call was not answered, that is your cue to phone them yourself in the normal way, because the scheduled call will not open a live conversation for you.
Frequently asked questions
Should I call twice?
Yes, if you agreed that a second ring is welcome. The first call often lands while they are still asleep and gets dismissed or missed. A second call a few minutes later is a plan, not a surprise, when you agreed the gap in advance.
Which plan can wake someone else?
Starter and Focus call your own number. Waking someone else needs Support, which is you plus up to 4 other people. Ask their permission first. Pro lists up to 50 recipients and is Coming Soon.
Do they need to save the caller ID?
Yes. Ask them to save the number and to allow it through Do Not Disturb, Focus, and Silence Unknown Callers. The numbers are US: +1 (740) 693-0907 · Canada: +1 (431) 500-0907 · UK: +44 7426 930907. If the phone labels the call as spam, it may not ring.
Does the wake-up call connect us live?
No. The phone rings and plays the message you recorded, or an AI voice on a paid plan. It is not a live conversation. If you need them to talk to you, call them yourself in the normal way after they are up.
What if they sleep through alarms as well?
A phone call is a different sound from the alarm on the bedside table, and a second attempt can help. It is not a promise they will wake. If sleep is getting worse, or they are worried about it, that is a conversation for a doctor, not a setting in an app.
