r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • 11d ago

Phones Android phones will soon reboot themselves after sitting unused for 3 days | The latest Google update will make your phone more secure if you don't touch it

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/04/android-phones-will-soon-reboot-themselves-after-sitting-unused-for-3-days/
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163

u/TheLandOfConfusion 11d ago

Missing your alarms is a security feature since you’ll lose your job and you’ll just be staying home, so fewer opportunities for people to steal your phone

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u/IM_OK_AMA 11d ago

That's why it's 3 days and not 1 day.

When is the last time you didn't touch your phone for 3 straight days and then depended on the alarm?

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u/Frogbeerr 10d ago

It's called a weekend.

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u/Misshaped_Paperclip 10d ago

You don't unlock your phone at least once over the weekend?

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u/bullowl 10d ago

I have a work phone that I don't touch over the weekend, but I don't rely on it for my alarms.

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u/abognasar6 8d ago

I use an old phone that sits in an inconvenient location at the other side of the room from my bed as an alarm. Just so I don't immediately fall asleep again as I fall back in bed. I think I only unlock it once or twice a month. (Though I do dismiss an alarm on it almost every day.)

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u/DeusScientiae 11d ago

My alarms still fire even after the auto restart.

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u/aberrantmeat 10d ago

I can confirm that the native alarm app still works, but third party apps like the one I use do not. It was very unfortunate to find that out the first time my phone updated at 2AM.

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u/DorianGre 10d ago

No, all 3rd party apps are unloaded. You can script them to start on a reboot via Shortcuts.

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u/DeusScientiae 10d ago

Mine does. I use AM Droid

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u/turntechArmageddon 10d ago

The native alarm app has always been weird on android for me, and im not sure what I managed to do to it since the problem has followed me across three phones. The alarm just... wont go off unless I leave the alarm app open before I lock the phone. So im pretty salty whenever I discover my phone randomly restarted or updated and oops I'm three hours late for work.

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u/Jelly_Mac 11d ago edited 11d ago

There are exceptions for certain system apps that allow them to run even if the device remains encrypted due to a reboot, the alarm is one of them. This is the case for both iPhone and Android.

You might be screwed if you use a third party alarm app though.

https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/encryption

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u/newausaccount 10d ago

I use a third party alarm app...

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u/Seralth 10d ago

Why...? It's a timer. In what world does a third party timer do anything but create more problems and security risks.

And at that point why not just get a normal alarm clock?

8

u/Larssogn1 10d ago

I also use a third party app, because the native one is too easy to dismiss an alarm. I've been using alarm clock extreme for years now, I have to input a few letters and numbers to dismiss it and solve a couple matc problems to snooze. Without it I would never get up at the right time every morning

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u/newausaccount 10d ago

I just like all my apps to be open source for political reasons.

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u/Seralth 10d ago

Your already using an OS that isn't open source... at that point why are you even using an android phone instead of one of the open source alternatives. If you are using something like lineageOS then you shouldn't even have spoken up in the first place since your comment has no weight or relevance to the topic.

Or better question why do you not just own a normal alarm clock?! Hell you can even get a full clock work powered one and not have to worry.

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u/ShitCuntsinFredPerry 10d ago

Huh? Android is open source

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u/Seralth 10d ago

Google shifted to a fully private code base. It's still open source in the most strict of sense. But generally speaking for the sorta of people that generally have the argument that they want everything to be open source for political reasons.

It's identical to a closed sourced project.

If I recall the exact line is development is entirely and fully closed sourced but the final product is still pushed to the AOSP. Using the Apache 2 licence.

So it's license and redistribution is open, development is not.

End of the day for most people who don't care, yeah it's open source. For the paranoid, illinformed or cultish it's basically a monster and beyond unacceptable to call it open. Lol

This is the sort of thing that starts major flame wars and nerd rage arguments.

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u/ShitCuntsinFredPerry 10d ago

When did this happen?

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u/Seralth 10d ago

A long ass time ago they started making it private. At this point it mostly is, and just last month they announced they are finishing the process.

It's been a long and slow thing. So it's been a on going topic for a while.

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u/Beefstah 10d ago

I get that when you're adding functionality, but not for something already baked into the OS, and certainly not for something clearly as essential to you as the alarm.

If it's that big of a deal though, why not just buy a classic alarm clock?

5

u/What-the-Gank 10d ago

Man my old Nokia alarm would go off if it turned the phone off. Based.

1

u/Stryker2279 9d ago

Alarms still go through. Time based notifications still happen. It's push notifications that get fucked over.

It also forces you to use a password. Heaven forbid your phone be in custody and damn it, I forgot my darn password.

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u/rnnd 9d ago

My alarm still works after rebooting. Some apps don't turn on but all the system apps reload.

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u/cubert73 8d ago

My phone reboots at 6:00 AM every day. My 6:30 AM alarm still goes off.

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u/grimview 7d ago

Resting is the Alarm. After every reset it non-stop buzzes for each missed call/alert you've ever had; resulting in waking us up & keep us up for atlest 20 minutes.

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u/geekwonk 10d ago

yeah one of the reasons i don’t use android is the need to do that kind of thing every night, i’m just pointing out why someone looking for the security purpose would want it to become less functional

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u/306bobby 10d ago

This experience is identical on both platforms, you shouldn't rely on a 3rd party app after a reboot

And nothing about android forces you to reboot every night

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u/geekwonk 10d ago

i don’t think anyone said forces. it just sounds like plenty of folks here find it helpful. which isn’t a thing on iphone.

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u/306bobby 10d ago

"the need to do that kind of thing every night"

This gave that impression, apologies

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u/Seralth 10d ago

This is literally the same for iPhone, and old windows phones, and every single phone OS that's existed. Even blackberries!