Samsung reminders not going off? Fix it

If reminders on your Samsung Galaxy ring late or not at all, One UI's battery management has most likely put the app to sleep. Set the app's battery use to Unrestricted, add it to Never sleeping apps, turn off Put unused apps to sleep, and check that it may set exact alarms and show notifications on the lock screen.

These steps use Buzzley as the example. They work the same way for any reminder or alarm app on a Galaxy phone.

Why Samsung phones delay reminders

Samsung adds its own power manager on top of Android's. It sorts apps into lists:

• Sleeping apps can't run in the background, so their alarms can be held back.
• Deep sleeping apps never run in the background and may get no notifications at all.
• Never sleeping apps are left alone.

With Put unused apps to sleep switched on, One UI moves an app to a sleeping list by itself when you haven't opened it for a few days. A reminder app is exactly the kind of app you don't open often: it's meant to come to you.

How to fix it on a Samsung phone

Menu names below are from recent One UI versions. Older versions put some of them under Settings > Battery and device care > Battery or Device care, and use slightly different wording.

1. Set battery to Unrestricted

Open Settings > Apps > Buzzley > Battery and choose Unrestricted. On older One UI versions this option is missing; turn off Optimize battery usage for Buzzley instead.

2. Add Buzzley to Never sleeping apps

Open Settings > Battery > Background usage limits (on some versions, Battery and device care > Battery > Background usage limits). Open Never sleeping apps, tap the plus button and add Buzzley. Then open Sleeping apps and Deep sleeping apps and make sure Buzzley is in neither list.

3. Turn off Put unused apps to sleep

On the same Background usage limits page, switch off Put unused apps to sleep. Otherwise One UI can move Buzzley back to a sleeping list after a few quiet days, and you're back where you started.

4. Allow exact alarms

Open Settings > Apps, then the special access menu (on One UI it sits behind the three-dot menu at the top of the Apps page), then Alarms & reminders. Pick Buzzley and allow it. Without this, Android may deliver a reminder a few minutes late.

5. Show notifications on the lock screen

In Settings > Apps > Buzzley > Notifications, allow notifications and pop-ups. Then check Settings > Lock screen > Notifications (called Notifications under Lock screen on most versions) and make sure notifications are shown. Some Galaxy phones hide notification content there by default.

What Buzzley does on a Galaxy phone

Buzzley's Android app recognises a Samsung phone and shows these steps in its Alarm not ringing? screen, under Steps for Samsung phones. The Open settings button there opens One UI's battery page where the phone allows it, so you don't have to hunt through menus.

The same screen runs four checks and offers a Fix button for each one that fails:

• "Notifications are off"
• "Reminders may ring late" (the Alarms & reminders permission)
• "Alarms can't fill the lock screen" (full-screen notifications, Android 14 and later)
• "Battery saver may delay reminders" (opens Buzzley's app info page)

Open it from Settings > Full-screen alarms > Alarm not ringing?, or tap Help on the banner Buzzley shows on its home screen when something is blocking reminders.

Once these settings are right, a reminder set to the Alarm style rings full screen, on the alarm volume, through silent mode and Do Not Disturb. More on that in reminders that ring like an alarm.

Common questions

Does swiping Buzzley away from recent apps stop reminders?

Not on most phones, Samsung included. What does stop them is Force stop in app info, or a cleaner app that force-stops it. Either one cancels Buzzley's alarms until you open the app again.

What happens when the phone restarts overnight?

Updates and automatic restarts are no problem for reminders that are already set. Buzzley sets its alarms again after a restart, and they ring even before you unlock the phone for the first time.

Do I have to repeat this after a One UI update?

Usually not, but a major update can reset battery settings. If reminders start arriving late after an update, open Alarm not ringing? again: its checks show at a glance whether something changed.

The alarm shows as a notification instead of full screen. Why?

Full-screen alarms appear when the screen is locked. When you're using the phone, Android shows the alarm as a notification at the top, which you tap to open. If it never goes full screen even when locked, fix the "Alarms can't fill the lock screen" check.

If your phone isn't a Samsung, see the general Android battery guide, or the Google Pixel steps for a phone close to stock Android.