What are the requirements to use Wake Up Light?
You need an iPhone or iPad with iOS 12 and higher and the following:
1. Home in the Home App
First of all, you need the Home app. Add your home to it and configure all accessories according to the Apple help document there.
2. Apple Home Hub and Permissions
In order to create wake-up lights, the Home has to have an iPad, Apple TV or HomePod configured as the home hub and you need the permissions to create automations in the home.
3. HomeKit lightbulb
For every wake-up light, you need a HomeKit-enabled light bulb which can be dimmed. The light bulb needs to be added as an accessory to your home in the Home app. For red-to-blue gradients, the light bulb needs to support either color temperatures (cold-white to warm-white) or full colors.
Why is there a paid subscription? Can I pay you once instead?
The decision implementing a certain payment model is always difficult. There were different reasons for me to choose subscriptions:
All users demand rightly that Wake Up Light works, is maintained, gets developed further and is adapted to new circumstances, such as new iOS versions, new iPhones/iPad and new HomeKit capabilities. This is fundamentally different from other (mostly physical) products that work regardless of changes to their environment. That’s why I believe that the payment for an app should be based on the usage of the app over time. This might not be the best option for every product or customer out there, but I believe it is for Wake Up Light, its customers and me.
Wake Up Light costs ~14.99€ per year, so every year you get to evaluate and decide if Wake Up Light is still holding up its value to you. That’s why I think a subscription (monthly or yearly) is a great and fair option for trying the app (7-days-trial), not wasting much money for short-term usage and for compensating the developer while enjoying the app.
But I can pay for other apps once!!1
Random user on the internet, 2020
Other apps try to compensate their income with their growth, meaning, that they rely on new users to pay for the app. These new customers have to pay a higher price, because they pay for older customers as well. With a niche app like Wake Up Light, there is not enough growth to support long-term customers without a recurring payment. A lot of popular apps change their business model to subscriptions exactly because of this problem.
If you find a different app suiting your needs that offer you a single payment option, please, go ahead.
Can the app use the iPhone display as a light source for the wake-up alarm?
Currently, Wake Up Light only works with smart home devices that are HomeKit compatible. The ability to use the iPhone display as a light source is on the list of things to do in the future.
Why doesn’t the app work with my smart home devices?
Wake Up Light only works with smart home devices that are HomeKit compatible. Accessories need to be added via the Home app and a home hub is required to use the app. If your device is not HomeKit compatible, it may not work with Wake Up Light.
Scenes are marked as favorites and keep clogging my Home app
Unfortunately, only Apple with their Home app can create automations which do not appear as favorites. I (and other people out there) already filed issues/feedback reports with Apple for that, but this behaviour is there since the introduction of HomeKit and I guess it won’t change for the next year at least.
One workaround: “Unfavorite” the created scenes manually. If you only deactivate/activate the corresponding wake up light, it won’t mark them as favorites again. Deleting the wake up light completely and adding it again will re-mark those scenes as favorites.
Why is creating and changing a wake-up light so slow since iOS 16.2?
Creating and changing a Wake-Up Light has become slow due to an update to the home architecture in iOS 16.2 by Apple. This update caused scenes and automations with Wake-Up Light and other third-party apps to take much longer to create and change.
However, as Apple has stopped rolling out the update, there is hope that they will fix the underlying issues and improve the speed again.
How to synchronize the system alarm clock with the wake-up light?
There is a shortcut available that you can use that synchronizes the bed time alarm with your wake up light: https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/1ced30cde98240099146dfa0fd54a55e
This shortcut should be setup up as a personal automation. Timing is important here: Make the personal automation run after midnight, preferably after your usual time when you go to bed but well before your alarm in the morning. For me, the best time is 4 am.
The shortcut will find your active system alarm (based on your sleep schedule in the clock app) and sets the wake up light alarm accordingly (Premium-Mode required). It deactivates or activates your wake-up light and adjusts the time.
I found a bug, what should I do?
Good catch! Please contact me with your bug report and I’ll make sure to fix it as soon as possible.
Why is the app not in my native language?
I welcome all users who want to contribute to the translation of Wake Up Light to another language. There are already a handful of languages supported, which is great, but of course a lot of languages are completely missing and some might translations might be awkward. Please help me improve the translations or add new languages by reading the Improve Translations page.
Can you add feature X?
Feel free to contact me with your feature request. Your ideas are important and can shape the future of Wake Up Light. However, as my todo-list is already pumped and I thrive for a clean, intuitive and simple to use app, I may not implement your request in the near-future or even at all.
What are the limitations of the free version of the app?
The free version of Wake Up Light has the following limitations:
- Wake Up Light can only be used in one home.
- One wake-up alarm can be set
- Only the sunrise gradient is available
- The alarm is only based on time, not on the actual sunrise or sunset time.
- Shortcuts and automation conditions are not available in the free version.
Please note that the free version is enough to create an alarm, but to access more functionality, you need to subscribe to the premium version of the app.
Will the app damage my HomeKit setup?
No, Wake Up Light will not damage your HomeKit setup. The app creates scenes and automations in your home, and all of these are prefixed uniquely, so they are easily recognized by the app. Additionally, all scenes and automations can be removed with just one tap within the app, ensuring that there is no negative impact on your home automation setup. If you encounter any issues or concerns, please reach out to our support team via our contact form for assistance.
How can I contact support for further assistance?
If you need further assistance, you can contact our support team by using the contact form on this website.