Macdio Sleep Timer and Clock Mode: Fall Asleep to Radio

Macdio’s sleep timer stops the radio after 15 minutes to 2 hours, fading the volume out over the last 30 seconds, or at the end of the current song. It works on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch, and Repeat Timer starts the same timer again when you press Play after it stopped. On iPhone, Clock Mode turns the landscape player into a bedside clock with its own alarm.

1. Play a station and open the full player on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap “•••” and choose “Sleep Timer”.
3. Turn on “Repeat Timer” if you want the timer to come back the next time you press Play.
4. Pick “15 min”, “30 min”, “45 min”, “1 hour”, “2 hours” or “End of track”. The panel closes and the timer starts.

Device	Where to find it	Labels in the panel
iPhone, iPad (station)	Full player, “•••” > “Sleep Timer”	Presets, “Cancel Timer”, “Repeat Timer”, “Done”
iPhone, iPad (podcast episode)	Moon button in the player’s title row	Same panel
iPhone in Clock Mode	“Sleep Timer” button under the controls	Presets, “Turn Off”, “Repeat Timer”
Mac	Moon button in the player panel, or “Sleep Timer” in the menu bar	Presets, “Add 15 minutes”, “Cancel Timer”, “Repeat Timer”
Apple TV	“Sleep” button in Now Playing	Presets, “Cancel Timer”, “Repeat Timer: On” or “Repeat Timer: Off”
Apple Watch	Settings tab > “Sleep Timer”	Presets, “Repeat Timer”, “Cancel Timer”

On iPhone the “•••” menu shows “Cancel Sleep Timer” while a timer runs, and the iPhone panel shows “Timer Active” with the time left. On the Mac, the menu bar shows “+15m” and a close button while a timer runs; the timer row appears there while a station plays or a timer is running. The Mac compact player has the moon button too while a podcast episode plays. For episodes in general, see podcasts in Macdio.

The timed presets lower the volume over the last 30 seconds, then stop playback. “End of track” stops playback when the song title changes to a different song, so it suits stations that show song titles (or songs named by Song ID). A recording that is running stops too when the timer stops the radio, on iPhone, iPad and Mac (recording in Macdio).

Repeat Timer, added in Macdio 3.0.4, brings the same timer back. Once a timer has stopped the radio, the next time you press Play the same timer starts again. If you wake at 3 a.m. and turn the radio back on, it stops again after the same 30 minutes, and you do not have to open the menu again.

• It is off by default. Switch it on in any sleep timer panel on that device.
• The repeat belongs to that night. A Play more than 12 hours after the timer stopped playback starts with no timer, so the next evening you set it again.
• Cancelling a running timer stops the repeat too. The switch stays on, and the next timer you set repeats again after it has run out.
• “End of track” repeats as well: the next Play waits for the end of the song again.

Clock Mode shows a large clock with what is playing, the play controls, the sleep timer and an alarm, so the iPhone can sit on the nightstand as a radio clock.

1. Play a station and open the full player.
2. Turn the iPhone sideways so the player switches to landscape.
3. Tap the moon and stars button at the top left (VoiceOver: “Clock Mode”). It is hidden while the lyrics are open.

To leave, tap the X button (“Exit Clock Mode”).

After 18 seconds without a touch the screen dims all the way down; tap anywhere to wake it. It never dims while the alarm rings or the alarm panel is open, and your normal brightness comes back when you leave Clock Mode or switch apps. Two switches in Settings > Playback control this, both on by default: “Keep Screen On (Clock Mode)” and “Auto-Dim in Clock Mode”.

1. In Clock Mode, tap the alarm button at the top (VoiceOver: “Set alarm”).
2. In the “Alarm” panel, set the time on the wheel.
3. Choose “Once”, “Every Day” or “Weekdays”.
4. If you follow podcasts, choose what wakes you: “Last station” or one of your shows. With a show, the newest episode plays when one arrived overnight, the last station otherwise.
5. Tap “Set Alarm”.

The alarm needs notifications. If they are off, the panel says “Enable notifications for Macdio in Settings to use the alarm.” Once set, the alarm button shows the time; open the panel again and tap “Turn Off Alarm” to remove it. Clock Mode has one alarm.

When it rings with Clock Mode on screen, the radio starts and the screen shows “ALARM” with “Snooze 9 min” and “Stop”. If Macdio is not on screen, the alarm arrives as a notification with Snooze and Stop.

With “Clock Mode on Connect (Game Controller)” on (the default), connecting a controller to the iPhone opens Clock Mode and starts the last station or episode if nothing is playing. In Clock Mode, Y steps through the sleep timer presets and then off, and X opens or closes the alarm panel. More in game controllers.

• Clock Mode is iPhone only. The iPad has the sleep timer but no Clock Mode button.
• CarPlay has no sleep timer.
• Only the Mac can add time to a running timer.
• To stop the radio at a fixed clock time every day, a Shortcuts automation with “Stop Radio” does that (shortcuts and automations).

Yes, on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch. Choose 15 minutes to 2 hours, with the volume fading out over the last 30 seconds, or stop at the end of the current song.

Not across nights. With “Repeat Timer” on, the same timer starts again when you press Play after it stopped the radio, within 12 hours. The next evening you set it again.

On the Mac, yes: “Add 15 minutes” in the player panel, or “+15m” in the menu bar. On the other devices, cancel the timer and start a new one.

Open the full player, turn the iPhone to landscape, and tap the moon and stars button at the top left.

No. The Clock Mode button only appears on iPhone in landscape. The iPad has the sleep timer in the full player.

Yes, on iPhone. The Clock Mode alarm plays your last station, or the newest episode of a show you follow, once, every day or on weekdays.

Get Macdio on the App Store, play a station tonight and set a 30 minute timer. One purchase, every Apple device, no subscription.