Christmas Bell

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How to use Christmas Bell

A short guide to setting the timer, pairing two phones and ringing the bell.

The timer (one phone)

  1. On the home screen, choose “Bell timer”.
  2. Set the minutes on the wheel (1 to 120). “Test” plays a sound so you can check the volume.
  3. Tap “Ring in … minutes”. The first time, a note asks you to put the phone down with the display facing down.
  4. Lock the phone and put it away. The bell rings at the set time.

Remote (two phones)

  1. Room phone: “Hide phone”, read the note about the alarm, “Continue”, show the QR code.
  2. Your own phone: “Hide phone”, “This phone is the remote”, unlock, scan the code.
  3. Hide the phone in the room, check the volume, leave it plugged in.
  4. When it’s time for the presents, tap “Ring” on the remote (or the Apple Watch).

Testing on iPhone

Until Christmas Bell is on the App Store, you can test it with Apple’s TestFlight:

  1. Install the TestFlight app from the App Store on your iPhone.
  2. On your iPhone, open the test invitation and tap “Accept” and “Install”.
  3. New test versions arrive through TestFlight. A test version expires after 90 days.

Send bugs and ideas to [email protected] or directly in TestFlight (“Send Beta Feedback”).

Testing on Android

Christmas Bell is still in testing on Google Play. Here’s how to join:

  1. Join the Google group tester-christmasbell (“Join group”), with the same Google account you use in the Play Store.
  2. On your Android phone, open the test page on Google Play and tap “Become a tester”.
  3. Install the app from Google Play. Please keep it installed for at least 14 days.

Send bugs and ideas to [email protected] or directly via Google Play.

Frequently asked questions

What does the app cost?

The app and the bell timer are free. You unlock the remote once (one-time purchase, no subscription; the price is shown in the store). The Apple Watch app is included with the unlock.

Do I need two phones?

Not for the timer: one phone is enough. For the remote you need two devices: one stays hidden in the Christmas room, the other is in your hand.

How do I pair the two phones?
  1. On the phone in the Christmas room, tap “Hide phone”, read the note about the alarm and choose “Continue”. It shows a QR code.
  2. On your own phone, tap “Hide phone”, then choose “This phone is the remote” and unlock the remote.
  3. Scan the QR code. The room device shows “Ready to ring”, and the remote shows its ring button.

The pairing stays in place even if you close the app. You can end it on the remote under “Unpair”.

Why does the app set an alarm?

A phone may close apps in the background, for example to save power. Then the app could no longer ring. The phone’s alarm always rings. That’s why the app also sets an alarm: it is only the safety net. Normally the app rings by itself. If it is closed, the alarm rings 3 seconds later with the same bell, and the display lights up briefly. You give permission for this once; you can change it later in Settings under “Permissions”.

Does the bell ring when the phone is locked or on silent?

Yes. The silent switch doesn’t matter, but the media volume has to be high enough. The app shows “Turn the volume up” if it is too quiet. With “Test” you hear beforehand how loud it sounds in the room.

How do I stop the ringing?

On the room phone, tap the screen. On the remote, pressing “Ring” a second time stops the ringing while it rings. A timer that hasn’t rung yet is cancelled by pressing and holding the dark screen.

Does the remote work from further away?

Yes. Both phones need an internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data); they don’t have to be on the same network. The room phone should be plugged in or have enough battery. The remote shows battery level, volume and whether the room phone is reachable.

How do I ring with the Apple Watch?

The Watch app “Bell” installs together with the app on the paired iPhone. The iPhone has to be paired as the remote, otherwise the watch says to connect on the iPhone first. Then tap “Ring”: the room phone rings and the watch confirms it. This works best if the app was last opened on the iPhone. If iOS has closed it, the first press may fail; a second one usually works.

On Android, the bell doesn’t ring when the phone has been lying around for a long time.

Some Android phones close apps in the background to save power. In Settings under “Permissions”, exempt the app from battery optimization (“Unrestricted”), and the bell will ring reliably. Leaving the phone on the charger also helps.

How do I restore a purchase or move it to a new phone?

In Settings under “Restore purchases”. You need to be signed in with the same Apple or Google account you bought it with.

What data does the app collect?

No accounts, no ads, no tracking. To connect the two phones, the app uses Firebase with an anonymous ID. More in the privacy policy.

Which devices are supported?

iPhone with iOS 15 or later (plus Apple Watch with watchOS 10), Android phones with Android 6 or later. The remote needs a camera for the QR code.

Contact

Questions, bugs or ideas? Write to me at [email protected]. If something doesn’t work, please mention your device and the app version. You’ll find it at the very bottom of Settings.