How to Set a Timer on Your iPhone So You Don't Burn the Cookies

The trusty egg timer, reinvented

For years, a wind-up timer sat on the kitchen counter — that little tomato-shaped one, or maybe the metal dial that came with the stove. You'd twist it, walk away, and trust the ding to bring you back.

Your iPhone has that same egg timer built right in. It's louder than you might expect, and you can set it without even touching the screen if your hands are covered in flour.

The hands-free way (using Siri)

If your iPhone is nearby and plugged in, or if you have "Hey Siri" turned on, you don't need to touch it at all.

Just say, out loud: "Hey Siri, set a timer for 12 minutes."

That's it. Siri (the helper who lives inside your iPhone) will start the timer immediately and confirm it out loud. When time's up, an alarm will sound until you tell it to stop. You can say "Hey Siri, stop" to silence it.

You can also say things like "set a timer for 90 seconds" or "set a timer for one hour and 15 minutes." Siri understands plain English.

The button-by-button way

If you'd rather do it by hand, here's how:

Find the app called Clock on your home screen. The icon looks like a white clock face.
Tap it to open.
Along the bottom, you'll see the word Timer. Tap it.
You'll see three spinning wheels — one for hours, one for minutes, one for seconds. Spin them with your finger to the time you want. For 12 minutes, spin the middle wheel until it reads 12.
Tap the big green Start button.

The timer begins counting down right on the screen. You can lock your phone and set it aside — it will keep counting, and the alarm will still sound.

When the timer goes off

When your time is up, your iPhone plays an alarm sound. On the screen (or on the lock screen if the phone is asleep), you'll see two choices:

Stop — silences the alarm completely.
Repeat — snoozes it for a few minutes, in case you need a little more time.

Tap Stop when the cookies are out of the oven. If you don't tap anything, the alarm will keep ringing for a good while, so you're unlikely to miss it.

Changing the alarm sound

The default timer sound is a gentle chime called "Radar." If you'd like something louder or different:

Open the Clock app and tap Timer.
Tap the words When Timer Ends.
Scroll through the list of sounds. Tap any one to hear a preview.
When you find one you like, tap Set in the top right corner.

Some folks pick "Alarm" or "Bulletin" because they're harder to miss from another room.

Try it today

Right now, while you're thinking about it, say: "Hey Siri, set a timer for 2 minutes."

When it goes off two minutes later, you'll know exactly what to expect the next time a pie is in the oven or the laundry needs flipping.

Need a hand with your technology? We're here to help. Give PorchSwing a call or book an appointment, and we'll walk you through it at your own pace — no rush, no jargon.