14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just confirmed that the next Windows 10 Mobile build would come with a new feature that will allow alarm apps to break through quiet hours, an option that many users have been requesting for months.
A Microsoft Windows developer confirmed on UserVoice that this feature would be part of the next build aimed at the fast ring, which is expected to go live as soon as this week. The UserVoice post has gathered more than 4,400 votes since it was published in June 2016.
“We just enabled this in the next Insider fast-ring flight of the Creators Update! All third-party alarm apps will break through quiet hours now, just like the first-party alarm app! Thank you everyone for letting us know that this feature was important to you!” the Microsoft developer announced.
Devs need to implement this feature in their apps
Without a doubt, this is a handy addition to the Windows 10 Mobile feature arsenal, as previously, alarm apps were not allowed to break through quiet hours, making it impossible for phones to wake you up in the morning. But starting with the next build for insiders, and the Creators Update for everyone else, users will be allowed to configure the alarm apps that are allowed to ignore quiet hours settings.
What’s very important, however, is that developers themselves need to add this functionality to their apps, so while Microsoft will make it available in the next Windows 10 Mobile, it could still take a while until users actually get to try it.
On the other hand, quiet hours works on phones only when Cortana is activated, so in regions where the personal assistant is not available, it’s still impossible to set up this feature.
Microsoft is expected to make quiet hours work independently from Cortana, but for the moment only those who have access to the personal assistant can use it. The Creators Update is due in early 2017, most likely March, and quite a lot can change in the meantime.