The flashlight, the alarm and the timer
Light a dark keyhole, wake at six thirty, and stop the potatoes boiling over — without unlocking the phone.
A dark porch and a keyhole you cannot see. Potatoes that need eight minutes and not fifteen. A hospital appointment at nine thirty that you would rather not lie awake worrying about. The phone in your pocket answers all three, without being unlocked.
Key points
- Turn the flashlight on from a locked phone, in one press
- Set a timer from Control Center without opening anything
- Set an alarm and make it repeat on the days you choose
- Tell the difference between a timer, an alarm and a reminder
What to remember
- Control Center works from the locked screen, so gloves, dark hallways and full hands are all catered for. On a Samsung or another Android phone the same panel is called Quick Settings, and it comes down from the top in the same way.
- A timer counts down from now. An alarm goes off at a time of day. Repeating turns one alarm into a habit.
- Repeat is the setting that turns an alarm from a one-off into something you never think about again.
Try this
Pull Control Center down on your own phone and find the flashlight. Turning it on and off twice is all it takes to remember where it is at midnight in a dark hallway.
Practice: The flashlight, the alarm and the timer. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.