Support
Answers to common questions are below. If yours isn’t here, email us and we’ll help.
Getting the most light
A phone screen is dimmer than a dedicated wake-up lamp. A few things make a real difference:
- Closer is brighter. Put the phone about 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 inches) from your head.
- Turn off Night Shift and True Tone for the night. Open Control Center, then touch and hold the brightness slider to find both switches.
- Turn on Sleep Focus so notifications stay quiet overnight.
- Keep the phone plugged in. The screen is on all night.
Questions
Does Dawnfold need to stay open all night?
Yes. The sunrise only happens while Dawnfold is open on screen. If you lock the phone or leave the app, the sunrise stops.
The backup alarm still rings, though. It’s a regular system alarm set for two minutes after your wake time, so you won’t oversleep if the app was closed overnight.
Where should I put the phone?
On iPhone Duo, turn it sideways and fold it halfway, like a laptop on the nightstand. The top half points the light at your pillow and the bottom half lies flat, with the snooze and stop buttons.
On any other iPhone with iOS 27, use a stand and face the screen toward your pillow. Either way, aim for 40 to 60 cm from your head.
How can I check the placement?
Run a test sunrise. It plays the whole fade in 60 seconds, so you can see how the light lands before you go to sleep.
What does the bedtime checklist look at?
Four things: whether the phone is charging, its position, Low Power Mode (which can dim the screen), and the volume.
The sunrise looks too yellow or too dim. Why?
Night Shift and True Tone both shift the screen’s colors. Turn them off for the night: open Control Center and touch and hold the brightness slider. Then check that the phone is close enough, about 40 to 60 cm from your head.
How long is the sunrise?
You can set it anywhere from 1 to 30 minutes. The default is 30. The screen fades from deep red through amber to bright white, and then the alarm plays.
What sounds are there?
You can add a nature sound that fades in over the last few minutes. Birdsong is free. Soft rain and wind chimes come with Dawnfold Pro. At wake time, a soft marimba alarm plays.
What is the flashlight boost?
It fades in the rear flashlight over the last few minutes of the sunrise, which lights up the wall behind the phone and adds to the light in the room. It’s free and off by default. Dawnfold never uses the camera.
Will the clock burn into my screen?
The night screen is pure black with a dim red clock, and the clock drifts a few points every minute to protect the display.
What does Dawnfold Pro include? Is it a subscription?
Pro is a one-time $3.99 purchase. There is no subscription. It adds:
- More sunrise styles: Ember, Coastal, Nordic, and a custom end color
- Two more brightness curves
- Soft rain and wind chimes
- A wind-down sunset, a dim orange glow that fades out at bedtime
- HomeKit lamps that follow the sunrise. Color lamps go from deep red to daylight; white lamps warm up, then cool to daylight.
Do my settings sync between devices?
Yes, if iCloud is on. Your alarm settings sync through your own iCloud private database, which we can’t read. With iCloud off, they stay on your device. See the privacy policy for details.
Where can I download Dawnfold?
Dawnfold is coming soon to the App Store. It will be free, with Dawnfold Pro as an optional purchase.
Contact
Email hello@leejustin.com. It helps to mention your iPhone model and iOS version.