Awaken for Mac6.4.2

Used to love this, but haven't had on my Mac for over 3yrs as it got very buggy. Thought I'd give it a try again, but I'm still running Mojave and this requires Catalina.

I use iTunes Match and can't seem to find how to make it the "go to" folder for music played in this app.

MAS version 6.0.1, Non MAS version 6.0.1 needs updated d/l link

great app, great support. period. but waiting for an iOS update ;)

"Refined user interface with Retina display support. New application icon." Yep,- now i have a ugly black clock in my Menuebar (10.9.5), and it starts the timer slowly. But its is a good tool,- never let me hang.

Buggy. CPU usage of over 20% when sitting idle is not acceptable. Also many crashes on OS X 10.9.5. While the program looks nice, it's basically not a good idea to use it, in it's current state if you are trying to be productive.

To bad it cannot shutdown. It only supports sleep. Cool would be a feature to shutdown after playing an album or a playlist in iTunes.

This is currently very broken on a retina macbook on 10.8.2. I've emailed embraceware twice, and no responses. Plus we cannot download the latest version outside of the app store. Not a good experience at the moment...

This app was once unstable, sometimes, and not so pleasant to use. I think it is now almost perfect.

I'm surprised the dev doesn't answer to those bad reviews: I had the same problem on PPC when I switched from Tiger (where Awaken was perfect!) to Leopard, and had to find alternatives...

I got 5.0.5 but the Awaken Helper don't power up my MBP. It only wake up from sleep... I'm very disappointed. =(

The new version is rubbish. Alarms often don't work. The Awaken Helper as a separate download is a mess. Also, I have had to keep the PKG handy as it vanishes constantly & I have to reinstall it. Waist of money.

It just crashes every morning. I reinstalled the OS with clean install, but still happens. Now I made up my own alarm with Automator, iCal and iTunes which is never fancy but the most reliable way.

Not so keen on the new UI for v5 - got trapped a couple of times when setting a timer by the fact that you have to create a timer, then save it, then click on the start button to actually use it. I would have thought that 99% of the time, when you create a timer, you actually want to time something! so the UI should make that the default.

For those of you who have purchased Awaken OUTSIDE the Apple App Store, here is the link to version 5.0.3 of the software: http://embraceware.com/awaken/download/Awaken_5.0.3.zip

I've been a registered user through many versions and, as far as I'm concerned, the latest 2 version have sunk an otherwise decent application. An alarm program that only functions sometimes is an extremely HUGE problem and that is what Awaken has become. If you're counting on it waking you up you should look for another program.

Great alarm clock.

wow, latest v5 is now an ipad app. what a great trade-off, eye candy for functionality. the window is now non resizable and two big flaws are still there: one, once a timer is set, you can't change tabs and manage anyhting else without stopping the timer and two, you can't set a value longer than 24H for a timer so I have to make calculations to set a temporary, date-based timer, just to remind me my 27H-charge batteries are ready. This approach also forces me to manually disable this "what should be a one-time alarm" since there is no option to "auto-disable on completion". the "one time" option doesn't cut it because it deletes the entry, doesn't disable it. it's still among the best on its category, since you can use it (and play your music)without having itunes installed.

Wow,- a big update for free. Gerat !!!

5.0 is a great update. Dev showed during development of 5.0 all stages on Flickr. love the UI !

Well... I was really enthusiast about Awaken running in 10.4.11, but since I switched to 10.5.8 it fails waking the computer up, or crashes, one time out of two... Hard to say if Awaken is the one to blame, but, as there's no update since more than one year, it's probably better to look for another app, unfortunately.

The sleep times has not been working anymore since 10.6.5. Can we expect an update anytime soon? Or is all development focused on the iPhone now?

No update in a long time and Awaken can`t put the make to sleep anymore. Looking into alternatives now ...

After using awaken for a few weeks, i have stumbled on a few bugs, and also felt the need for a few feature enhancements. I've sent the developer a mail containing those bugs, and my feature wishlist. I'll also paste that same info here. Excuse the "raw format", i just cut and pasted it from the mail i sent the developer. Requests: 24 Hour format clock. Per alarm override setting (volume, auto stop etc). Auto stop alarm -> no setting (playlist length only). Egg timer/snooze -> launch app/script. Bugs: Fullscreen backwards icon is corrupted on fullscreen snooze (imac 27). Settings window places itself a little bit more to the bottom every time you open it. Fails to sleep right after woken by awaken scheduled alarm (even when i disable the alarm and quit awaken). Playlist repeat settings are sometimes changed, I would prefer they weren't changed at all.

Compared to Alarm Clock Pro, it hasn't all those rich and useless features - if you just need to wake up with music - but the interface here is infinitely nicer and more user-friendly! With ACP, you need to click through 6 windows and 1 confirmation dialog to edit an alarm while Awaken has all in 1 window! I'm not using iTunes but some other webradio app so I had to make a little script to do what I wanted (launch the app and raise continuously the volume) + a second alarm one minute later to launch a P2P app (so my only complaint could be that I'd like one single alarm to launch a script and then an app, for instance). Then, the ridiculous thing of ACP is that you have to launch that "power manager" thing (after having set the alarm...) each time you want an alarm to wake your computer up, and click again through various windows while in Awaken, it's already understood! So, for my use no comparison!

The app is really great except for one little annoying bug. When an alarm goes off in full screen, at first everything looks good, but then after 1 second the "previous"-button gets messed up and an annoying "beep" sound plays. I'm on a 27" iMac, maybe the big screen is the problem?

Hmmm... when I hit the center play/pause button on my remote, it appears to stop the alarm instead of snooze. Does anyone else have this problem?

Well, after my recent moan, the developer of awaken got in touch immediately, and very promptly fixed the focus issues I was having. He was corteous and efficient, and so I am reposting a review emphasising that he is still very much responsive and active in keeping Awaken as the best alarm clock app on OS X. Thank you!!!

Im using awaken again and everything seems to be working fine, I used alarm clock pro briefly after SL came out but I hated it lol, glad to have awaken back

Ouch, this version will not even launch and while the last version will work I often have to relaunch it a couple time of day as the alarms draw will go blank so I can't add, delete or edit alarms. Switching back to previous version.

ya once SL dropped, i went to alarm clock pro because they were releasing versions more frequently.

Well, after a few days they did write me with a suggestion for fixing the problem. Alas, it didn't work. I've written their tech support back more than once telling them it didn't work, and after a week or more, I've heard nothing. It's a shame. I really like this product and was very happy to pay for it, but it just doesn't work on my iMac now, and I'm getting no help at all from the developer. Time to move on, I guess.

I have been a big fan of Awaken for years. However, I have to agree with the comments about vanishing technical support. I installed my copy of Awaken on a new computer, and every time I launch it, I get an error message that I must enter my admin password so it can install a helper to allow it to wake my Mac from sleep. However, I enter my password, and it apparently doesn't install whatever it needs to, as I can't activate the "wake from sleep" feature, and every time I launch Awaken I get the same error message. I've written Embraceware repeatedly, and no reply. I wasn't worried until I came here and saw other people were having support requests go unanswered. I suppose I'm on my own here. I hope embraceware returns from vacation, or wherever they've gone, as I like this program, and I want to continue using it.

It's really disappointing that support for Awaken 4 has dropped off a cliff; at this rate it's really doubtful we'll ever see Awaken 5.

I sent this e-mail on 4/28/09 to support@embraceware.com concerning a problem I am having with Awaken. No reply. Sent this again on 4/30/09. Still no reply from support. So now I have both a problem with the software and a lack of support from the developer!! ☹ ☹ ☹ ☹ I own Awaken version 4.0.2.0. When I put the timer on to remind me to do something & click on "use full screen" there is a problem. As the alarm starts at full screen I move my mouse to choose whatever I want to happen, before I know it the whole screen is BLACK. So I hit every button to get my screen back, including force quit, but nothing happens & my screen is still black. This happened on the earlier version as well. I had hoped this problem would have been resolved in this version. It is no fun losing the use of my computer in trying to deal with this. If this is a bug in Awaken 4.0.2.0. it needs to be fixed. If there is something in preferences, please let me know what to change.

I've been having issues with alarms simply not going off and disappearing from the queue (they reappear when Awaken is closed and re-opened). Console message just states: 4/1/09 6:30:03 AM Awaken[1862] Awaken error report: ""iTunes"" and then 4/1/09 6:31:24 AM com.embraceware.awaken[1874] Wed Apr 1 06:31:24 NatBook.local com.embraceware.awaken[1874] : Shutting down Anyone else having this problem with itunes alarms?

This is a great, simple, effective application. There was a crashing problem but it was fixed almost immediately. It does its job very well and without much fluff. Incredibly easy to use.

No update on August 9th. Awaken still crashes on my iMac G5 10.5.4. Even when I delete all prefs and the folder the developer described. Hope they fix it soon.

If Awaken crashes on startup after upgrading to the latest version please delete the Awaken folder located here: /Users/Shared/Awaken. We are working on an official fix for this in version 4.0.13 coming on Saturday August 9th.

Well, this is disappointing. After months of waiting for a bug fix, the application crashes on opening with the just-released 4.0.12 version. Don't get me wrong, I love Awaken; I just like it better when it works. Hopefully this a one step backwards, two steps forward kind of scenario...

I've been trying this application out for the past two weeks and while I really like it (and the price is quite low) there is one major flaw in the program that I've found. Sometimes I wake up before Awaken is scheduled to sound. While I'm actively using the computer, Awaken will take over, go into full screen alarm setup and start gradually increasing the volume of the music as it should. The problem is that when I'm actively using the computer Awaken should not activate in full screen mode despite the settings. Worse yet, Awaken was not responsive to my mute button at all so I had to close the laptop to silence the music because I was on a phone call. Outside of this epic flaw in the program, I still think it's worth the $12.95 for the program and will end up buying it. I will just have to make sure I uncheck every alarm each day that I wake up before Awaken to ensure it doesn't hinder my workflow and start playing music uncontrollably while I'm on the phone.

I am in process of testing. It looks awesome but unfortunately I found so far 2 issues which holding me back. Please could developers respond, if they can fix it? 1) Remote control - "next" and "previous" track buttons always act as I had pressed them twice. For example "Next Track" always jumps to the second song (song after the next song) and not to the "next" song. 2) Gradually decrease or increase volume feature doesn't work since I am using optical output and there is no system volume control for that. It will be awesome if Awaken can use iTunes Volume control instead of System Volume. The same applies on Remote control volume buttons. They don't work with optical output. (note: iTunes Volume works with this kind of output). Would be possible to fix these issues in next version? Thanks for the respond.

For some reason my backup alarms have stopped working. I don't know if it's an issue with the latest iTunes or what, but if iTunes fails to play I no longer get a backup alarm. All my music is on my external hard drive so iTunes can load but no music will play as the song will be "missing" and thus I am left with silence. Unfortunately as I tend to be plugged into my external most of the time I haven't noticed when this stopped working. What I do know is that it was working once upon a time. iTunes 7.6.1, Awaken 4.0.11, OS X 10.5.2

Best alarm clock application available. I have used and tested Alarm Clock Pro & Aurora along with Awaken and I went with Awaken because of it's great feature set, awesome support, great GUI and great pricing and update model (updates for life). It has almost all of the features you could want and more. There are some features I and others have requested and many of those are on the way. Check out the recent blog about the new features coming in version 4.1 - http://embraceware.com/blog/

I wouldn't have thought to buy an alarm clock program but got Awaken as part of MacHeist. Now I don't want to live without it. It wakes me every morning, keeps me from burning food, and reminds me to do stuff - like go get kids and go to appointments. Great features, really easy to understand and use, value - free updates and great support for a great app. It is very stable - I gave it a 4 because if you forget to open your laptop lid or turn on your powered external speakers you could miss an alarm. So the app works but user error can cause a misfire. I think I've trained myself now. All in all - this is a Mac Essential and if you try the demo you'll use it daily.

Awaken doesn't revert to backup alarm if iTunes doesn't play a song. My music is on an external drive and when it's not plugged in Awaken still acts like iTunes is going to play a song so it doesn't revert to the backup alarm. Itunes 7.6, OS X 10.5.2, Awaken 4.0.11.

Featres (5): With this latest release they've added all the old features back so it's completely back to where it was, plus all the added new stuff. I can't think of anything else it could possibly need as it has all the features I want. Ease of Use (5): Everything is simple and easy to figure out, being right where you'd expect it to be. Value (5): Sure, enough of it's functions are done on other alarm apps to make you wonder if it's worth paying for one that does just a little bit more, but once you've seen how much that little bit more is your worries about price pretty much disappear. They did for me. Stability (4): The only issue I've ever had with the program is that one morning I woke up late to find that an update had been released since I went to bed and instead of an alarm, an update notice was shown. Turning off the auto-update feature solved this but I'd much rather it wait to tell me until AFTER I've turned off my alarm.

Awaken is truly excellent application overall. It looks great and works as advertised. Its very easy to use (even if you are tired...) which I believe is essential in application such as Awaken. My only complaint is that Awaken currently can't start up your Mac. However, developer has told that such feature will be added in future. Also, I must say that Awaken has best support that I have ever seen in any application. With product and support like this and "free updates for life" update plan this is product that you shouldn't pass.

I bought Awaken just with the MacHeist II Bundle and I like it. However, I miss a little feature: It seems not possible to set fixed times for the "Egg timer", but I boil my eggs always the same period of time. ;) That way I could not start the "Egg timer" just with a singel click...

Awaken looks great, is pretty stable and has plenty of nifty little features that simply make this a joy to use. All you have heard about Jerry Brace's amazing support is true : he's very, very dedicated to his app and users. That alone has made me buy his app in a heartbeat.

Great program. Thanks

What better thing than be awaken by music we choose from our playlists. Nice idea :-)

@embraceware: Thanks! Just sent you an email...

@flec65 - If you're having a problem - please email support@embraceware.com. I'll help you out right away.

Tried the demo with version 3.1.6 and 3.1.7 and tested it several times but Awaken couldn't wake my iMac G5 from sleep, even upon a clean reinstall. Too bad... Price is good, the UI is gorgeous and the dev seems devoted but Awaken don't work for me and time slips by... I need to be up on time tomorrow morning so I'll keep on with the trusty (and for now, free) Aurora...

Exactly what I was looking for. The eggtimer function is great for timing my 2 minutes GTD chores and the remote function is very convenient.

Love the way this program looks, Im in!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Awaken was just updated to version 3.1.7. This update includes bug fixes for both Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.3 Panther (yes some people still use Panther - I had to dig out my old iBook G3 to confirm the fixes - fun stuff :)

If I didn't have to turn of the password prompt to make it work, it would be perfect.

Sounds like an excellent idea! This one bears looking at.

I was on the point of buying this one, having briefly tried Aurora. Then I set my printer to work to print 14 copies of a long document, only to later find that the Awakens alarm had gone off in the middle of printing and my printing had stalled. Mmmm. Might be coincidence - but I think I will pass on this occasion.

An ingenious use of the technology already on the computer... it might sound like a move backwards to turn a laptop into an alarm clock, but that's what I'd use this for! A perfect TRAVEL alarm. I'm not sure the speakers on a laptop are necessarily loud enough to work for everyone, but it works. Awaken is a sweet program.

I recently got a MacBook and was looking for a reliable app to help me get awake when I travel. I just can't get used to the harshness of the front desk "wake up call" or the hotel alarm clock. Judging from the user comments, Awaken 3.1.6 is the app for me.

I'm buying it just for the sleep timer!

This is a great app! I've used it in demo mode and absolutely love the interface and options. And the buzzer is actually loud enough to wake me, and I'm a HEAVY sleeper!

Good app. but: I do not want to use Itunes at all. Just the built in Mac sounds. Is there some way to do that? How can I get a photo into the window? Also, I want it to stop after 2 or 3 minutes, or my neighbors will take my head. (I'm in NYC.) Less time however increases the likely hood of me missing the alarm.

Sounds good... now how good is the wake up from sleep function?

Cool! Now I just have to get my wife to let me put a computer in the bedroom. ;-)

I've been looking for a program that does this. It will be great waking up to my favorite tunes!!

after downloading , I tested it for 10 minutes in all functions. IT'S GREAT ! for long time I was looking for an easy tool like this... great options, easy use and nice sounds . COMPLIMENTS

Hey... thats a great idea :-D I'm going to purchase this one... if I'm not winning the free copy :-D

Looks great, but I want to know what makes it $6.95 more worthwhile than the free Alarm Clock besides a nice interface.

Awaken 3.1.6 offers several Excellent Features. I like the idea of using this App to set multiple alarms replacing my iCal Alarm Messages for Daily Events. Maybe future releases could connect with Apple TV that would boot your HDTV with your alarm choice of music or movie. Bottom line this is Fun software well worth the Price.

This alarm looks fantastic. I used the one off version from MacHiest and it seemed excellent.

@MrMuckle: Currently you pick an iTunes playlist to play as your alarm. If you only want one song to play - you could create a new playlist in iTunes with just that song and use that in Awaken. Awaken 4.0 (free update for Awaken 3 customers) is in development now and will allow you select individual tracks as well as audio files outside of iTunes. Our blog will be updated often with Awaken 4 progress - embraceware.com/blog

Very nice GUI, the icon of a application is very beautiful. I simply love it. This app does everything what I want from this kind of software. I was waiting for this deal from a day I knew Awaken. Very kind and professional work of people in Embraceware make me to buy this app. :-)

Looks quite a useful app, and the comment about the next version sounds good. Think I'll give it a try.

Very intersting software. Nice, easy and very handy.

I really like the idea of this. Now I can toss my 30 year old Sony alarm clock.

good morning. it works!

good morning. it works!

Can anyone tell me how reliable this thing is, I remember downloading it earlier (2 years ago maybe) and not having much luck...

Tested this app a while back. Been using Aurora, but I did like the looks of this better. Will probably buy it at this price!

I downloaded the demo but was unable to choose a specific song that I would use to wake up to. It seems your only choice is random songlist. Am I missing something?

Some other alarms don't wake the mac from sleep. I'll have to try the demo.

I wonder if they could build in motion detection to wake me up when I fall asleep at my desk!

I've been using the free MP3 Alarm Clock 2.2 for a few years, which works reliably. Its lack is that it won't waken the computer from sleep or off states -- so I always have to go to System Prefs

@j.ailey: Awaken 4 is currently in development and will have the features you mentioned along with many more. We stated a little blog series to show how Awaken 4 development is going: embraceware.com/blog. Awaken 4 will be a free update to anyone who purchases Awaken 3 - that goes for all future updates.

oh, i forgot... it would also be nice if this app could boot your computer from a powered down state. the sleep timer could shut down the computer, and then Awaken could boot it back up prior to the alarm going off. That and the web radio... THEN it would be perfect. :D

Saw this little app, and it looks like the answer to all my searching. I'm trying it out to see if it is as nice as I hope. The back up alarm is a great idea. If iTunes misfires for some reason, the back up alarm will kick in. I bet that can prove to be a life saver some time. :D It has a nice interface. I like the full screen support. I just wish there was support for internet radio through iTunes, at least on the sleep timer side. If that were added, it would be nearly perfect. With this promo, it is at a good price point as well. A good piece of software that is sub 10 bucks can't be beat! If nothing else, it is worth a try, so download it and see how you like it!

My CD alarm clock works just fine for this purpose - simple is good and uses less energy than leaving a computer on all night just so it can wake me.

I've used version 3.15 for quite a while. I've had some problems since upgrading to Leopard, so it's good to see a new version out. Awaken is an extremely flexible and easy to use alarm clock program. I highly recommend it.

Just as eth0 said, but one thing Aurora doesn't have is the egg timer. For people that often set quick reminders, this could be important.

Beautiful interface, does the job and it does wake your Mac too!

hmm. in the end I went with Aurora

The beautiful interface is probably the only thing that might push one to make the purchase for this, normally speaking, given the availabilities of free alternatives that performs the same function. But if you're someone who really values aesthetics and all, there is no better excuse than today's promo to give the little extra push to buy this app.

I'd like to try this - perfect would be to win it! :-)

some people don't mind paying for a better interface and look, though functionality is essentially the same. isn't that why they buy a mac in the first place?

Nice idea and good use o the computer

Yay, perfect for annoying the neighbours :)