Pomodoro Timer Keep a pomodoro timer running on iPhone with the screen locked
Lock the phone during a block and it keeps counting, because Pomodoro Timer saves the exact moment the phase will end rather than ticking a number down. Unlock it and it recalculates the time left, so a 25-minute block that spent 400 locked seconds shows 18:20, and the notification still fires on time.
★ 5 (5) Why do some timers stop when you lock the phone?
iOS pauses or kills apps that aren't on screen to save battery. A timer built around subtracting one second at a time only runs while it's awake, so it freezes or falls behind the moment you lock the phone or swipe into something else.
This one skips that trap. When a phase starts, the app writes down when it should end: now plus the phase length. Time left is always just that end point minus the current time, floored at zero.
A worked example
| Moment | What the app does | Time shown |
|---|---|---|
| You tap play | Saves end time = start + 1,500 seconds | 25:00 |
| You lock the phone | Nothing has to keep ticking | (screen off) |
| You unlock 400 seconds later | Time left = 1,500 - 400 = 1100 seconds | 18:20 |
| The end time passes | The phase ends and the notification fires | 00:00 |
How to set it up so you never miss the end
- Allow Notifications the first time the app asks. If you said no, turn them on for the app in the iPhone Settings app.
- Pick a mode on the Timer tab, for example Study.
- Tap play, then lock the phone or switch to another app.
- Glance at the Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island to see the countdown while it runs.
- When the notification arrives, open the app and tap play to start the break.
On the free version the next phase just waits for you. With Premium, and Auto-start Break or Auto-start Focus switched on in a mode, it moves on by itself and can warn you a few seconds beforehand with a notification.
What if iOS closes the app completely?
Doesn't matter, the end time is saved outside the running app. Open it again and it works out where the phase should be. A focus block that hit zero while you were nowhere near the app still lands in Stats as a completed session.
A few things that genuinely do stop it
- Pausing. A paused timer sits still until you resume it, on purpose.
- The square stop button, which resets the phase and throws the session away rather than saving it.
- Turning off notifications. The timer itself still keeps time correctly; you just won't hear or see the alert when it ends outside the app, which is its real limit for anyone who silences notifications by habit.
How does a pomodoro timer work on iPhone in general?
Any pomodoro timer alternates focus blocks with short breaks and hands you a longer break after a set number of blocks. The practical question on iPhone is whether it survives the phone being locked. This one does, since the time is worked out from a fixed end point every single time you look, not from a counter running in the background.
Questions and answers
Will the timer drift if I leave it in the background for an hour?
Do I need to keep the screen on?
Why didn't I get an alert when the time was up?
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