Pomodoro Timer Pomodoro timer with rain sounds and other background noise
With Premium, open Settings, tap Ambient Sounds under Sound & Haptics, pick one of seven sounds, such as rain, and set its Volume. It plays by itself through a focus phase and goes quiet the moment you pause, stop or hit a break.
★ 5 (5) Why use background noise while you focus?
A steady, featureless sound covers the small noises that pull your attention sideways, a conversation through the wall, traffic outside. It can also work as a cue: rain starts, work starts.
Tying the sound to the timer makes that cue automatic instead of something you have to remember to switch on. It starts with the focus block and stops when the block does, so the break actually feels like one.
The seven sounds
| Sound | What it is like |
|---|---|
| Rain | Steady rainfall, soft and even |
| Forest | Outdoor background with a natural, uneven texture |
| Ocean Waves | Slow swells that rise and fall |
| Fireplace | Low crackle with occasional pops |
| Coffee Shop | A distant murmur of people |
| White Noise | Flat, even hiss that masks other noise |
| Clock Ticking | A regular tick, for people who like a pace |
None of these are recordings. A small sound engine inside the app generates each one live, so there's nothing to download and no loop point to catch twice.
How to turn on a sound
- Open the Settings tab and find the Sound & Haptics section.
- Tap Ambient Sounds. On the free version the row shows a Pro badge and opens the Premium screen instead.
- Tap a sound to hear a preview and choose it.
- Move the Volume slider on that screen to a level just under your own voice.
- Go to the Timer tab and tap play. The sound starts with the focus phase.
When it plays, and when it goes quiet
- Only while a focus phase is counting down.
- Off during pause, stop, skip, and both kinds of break.
- Back on the second the next focus phase starts.
Which sound suits which place?
Open-plan offices and rooms full of voices need something that covers speech; flat hiss or rainfall does that well. A quiet bedroom at night wants softer, the fireplace or distant waves. A library where silence itself feels loud takes the gentle murmur of the coffee shop better than you'd guess.
Give each one a full focus block before judging it. The first minute always feels noticeable. What actually matters is whether you've stopped hearing it by minute ten.
A couple of things people get wrong
- Expecting sound during a break. It's off on purpose so the break feels different from work.
- Picking a sound and hearing nothing: the timer needs to actually be running a focus phase, not paused or stopped.
Questions and answers
Are the ambient sounds free?
Is there a brown noise option?
Can I play my own music instead?
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