Boxing Timer: frequently asked questions

Yes. The countdown follows the real clock and the app keeps its audio running in the background, so bells and the end-of-round clacker still sound with the phone locked or while you use another app. The Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show a live countdown if Live Activities are allowed for the app. The one thing that stops it is force-quitting the app by swiping it away.

The timer itself does: presets, bells, the warning, custom timers and history all work with no connection, and there is no account or sign-up. The free version loads its ads over the internet, and buying or restoring Pro needs a connection too. Once bought, Pro keeps working offline.

Any round or interval training works. There are ready formats for boxing, MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai, BJJ, Tabata, HIIT, EMOM and AMRAP, and the custom timer covers circuits or anything else built from work and rest.

Yes, in Custom Timer. Round, rest and prep move in 5-second steps, the warning in 1-second steps from 0 to 30 seconds, and you choose 0 to 99 rounds. Use Once is always free and unlimited; the free version can keep one saved preset with Save & Use, and more need Pro.

No, the app works on the iPhone or iPad by itself. If you have a Watch, its app mirrors the round and countdown and has Stop, Play/Pause and Skip buttons, with a tap on the wrist at every phase change. The iPhone does the timing and rings the bell, so the Watch needs the phone nearby and running the timer.

Yes. The bell and the warning clacker, both free, come in over whatever you are listening to, and the music keeps playing underneath. Spoken cues from the Voice Coach also mix over music, but the Voice Coach is part of Pro.

The free version shows a banner under the timer. Full-screen ads come after every second finished workout and can also appear when you return to the app from somewhere else; they are at least 2 minutes apart. Any Pro purchase, monthly, yearly or one-time, removes all of them.

It is free to download and the whole timer is free to use, with ads. Boxing Timer Pro is optional and adds no ads, the Voice Coach, the Air Horn and Gong bells, unlimited saved presets and the weekly chart with a day streak. There is no free trial.

That's a common point of confusion. The app doesn't add a rest after the last round, because the workout is already over. Eight rounds of 20 seconds with seven 10-second rests make 3:50, and the Tabata preset adds a 5-second prep before round 1, so 3:55.

No. All rounds in a timer share one length and all rests share another, so pyramids or mixed blocks are not possible in one run. For an open-ended session, set rounds to 0 (unlimited) and tap Stop when you are done.

No. Built-in presets are fixed and saved custom presets can only be selected or deleted. To change one, build it again in Custom Timer, which always opens with the defaults: 3 rounds of 3:00, 1:00 rest, 10 s prep and a 10 s warning.

That is the warning. It copies the wooden sticks coaches bang with 10 seconds left, together with a strong vibration. Most presets use 10 seconds, Tabata and HIIT use 5, BJJ uses 30 or 60 and AMRAP uses 60; in a custom timer you choose 0 to 30, and 0 turns it off.

Turn up the phone's volume or plug in a speaker — there's no volume slider inside the app. The bell also plays with the silent switch on, and the Air Horn and Gong sounds (Pro) cut through a noisy gym better than the Classic Bell.

Only for ads in the free version. The prompt itself says the timer works exactly the same if you say no; ads are then non-personalised. No account, name or email is ever asked for.

No. It does not read heart rate or write to Apple Health. It keeps its own history on the device: each session's date, preset, rounds completed and active time.

Tap the clock icon at the top left for History: totals for Sessions, Total Time and Rounds, then every session. It is stored only on this device, with no export, sharing or sync, and deleting the app deletes it. Long-press a session and tap Delete to remove one.

Not from the Lock Screen: the Live Activity shows the preset, phase, round and countdown but has no buttons. Use the app itself, or the Stop, Play/Pause and Skip buttons on the Apple Watch app.

Open Settings with the gear icon at the top right and tap Restore Purchases, signed in with the same Apple ID. Manage Subscription is on the same screen if you want to change or cancel a subscription.