My upcoming "reliable alarm"

[Brenden M]

Hi there,

Right now it is 10:13 PM. My next alarm to wake my device is set for 7:45 AM.

My next Tasker timed schedule is at 5 AM, where I always set my alarm volume and do some other minor routine.

On my Android 12 lock screen, on Pixel 6 Pro, I see the next Tasker scheduled time context of 5 AM in place of the "next alarm" which I think should actually read 7:45 AM.

I recognize this might be a consequence of attempt to privilege the time context, but somehow the Tasker internal events that are timed but not signifying alarms are being signalled in the UI as if they are user-notifying alarm events.

As such, I would prefer to see my next alarm here, 7:45 AM, and not the otherwise non meaningful context of 5 AM.

Is this something happening to anyone else?

Have a good day in your time zone.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

The task scheduler in Tasker is not deterministic.  I suggest combining what your doing into a single context.  And try not mess with task priorities.  IMO, it's a mistake for Tasker to allow users to adjust task priorities.

[Brenden M]

I did not do that, I don't think.

I simply mean my real Next Alarm in the Clock app is 7:45AM but the next scheduled time context in Tasker is 5AM and showing as the next upcoming alarm. Currently, my next time context in Tasker is 7:23PM and that is showing as the next alarm on the ambient display.

It shows the Time, date, the weather, temperature, and and the next alarm, at a glance.

I did not otherwise adjust any parameter that mentions "task priority".

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

I don't think I understood your semantics and still don't.  I interpreted "scheduled time context" to mean a series of time profiles that you created yourself.  I assumed "privileged" meant you raised priority. It sounds like you may be using components other than vanilla Tasker in your scheme.  If you are, I'd like to hear what they are. Also, if "wake up device" means turn on the screen, I don't understand why you need to do this, since turning the screen off/on will often significantly complicate things.  By the way, in my experience, Tasker reliable alarms always shows its next alarm time in the UI.  So I find showing alarm times to be useless and omit them from home widgets, notifications, lockscreen and any ambient display. HTH

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Are you using Date/Time event(s) to trigger your profile(s)?  I haven't used those and would have to try them before I can help.

On Thursday, January 6, 2022 at 2:02:08 PM UTC-5 Brenden M wrote:

[Brenden M]

Hi!

Yes, I am using Time events to trigger my profile. The profiles are simple and the tasks very mundane. At 5AM (every day, anytime 4:59 AM becomes 5:00 AM), I trigger a task to set "Alarm volume" to full. At some other point in the day I might trigger a custom reminder notification for taking vitamins, or some kind of other routine.

When I said "privileged" I was referring to time contexts in tasker being deemed by the system "clock alarm" events. It is in some sense an "alarm" to the "system" to trigger a profile time context. This might be a question for the developer, and not us to easily determine.

When I mentioned the alarm at 7:45 to "wake my device" I meant just my wake up alarm set in the Clock app.

Preferably the way the ambient display shows the "next alarm" would source from just Clock app events, and not every single time based profile in Tasker. Many of those profiles are not time sensitive or immediately user-notifying and may be totally performed in the BG, (like turning on Clock Alarms automagically, with Tasker! After I go to bed..I have different alarms for different days, and don't wish to set them and unset them manually).

My language was admittedly off the mark! More details hopefully make it more clear.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

So you are triggering a your profile(s) on the Date/Time-Alarm Clock event?  Perhaps you can export a description of one of these profiles and post it here. I'm actually interested in how I might use the event myself.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Also.  Do you have Tasker "Preferences/Monitor/Use reliable alarms" set to Always?  These days you must set that if you have any time-dependent stuff in your Tasker configuration.  It's probably an option just because those reliable alarm times show up in the UI.

[Morgan Young]

I believe what you are describing is how tasker works.   it schedules time/date contexts as an alarm.   I believe it schedules any event like that if it happens at a known time. 

I have had the little alarm icon up in the upper right corner of my phone for years.

Morgan 

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[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Well we are "drifting" off topic a little.  But Tasker didn't always have/need reliable alarms.  I asume they were added because Tasker lost required access to actual system time.  So it uses software generated time.  But software time slowly drifts so it must be periodically synced up with an alarm app. I'm just guessing. 🤣😂🤣😂

[Brenden M]

I hear what both of you are saying. I might have been off topic from the start regarding the "reliable alarm" versus "clock app alarm" - I'm able to grok the system time and drift. I know there are even leap seconds with quantum clocks, etc. I work in audio, so I know about sample rates and drifts.

However, I also hear what you say about the alarm icon in "the upper right corner". I switched recently my phones from Pixel 3 to Pixel 6 Pro. On the Pixel 3, it only showed my Clock Alarm upcoming when the slider in the clock app was "ON". I didn't like always seeing the icon (like you report), so I programmed it so much later in the day Tasker would throw those switches, SO THAT I only see the alarm icon upcoming for tomorrow's alarms AFTER I chose them to activate.

My NEW issue with Pixel 6 Pro that I did NOT have on the Pixel 3 is that Tasker time contexts are now getting treated as upcoming clock app alarms. I see the tasker "time contexts" as "clock app upcoming alarms". My contention is that this is like a bug rather than a feature to expect.

Hear me out: a time context might be for a completely automated, Background task. I don't want that time to be told to me by a persistent notification that means "the phone alarm ringtone is set to go off soon". So at least on my device and not the prior one (both running Android 12, incidentally), that is a difference that I think is a bit buggy.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Sounds like you want to close this thread.  That's cool.  But before then, I'd like you to answer the previous two direct questions I asked you. 😀  

[Brenden M]

I'm happy to close this thread :) :) I am first a little bit curious for Joao to chime in, whether I've noticed a bug/ if is is a new quirk. Maybe it will go away when I get the December update for Pixel 6/Pro which was delayed due to serious bug or few.

Sorry if I overlooked your direct questions! I DO have "always" set in Reliable Alarms. As for the Profile Description, here is one:

Profile: Vitamin-Time
Settings: Restore: no
Time: 19:23
Enter Task: TakeMyVitamins
A1: Variable Set [
Name: %VOLRchosen
To: 2
Max Rounding Digits: 3
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A2: Variable Set [
Name: %VOLRold
To: %VOLR
Max Rounding Digits: 3
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]
A3: Notify [
Title: Take My Vitamins
Text: Multi Mineral and B-Complex
Icon: ipack:orangewhitepearlhd:diamond5_sc27
Number: 0
Priority: 3
LED Colour: Green
LED Rate: 0
Category: reminders ]
A4: Wait [
MS: 250
Seconds: 0
Minutes: 0
Hours: 0
Days: 0 ]
A5: Ringer Volume [
Level: %VOLRchosen ]
A6: Wait [
MS: 250
Seconds: 0
Minutes: 0
Hours: 0
Days: 0 ]
A7: Beep [
Frequency: 3520
Duration: 750
Amplitude: 32
Stream: 2 ]
A8: Say [
Text: Yum, vitamins.
Engine:Voice: default:default
Stream: 2
Pitch: 3
Speed: 6 ]
A9: Wait [
MS: 125
Seconds: 0
Minutes: 0
Hours: 0
Days: 0 ]
A10: Ringer Volume [
Level: %VOLRold ]

___________________
If you are looking into things, the Say, Beep, and Notify are the main results. It's pretty much a "google reminder" just custom. The Variable stuff I do with %VOLR is simply to attempt to always play the beep and say at my desired volume. It's not that invasive: I always want to hear it, but not louder or quieter than my decided level, in case I was playing with the volume knob. Sometimes the alarms I intend are to be loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes just consistent day to day :)

As you can see, the profile is very simple:
Time: 19:23

It's this time which Android OS (on my ambient display) is showing as an upcoming "ring a ling ding" Clock App alarm.

It's not a super important issue. Just a distracting number on the screen that isn't really "accurate" regarding waiting for a Clock alarm. I'm just using the above profile for a reminder notification, not quite the same meaning as alarm, but it is a time context to the system.

[Brenden M]

Just to confirm something.... My use of the term "reliable alarm" is totally a red herring.

I tried the setting switched to "Never" and the Tasker time context is totally still showing in the expected Clock Alarm on the ambient display. So that option doesn't change anything.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Thanks man.  But apparently you accidentally cut out the trigger conditions for the profile, which is important for my understanding. 😀

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

For example, here's what one of my time-based profiles looks like:

    Profile: TimeAtMidnight

    Settings: Restore: no

    Time: From 12:00AM Till 12:05AM

    Enter Task: Anon

    

    A1: Variable Set [

         Name: %timeAtMidnight

         To: %TIMES

         Max Rounding Digits: 3

         Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]

    

    A2: Variable Set [

         Name: %crossOverFlag

         To: 1

[Brenden M]

I'm not sure... Hmm..

Where yours says:
Time: From 12:00AM Till 12:05AM

Mine is just:

Time: 19:23
Is that what you mean by trigger condition, or something else? I believe I picked the same in time as out time to make it just one time instead of the range like yours does with 5 minutes.

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Sorry.  I made in & out times the same and got a similar trigger in the description that you did.  But I think a range just sets how long the state lasts.  Since I have no exit state task, a 5-minute range doesn't matter.  Maybe try it with a range and see what happens.  Also, I never use the ringer stream in Tasker.  Have you tried using a stream other than the ringer stream?

[Brenden M]

Hi, thanks for trying to help me figure things out at any rate!
I tried changing the "moment" to a range and it did not change the appearance of the next upcoming alarm being the start time of the range.

I have used other streams than ringer in other tasks. At the level of the Beep and Say actions in the example task, they have no effect however on the time state (or should have no effect, and when I tried to switch the streams now, it did not).

I don't have access to the Pixel 3 anymore, but otherwise I'd see if the issue is peculiar to my device/update version. I don't remember seeing this ever before, and I've been intermittently trying to solve the problem since I settled into the 6 Pro.

Have a good evening...

[Dave W, BSEE,MSCE,OOP]

Your original conclusion is probably correct...it's a bug.  You have a good evening also. 😀

[Chris Young]

Before I set up a time-based Tasked profile, I was able to long-press on the Alarm quick settings tile to access the Alarms and other clock functions. Since then, that no longer works. Has anyone else had this issue? Figured I'd ask here since this was the last mention I found of Tasked setting alarms that are not visible within Clock.

[Brenden M]

Yes that happens to me too!

When I turn all those time-based profiles off (I did not have to delete them), I can access the alarm page via quick settings tile. When the profiles are on, I see a page trying to pop up but then I see my home screen.

I never noticed before now because I have a big analog clock widget on my home screen and it successfully loads the clock/alarm app.

What you describe seems to totally happen to me too. Seems to just be a bug..... maybe related to the bug I described. The "alarm" listed on my quick settings tile is indeed listed as 4 PM, my next time-based profile, not what I would call my "clock alarm"...

The list is getting conflated then in this issue, the alarm app page is being suppressed from loading (on my Pixel 6 Pro, stock, June update).