Can my phone bleep every few minutes if I've received an unread text? No it can't...

[Steve Thackery]

Well, I've been talking on the developer forums for Windows 10 Mobile, and it looks like repeating audible notifications are impossible!!

I simply cannot believe it. All I want is for my phone to bleep every few minutes if I've received an unread SMS message, so I don't miss it.

At the moment, if I am away from my phone when an SMS message comes in, I don't find out it's waiting until the next time I use my phone. This is ridiculous! Every dumbphone I've ever owned would beep repeatedly if there was an unread SMS. Android supports it (with a free downloadable app). But for some bizarre reason, W10M doesn't provide it in the OS, nor does it provide the APIs for an app to be written to do the job.

It is essential that I do not miss a waiting SMS message. For that one, simple, reason I cannot use Windows Mobile (or its WP8.1 predecessor) and I've got to go back to pox-ridden Android! Yeuch!!

Sorry, I'm in a right old grumpy mood about this. I love WP8.1 and W10M, and I simply don't understand why Microsoft can't provide such simple and obvious feature (I repeat, like every dumbphone on the planet already has). Now I've got to put my lovely 1520 up for sale! Unbelievable.

 

[Ma Rio]

Such an unimportant feature.
But if you need it that much, import a 10 hour sound to your phone and set it as the SMS notification sound.

 

[Steve Thackery]

Ma Rio: not at all an unimportant feature. I'm not the kind of person who keeps messing with his phone every couple of minutes. I pick it up when I want to use it, or when it makes a noise. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do? Do you really keep looking at it every few minutes, just to see if you've got a message?

However, your idea of making an hours-long notification sound is brilliant! I can easily make one that is silent except for bleeps every ten minutes. I'm going to experiment with that very thing and see if it will work. Who knows, maybe the OS limits the length of notification sounds, or something, but I'll give it a try and report back.

 

[Pete]

That won't work. You'll only get the first few seconds of the tone before it'll get cut off. Ma Rio seems to be simply making things up.

If you need this feature, you'll need to vote for it either through the official uservoice portal or the feedback app if you're running Windows 10 Mobile. There are rumours of notification led lights in upcoming handsets, but this is at this stage just rumour.

 

[Alain_A]

OP, I'm with you on that one. Was a very nice feature before, in the time of flip phone. I miss that feature.
Today, i use my smart phone for business purposes and it would very be welcome such feature..

 

[Ma Rio]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you do? Do you really keep looking at it every few minutes, just to see if you've got a message?

I keep my phone near me almost all the time (not a hard thing to achieve), so I almost always hear it. And when I don't, I see it the next time I check my phone (which is, depending on the situation, soon-ish).

Ma Rio seems to be simply making things up.

Buzzkill. -_-
But yeah, I've just said that as a joke, I haven't tried it. Though my brother did that on his dumbphone (which turns out to be smarter than today's 'smartphones') and it worked.

 

[Steve Thackery]

But yeah, I've just said that as a joke, I haven't tried it. Though my brother did that on his dumbphone (which turns out to be smarter than today's 'smartphones') and it worked.

Well, even though a joke, and even though Pete says it won't work, I still think it's a good idea! :smile:

Thanks, Pete, for saving me the trouble of trying it, though.

 

[ven07]

Well, even though a joke, and even though Pete says it won't work, I still think it's a good idea! :smile:

Thanks, Pete, for saving me the trouble of trying it, though.

I get ya.. Really missed this as well, but on the other hand I have glance set to peek so I can just wave my hand over my phone to check if I have new messages, without having to turn it on

 

[11B1P]

Ok, I'm not on W10M, so I'm not sure if this works yet.

But why don't you just invest in a BT headset?? Then when you get a message, Cortana will tell you. No need to have your phone on you every second. Message comes in, Cortana announces the text and gives you the options for her to read it or ignore it and so on.

 

[RumoredNow]

I'm sorry... I can't empathize with anyone who wants their phone to nag at them incessantly. *shrug* I'm not saying you shouldn't have it if you want, but it is also quite unnecessary IMHO.

There are many ways be on top of it. If you wander away from your phone train yourself check it as soon as you got back to it. You could use Glance or a wearable to help with notifications. You could look into using a service that is mirrored on your phone and your PC... Own the urgency yourself and use a tech means to solve it.

Having your phone create an environmental audio disturbance while you are away from it is not optimal and could be inconsiderate to others.

I don't let my phone vibrate at me. I don't let my phone nag me. I also don't have an issue with missing out on time-critical notifications either. I own the problem on my end... And if your issue extends to when you are sleeping, that also is a matter of personal ownership. When I've been on call 24/7 the dispatchers thought I never slept. It never mattered when they called, I answered in under 30 seconds and was ready for the conversation. I use Quiet Hours now, because with my habits I'd be awakened many times a night with each little beep and boop. I simply impressed upon my own mind that I HAD to take the calls in the middle of the night.

Really it comes down to habits and discipline. Little kids need to be nagged to get something done. Your post reads as if you are an adult doing an adult job and the SMS is a part of it. Handle your business, man.

 

[Curtieson]

I could not agree more that it is inconsiderate to have your phone to constantly beep if you get a text AND are not there to hear it. No offense of course, haha.
If you were my coworker, your phone would "accidentally" end up hidden all the time to get it to shut up...and that it putting us both in a bad spot.

That sounds about as terrible of an idea as making your text notification the "Gieco pig that squeals with delight.". I hate that man, and that damn pig, haha.

 

[Steve Thackery]

If you wander away from your phone train yourself check it as soon as you got back to it.

So, do you keep your phone on you at all times? Even at home? There's no way I want to carry my phone around with me when I'm at home. It goes on the table in the hall and stays there. Then I can get changed, do my chores, watch the TV, mow the lawn, wash up, play about in my workshop, chat over the fence with my neighbour........ Are you seriously saying that you keep your phone with you all the time you are doing that stuff?

Sometimes I might go a couple of hours without thinking to check the phone. Meanwhile my buddy might have left me a text asking if he can come round with some beers and he's sitting there waiting for me to reply.

Not only that, but the picture you describe sounds horrendous to me. It's like your whole life revolves round your phone: carrying it with you as much as possible, and checking it every time you've been out of earshot, even if just for a minute or so. That sounds AWFUL! My phone is a TOOL for me to use. I do NOT want to be controlled by it, by having to carry it with me all the time, or check it every time we've been parted. For goodness' sake!

You could use Glance or a wearable to help with notifications..... Own the urgency yourself and use a tech means to solve it.

Glance is useless because it's just another way of having to go to the phone and check it. A wearable is a good idea, although again it only buzzes once and if I miss it, it's missed forever. Even so, it's definitely easier to check its screen than the phone. Thanks - I'll look into that.

I own the problem on my end...

Exactly - it's a problem that you need to take ownership of. Totally the wrong approach. You should prefer to get rid of the problem! My solution means that missed notifications are simply not a problem. Your solution seems to involve enslaving yourself to the phone by wearing a smartwatch, carrying the phone with you all the time, or checking it every time you've been to the bathroom. Come on man, are you serious??

Really it comes down to habits and discipline. Little kids need to be nagged to get something done...... Handle your business, man.

Hilarious!! Why on earth should I need DISCIPLINE to use my phone?? It's a tool that is supposed to serve ME, not the other way round! When my car puts a warning light up because it's low on washer fluid, it stays lit until I've refilled it. It doesn't just flash once. If I leave my freezer door open it buzzes continuously until I close it again, it doesn't just make a "bing" sound and then go silent.

This isn't nagging - it's being helpful. The designers of my car and my fridge understand full well that I might miss a brief flash or bleep, and thus make them continuous so that I'm MUCH more likely to pick up on them.

What is so odd about having that system on your phone - optional, of course? Like I said, every dumbphone manufacturer on the planet decided it was helpful and provided it. I honestly don't think I've ever owned a dumbphone that DIDN'T provide that feature. So am I REALLY that wrong, or unusual?

 

[Steve Thackery]

I could not agree more that it is inconsiderate to have your phone to constantly beep if you get a text AND are not there to hear it. No offense of course, haha

Oh, grow up. You think I'm wrong because I asked for a particular feature (a feature that I can get on every dumbphone ever made and every Android phone, I remind you)? I won't tell you what I think about you.

If you were my coworker, your phone would "accidentally" end up hidden all the time to get it to shut up.

That is no way to behave at work. We are adults here, discussing a feature that is missing from Windows phones but present on the vast majority of other phones.

 

[Aurelink]

Such an unimportant feature.
But if you need it that much, import a 10 hour sound to your phone and set it as the SMS notification sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZZ7oFKsKzY

Lol I can only agree with every piece of your comment

Who needs this when you have a glance screen. No offense but this is the first time I hear someone complaining about this. Even my GF owns an iPhone (*ding ding* shame) and still she never complained about this when using my 1020 for two months.

 

[RumoredNow]

Sometimes I might go a couple of hours without thinking to check the phone. Meanwhile my buddy might have left me a text asking if he can come round with some beers and he's sitting there waiting for me to reply.

That says it all...

It's not some deal you are missing out on which will affect your job. There is no critical problem such as you seemed to suggest in the OP. It's just your habits...

It really is no hardship for me to carry a phone. I'm not enslaved to it. It's for my convenience. The very nature of a cell phone is to make it portable and readily accessible. Trust me, with what I do now, I could throw my phone in a drawer for a week and not miss a beat.

When something is that important to you, you take care of it. Obviously, your phone and your SMS messages from your buddy are not really as urgent as you made out in the beginning.

Urgent need vs Don't care to check my phone. OK... But your "urgency" does not seem all that urgent once you state it out loud. I really imagined you were getting in trouble at work by not responding quickly enough. You are talking about a whole other thing that has no dire consequences...

Do what you do and good luck to you and your beer buddy.

Peace.

 

[RumoredNow]

And a reminder to those in the thread...

Let's not forget ourselves and resort to calling names.

 

[fatclue_98]

I can understand the OP wanting a certain feature that was present many years ago. But you have to understand that with the advent of BYOD at the workplace, annoying notifications could be a source of smartphones flying out of windows. Personally, if the message is that dire, the sender will call or text repeatedly until you answer. That should be enough of a repetitive notification don't you think?

 

[michail71]

That whistle notification on android drives me friggin nuts

My personal work (and home) policy is to keep it on vibrate most of the time.

 

[gwinegarden]

A flashing LED would be the answer. Continuous notification and wouldn't annoy others.

 

[Zer0fluX]

So, do you keep your phone on you at all times? Even at home?

Yes. Unless I don't want to be disturbed, or I'm in a place where personal electronic devices aren't allowed, my phone is with me and on at all times. It's on my desk at work, in my pocket when I'm out, in its holder in the car, it's in my pocket or on an end table/coffee table when I'm relaxing at home, it's in my pocket when I'm doing yard work or working out (typically playing music), on my nightstand as I sleep, or in my hand when I'm using it. I use audible and visual alerts whenever possible, and vibration when such alerts are inappropriate. And yes, if I can't have my phone with me for some reason, I check my notifications as soon as I can get back to it. It's my digital assistant, and as such it needs to be near me as often as possible to be effective. I also use my phone often enough to surf the web, play a game, chat with friends, watch videos, or listen to music, that I see the handy pending notification icon should I miss an incoming alert.

I suspect I'm not in the minority of smartphone users in this respect. I'm not tied to my phone like a teenager, and I don't actively use it in social settings, but it is enough a part of my life that I carry it at all times. I'm not saying your feature request is stupid or useless, but I do think you're an edge case. I suggest you head over to User Voice either vote the feature request up or create it if it doesn't exist.

Good luck!