What is this alarm?

[mrblint]

For the MP3 that I made of this sound: http://www.filedropper.com/echo-trimmed

I do not know what that sound means, or why it's happening. It has come on twice now, both times when I've been listening to music.  Once was in the middle of the night when I was asleep. It keeps making that sound over and over until I  tell the device to STOP.

[Laurel]

Can't listen to your audio tape. Have to sign up and I see no evidence of the audio anywhere.

[mrblint]

I've never used that FileDropper site before. Please try this link instead:

https://instaud.io/2fuy

I was able to upload the MP3 to that site and there's a MP3 player on the site.

[AlanH]

That’s the end of a Timer notification. “Alexa, set a timer for 60 seconds” and compare the sounds.

[mrblint]

Thanks for the info.  The device must have (mis)interpreted something I said as a request to set an alarm since I never used the word "alarm".  At night I usually say "Sleep timer, two hours" or something like that.  The other day I probably said something like "Play XXXX radio station for 15 minutes" and Alexa took "15 minutes" to be an alarm request.

I just now did a little test:

"Alexa, one minute"
-- Hmm, I'm not sure.

"Alexa, for one minute"
-- One minute, starting now.   

And then there was the alarm sound after 60 seconds.  So it's the phrase "for {time}" that Alexa is interpreting as the request to set an alarm.

[AlanH]

From your description it seems that you’re setting a countdown timer rather than an alarm. Anyway, glad that you got to the bottom of it.

[strayfish]

What you said sounds - if you're Alexa - like an instruction to set a timer. To set a timer you say, 'Alexa set a [10] minute timer' and that's what happens. When the time's up, you get a sound which will only stop if you say 'Stop', as you discovered. It's not an alarm; to set one of those you say 'Alexa, set an alarm for [2pm]' and you'll get the alarm at that time. Sometimes I'm asked if I mean pm or am if I haven't been precise. Hope you get it tamed!

[AlanH]

The sound effect in the link is the end of a countdown timer.