Baby sound machine app — the sound machine you already own, free
A sound machine is a speaker, a timer and a handful of loops. Your phone has a better speaker, a better timer and 31 loops — and it is already in your pocket at 3 a.m.
Free · Android · no subscription- White noise
- Heartbeat
- Womb
- Rain
- Fan
- Gentle lullaby
- in the app
What a sound machine does, and what an app does better
A dedicated machine plays six to twenty loops through a small speaker, with a dial and a timer that stops the sound dead. An app on your phone plays the same kind of loops with a finer volume control, a timer that can fade out instead of stopping, your own recorded voice, and controls on the lock screen so you never light up the room. It also travels: a hotel crib sounds like home.
Where the machine still wins: it is plugged in forever and nobody carries it out of the room to answer a message. An old phone on the nursery shelf, with nothing installed but the sound app, gives you both.
Safe volume, whichever you use
In a 2014 study in Pediatrics, every one of 14 infant sound machines tested could exceed 50 dB at crib-rail distance and three could pass 85 dB. The device is not the risk; the placement is. Keep any source at least 7 feet (2 m) from the crib and at or below 50 dB measured there, and use sound for sleep rather than all day. Little Napper starts at a moderate volume and remembers what you set.
FAQ
Sound machine app: questions parents ask
Is a sound machine app as good as a real sound machine?
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For the sound, yes — the loops are the same kind of audio and a phone speaker is louder and clearer than most machines. The app adds a fade-out timer and your own voice; the machine adds a dial and permanent power.
Is the app free, and are there ads?
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It is free, with no subscription and no locked sounds. It is supported by ads: a small banner, plus an occasional full-screen ad that is held back during night hours. A sound that has started keeps playing.
Will it drain the battery overnight?
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Playing a loop with the screen off uses a few percent over a night, about the same as music. Charging while it plays is fine.
Does it keep playing if I lock the phone?
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Yes. Playback runs in the background with the screen off. If your phone's battery saver stops it, set Little Napper to Unrestricted in the battery settings once.
More sound guides
Sound machine app tonight, in one tap.
Free on Google Play. Works offline, plays with the screen off, fades out on the timer.