Will ads wake my baby?

No ad in Lullawave makes a sound: every ad is muted. Ads also never appear when you start or stop the sound, set the timer or pick a sound, so nothing interrupts while you are putting the baby down.

Why does white noise stop in the middle of the night?

Usually the phone's battery optimization closes background apps, another app takes over the audio, or a timer ran out. Lullawave runs as a media playback service, so it keeps playing with the screen off and shows its status in the notification. If it still stops, set Lullawave's battery usage to "Unrestricted" in Android settings.

Can I layer shush on top of white noise?

Yes. Layer up to 3 sounds and set each volume separately, for example white noise as a base with a quieter shush on top. Save the combination as a mix and start it with one tap next time.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Every sound is generated on the phone, so it plays in airplane mode or with no signal, in the car, on a walk or while travelling.

How loud should it be and how far from the crib?

General guidance is to keep it quiet, roughly the level of a soft shower, and to place the phone across the room rather than in or right next to the crib. Using a timer with a fade-out also means it does not run loud all night. Every baby is different, so follow your pediatrician's advice.

Does the sound cut off when the timer ends?

No. When the timer ends the sound fades out over 10 seconds to 3 minutes (30 seconds by default) before stopping. It also eases in over 5 seconds when you start it.

Can I get charged by accident?

No. Lullawave has no in-app purchases, no subscriptions and no account. It is supported by ads, and every ad is silent.

Is it a baby monitor or cry detector?

No. Lullawave plays sleep sounds; it is not a baby monitor, does not use the microphone and does not give medical advice. Its early wake guard can restart your last mix at a time you choose instead.

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Why white noise stops in the middle of the night (and how to fix it)

"It keeps stopping in the middle of the night, which wakes me up. Defeats the whole purpose." That is one of the most common complaints about baby white-noise apps. The cause is usually not the sound itself but how the phone treats apps running in the background. Five things explain almost every case: battery optimization, other apps taking the audio, timers, ads and loop gaps.

1. Battery optimization closes the app

Android can pause or close apps that keep running long after the screen goes off, to save battery. Manufacturers give it different names, such as power saving, sleeping apps, adaptive battery or auto-optimize, and it is the most common reason sound stops a few hours into the night.

An app that runs as a media playback foreground service shows a persistent notification while it plays, and the system is far less likely to kill it. If your white-noise app plays with no notification at all, it is a likely candidate to be closed overnight.

Open Settings → Apps → your white-noise app → Battery, and choose "Unrestricted" (or "Don't optimize").
On Samsung phones, check Settings → Battery → Background usage limits and make sure the app is not in "Sleeping apps" or "Deep sleeping apps".
Before bed, make sure power saving or ultra power saving mode is off.

2. Another app takes the audio

Android uses audio focus so that one app leads playback at a time. If a messaging video, an alarm or a music preview plays at 3 a.m., the white-noise app is told to pause or duck, and some apps never resume afterwards.

On the phone you use in the nursery, turn on Do Not Disturb while still allowing media sound, and close apps that auto-play video.

3. The timer simply ran out

Surprisingly often, the timer just ended, for example a 30-minute nap timer that was still set at bedtime. If you want sound all night, pick "no timer". If you do use a timer, check that it fades out slowly instead of cutting off. The sudden silence is often the moment a baby stirs.

4. An ad interrupts or makes noise

Many free apps show a full-screen ad when you change the sound or reopen the app, and an ad with sound can wake the baby by itself. An ad can also grab audio focus and stop the white noise. That is why reviews keep saying things like "so frustrating when you hear a loud ad and baby is falling asleep."

5. A one-second gap in the loop

Apps that loop a recorded file can leave a short gap or click where the end of the file joins the start. In a steady sound, that gap is easy to hear and can rouse a baby in light sleep.

Quick troubleshooting table

Match what you hear to the likely cause first.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Stops quietly after a few hours	Battery optimization	Set battery to Unrestricted, turn off power saving
Stops after a notification or video	Another app took audio focus	Do Not Disturb, close auto-play apps
Cuts off at a set time	Timer ended	No timer, or a longer fade-out
Loud noise, then silence	Ad with sound	Use an app whose ads are muted
Regular tick or click	Loop seam	Use generated, gapless sound

What Lullawave does differently

Lullawave runs as a media playback service, so it keeps playing all night with the screen off, and you can pause or stop it from the notification. Its sounds are generated on the phone in real time rather than looped from a file, so there is no seam. Every ad is muted, and there is never an ad in front of play, stop, the timer or picking a sound. The timer fades out over 10 seconds to 3 minutes, and playback eases in over 5 seconds.

If a specific phone still stops it, set its battery usage to Unrestricted as above. No app can fully escape an aggressive manufacturer power saver.

Not medical advice

This guide is general information about using a white-noise app. It is not medical advice. For decisions about your baby's sleep, hearing or health, follow the pediatrician who knows your baby. Lullawave is not a baby monitor and does not replace a safe sleep environment.

White noise that keeps going all night

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