The right way to record your snoring
You cannot judge your own snoring until you have heard it. The good news is that the phone on your nightstand is more than enough for the job. The bad news is that most first attempts are wasted on bad placement. A few simple rules make the recording usable.
Where to put the phone
Put it roughly level with your head, half a metre to a metre away, face up on a firm surface. Do not slide it under the pillow or into the duvet: the sound gets muffled and the phone gets hot. Make sure no case or cable covers the microphone, and keep it away from an open window unless you want the street in your recording.
Settings and battery
Leave the phone on the charger, switch on do not disturb, let the screen go dark, and keep the app in the foreground as you fall asleep. Snorely dims its night screen after twenty-five seconds and keeps the device from sleeping so the recording continues. If a score and clips are waiting for you in the morning, the setup was right.
The privacy question
An open microphone in your bedroom all night is a fair thing to be uneasy about, so where the audio goes matters. Snorely processes everything on the phone, stores only short clips of the loudest moments locally, and does not even request internet permission — nothing goes to a cloud. You can delete any clip whenever you want.
Frequently asked questions
Two of us sleep here — how do I know who snored?
Listening to the clips usually settles it; tone and direction give it away. For a clearer answer, move the phone noticeably closer to one side for a few nights.
Will recording drain the battery?
Listening all night makes a real dent if the phone is not plugged in. Keeping it on the charger is the safe option.
Does a fan or air conditioner ruin the result?
Constant hum is usually fine, because snoring stands out as sudden rhythmic peaks. Still, keep the appliance away from the phone if you can.
Where's the best place to put the phone while recording overnight?
On a nightstand or shelf about arm's length from your head, angled roughly toward your face — too far away and quiet snoring gets missed, too close and you risk knocking it over or picking up breathing noise that isn't representative.
Does the phone need to face me, or does direction not matter?
It helps but isn't strict — phone microphones are fairly omnidirectional at close range. Facing it roughly your way just gives a slightly cleaner, louder signal, especially useful if you're trying to tell two sleepers apart.
Should I use a phone case, or does it muffle the sound?
Most cases don't meaningfully block the microphone port, so leave it on — you don't want to risk a drop just to record overnight. A case with a thick cover flap over the mic is the only real exception worth removing.
Can background noise from a partner's phone or a second device cause false triggers?
It can if the two phones are close enough to pick up each other's alerts, fan noise or vibration. Keep any second device a bit further away, or put it on silent, to avoid it bleeding into your recording.
Does recording work if I sleep with the door closed vs open?
Either works — what matters more is what's inside the room. A closed door mostly keeps outside noise out, which is actually a plus; it doesn't affect how well the phone picks up your breathing.
Should I turn off notifications before recording?
Yes, or at least switch to silent — a notification buzz or sound can interrupt recording on some setups and will definitely show up as a spike in the data if it doesn't. Airplane mode with Wi-Fi back on is a clean way to do this.
Does the phone's microphone quality make a real difference?
For basic snore detection, not much — nearly all modern phone mics are sensitive enough to pick up snoring at nightstand distance. Mic quality matters more for judging loudness precisely than for simply detecting that snoring happened.
Can pets in the room trigger false snoring detection?
Possibly, if they snore, pant or make rhythmic noise close to the phone. If your results look inflated on nights your pet slept in the room, that's a reasonable first thing to rule out.
Should I record every single night, or is a few nights a week enough?
A few nights a week, spread out, is usually enough to see a real pattern — snoring varies night to night with position, alcohol, congestion and tiredness. Recording every night for the first week or two helps establish a baseline, then you can taper off.
Does recording in airplane mode change anything?
It mainly just stops notifications and network activity from interrupting the recording, which is generally a good thing. It doesn't affect the microphone or how the sound is captured.
This page is for information only and is not medical advice. If your snoring is loud and constant, if anyone has seen you stop breathing, or if you are sleepy during the day, talk to a doctor.
Find out in the morning what happened at night. Snorely listens through the night, catches the snoring, and hands you a Snore Score plus clips of the loudest moments when you wake up. Free, no ads, and nothing leaves your phone.
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