ChirpHound: Smoke Alarm Finder

Find which alarm is chirping

$2.99 · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

Clocks change Nov 1, a good time to test your smoke alarms. If one starts chirping, ChirpHound times the chirps and helps you work out which alarm it is. That chirp is real — and ChirpHound 12.0 makes finding it simple. Tap one button, let it listen, and work out which alarm it is. NEW IN 12.0: JUST FIND IT • One big Start listening button and one plain status card: how long it has listened, how many chirps it heard, how often they come and when the next one is due. Chirps can be a minute apart, so silence is called normal instead of looking frozen. • Listens across 2.4–4.5 kHz by default, so a chirp whose pitch is off the usual smoke-alarm tone is not filtered out on the first listen. • After each chirp: louder or quieter at your phone than at your last spot. • Which alarm is it? Add your alarm locations, stand under each for one chirp and see them ranked by level at your phone. It asks you to check the leader once more before calling it — and it says "loudest at your phone", never "this is the one". • Keep listening with the screen locked: a Live Activity counts down to the next chirp on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Speak each result aloud for when the phone is held up high. ONLY CHIRPS AT NIGHT? The overnight chirp catcher counts chirps while you sleep and shows a morning report: how many, when they started, how often and the busiest hour. Only times and relative levels are kept — never audio. MY ALARMS Keep every alarm in one list with its room, brand, model, power type and the dates on its label. ChirpHound works out the replace-by date (smoke alarms 10 years from manufacture; CO alarms per the label) and can remind you in daylight — before a 3 a.m. chirp. Scan the label to fill in the model and date. IS IT EVEN A SMOKE ALARM? Backup batteries, garage door openers, internet backup units, leak sensors and security keypads chirp too. See which published patterns your chirp is consistent with, where to look, and the source for each. GET THE ANSWER, THEN FIX IT • What does this chirp mean? A few plain questions plus the measured cadence give one answer — low battery, still chirping after a new battery, end of life (replace the unit, not the battery) or a hardwired chain — with sourced steps. It works without the microphone. • Fix it: guides for swapping a battery (with a 20-second timer to drain leftover charge), a chirp that continues after a new battery, sealed 10-year alarms, hardwired chains, CO alarms and the 3 a.m. case, each ending with a 3-minute listen to check. • A three-beep or four-beep emergency pattern is never softened: leave and follow the alarm's instructions. SIRI AND SHORTCUTS "Find the chirp with ChirpHound" opens the app and starts listening. On iOS 18, add the Find the chirp control to Control Center. FIELD TOOLS WHEN YOU WANT THEM Everything from earlier versions is one tap away: the five-stage investigation (Listen, Learn target, Compare, Inspect, Verify), the 3·3·3 room comparison, live spectrogram, 24-band Auto Discover, 15 presets, next-chirp clock, HoundMap, EchoMap, ChirpMesh, Hearing Assist, CSV and PDF reports, 19 synthetic Signal Lab scenes, 48 checklist entries and 24 field guides. MEANINGFUL LIMITS ChirpHound compares chirp levels at your phone. It does not measure direction or distance, calibrate microphones or pinpoint a device, and echoes can make the wrong room sound louder — confirm with the alarm's light, label or test button. No chirp heard is an observation, not proof of a repair. Codes vary by manufacturer and model; the label and manual govern, and the app never states that an alarm is safe. Synthetic-room tests validate the software, not your room, microphone or alarm. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Audio is analyzed live on the device and is never recorded or transmitted. The camera is used only when you tap Scan the label. Reminders are local notifications you turn on. No account, advertising, analytics or tracking. ChirpHound is a locating and reference aid, not a smoke alarm, CO alarm or monitoring service. If a real alarm is sounding, leave the area and follow its instructions.

  • This app’s overall rating was recently reset.

Small improvements and fixes.

The developer, Robert Corbin, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Not Collected

    The developer does not collect any data from this app.

    Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

    The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

    Seller
    Robert Corbin
    Size
    45.1 MB
    Category
    Utilities
    Compatibility
    Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
    • iPhone
      Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
    • iPad
      Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later.
    • Mac
      Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
    • Apple Vision
      Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
    Languages
    English
    Age Rating
    4+
    Copyright
    © 2026 Robert Corbin