Fan noise app: 5 things to check before you pick one

A fan noise app should play a steady fan sound without needing a connection, keep playing when the screen locks, stop on a sleep timer that fades out, and not show ads or ask you to sign up. If an app passes those five checks, it will do the job at night. The rest is which fan sound you like.

The five checks

Offline

Check the store listing for a mention of offline use, or turn on Airplane Mode and press play.

Lock-screen playback

Test it before bed: start a sound and lock the phone. Then check that the sound is still going and that the Lock Screen shows play and pause.

Sleep timer with fade-out

A timer alone stops the sound. A fade-out lowers the volume gradually before it stops. Check that the timer offers durations that fit how you use it, and that the fade length is something you can pick.

No ads and no account

Both show up as soon as you open the app. If the app asks you to create an account before it plays a fan, or shows ads on the screen you'll be looking at in the dark, that's your answer.

What to check on the free tier

Some apps are free to install but hold back part of what you need. When you look at "best fan noise app free" options, ask what the free version includes:

• How many fan sounds are free?
• Is the sleep timer free, or only the sound?
• Is the fade-out free?
• Is there a volume control?

A free tier that leaves out the timer gives you the sound but not the part that stops it for you.

Fan Noise against the checklist

Fan Noise is built around these five checks, and it plays fan recordings and nothing else. Here's how it lines up on iPhone, as of version 1.1.

• Offline: the fan recordings are stored in the app. Playback doesn't need a connection. Buying or restoring Premium does.
• Lock-screen playback: the sound keeps playing with the screen locked, and you can play or pause from the Lock Screen.
• Sleep timer with fade-out: the "Sleep timer" has presets of 15m, 30m, 1h and 2h. The "Fade-out" menu sets the taper to 30 seconds, 1, 2 or 5 minutes. Both are free.
• No ads, no account: it has neither.
• Free sounds: Classic Ceiling Fan, Modern Tower Fan and Window Box Fan are free, along with the volume control. Industrial Fan and Quiet Breeze are Premium.

Each sound loops until you pause it or the timer ends. The interface is dark only.

How to use it for sleep

1. On the player, tap "Change sound" and pick a fan.
2. Set the volume with the slider and press play.
3. Choose a fade-out from the "Fade-out" menu.
4. Tap 15m, 30m, 1h or 2h to start the sleep timer.
5. Lock the phone. The sound keeps playing.

What it doesn't do

Fan Noise isn't a sleep tracker. It has only the five fan sounds, so there's no rain, no ocean and no mixing. You can't upload your own audio, and there's no Android version.

If you want to know whether continuous noise helps sleep in general, see fan noise for sleeping. For a plain-language explanation of the sound itself, there's what is fan noise.