Android app Tactile Clock vibrates the current time

Posted by Eric Scheibler at May 6, 2016

This Android app vibrates the current time when the display is locked and you double-click the power button of your device.

The app is free software. You can find the links to the play store, a f-droid repository and the source code below.

The latest version was released on June 23rd, 2026.

How it works

Double-click the power button. This might take some practice to work reliably. Press slowly and deliberately. If you double-click too fast the system only recognizes a single click and turns the screen on instead.

The time vibration is structured as follows:

A short vibration stands for the digit 1 and a long one for the digit 5. The 2 is represented by two consecutive short vibrations, the 6 by a long and a short one and so on. The 0 constitutes an exception with two long vibrations.

Examples:

00:00 =  --   --
01:18 =  .    .  -...
02:51 =  ..    -  .
10:11 =  .  --    .  .
19:06 =  .  -....    -.

Explanation:

The time is processed digit by digit:

  • . = short vibration
  • - = long vibration

Leading zeros in the hour and minute fields are omitted.

Gaps:

To simplify the recognition of the vibration pattern, there exist three kind of gaps with different durations:

  • []: A short gap between vibrations in the same digit
  • [  ]: A medium gap for the separation of two digits within the hour and minute field
  • [    ]: A long gap to split hours and minutes

Additional features

  • Keep informed about the current time. The app can vibrate the current time automatically every X minutes or every hour.
  • Play the Greenwich Time Signal at the start of each hour, similar to a radio station.
  • Trigger time vibration with Tasker (see below for details)
  • Decide what to do if you double-click when the display is on. You can choose between a warning vibration and having the time vibrated as well.
  • The app starts automatically after the system reboots.
  • It runs on all devices with Android 6 or newer.

Double-click conflict

TactileClock is triggered by clicking the power button twice in quick succession. This may conflict with the ‘built-in’ double-click action of your Android device. For example, a Google Pixel device will typically launch the camera when the power button is double-clicked; a Samsung device may take a screenshot when the power button is double-clicked.

If your device has a ‘built-in’ action when the power button is double-clicked, there are three options to get TactileClock working.

Option 1: Disable the ‘built-in’ double-click action of your device.

  • Google Pixel: (Settings > System > Gestures > Quickly open camera)
  • Samsung Galaxy: (Settings > Advanced Features > Side Button > Double Press)
  • Other devices may require different settings to disable the double-click action.

Once the ‘built-in’ double-click action has been disabled, double-clicking the power button will trigger the TactileClock action.

Option 2: Configure TactileClock to trigger after a long double-click.

This will allow the ‘built-in’ double-click action to co-exist with the TactileClock double-click action.

1. Open TactileClock
2. Swipe left to show the 'Shortcut' screen.
3. Modify the 'Click Interval:'.
     3a. Set 'From:' to be 500ms.
     3b. Set 'To:' to be 1500ms.

The From: and To: values specified above should work, but may need to be adjusted for optimal results on your device. Once configured, a fast double-click will trigger your devices ‘built-in’ action, while a slow double-click will trigger the TactileClock action.

Power button Double-click action
(click)(click) Trigger the ‘built-in’ action (e.g. open camera).
(click)(pause-for-one-second)(click) Trigger the TactileClock action (i.e. vibrate the time).

Option 3: Use Tasker to trigger time vibration with custom events

Use Tasker to trigger time vibration from hardware buttons, device shake, NFC tags, or any other event your phone supports.

To set this up, create a new task in the Tasker-app, choose an event and then add TactileClock’s vibrate-time action from the “Plugin” category.

Download and source code:

Change log

Version 2.6.2 from June 23rd, 2026

  • Add support for Android 17
  • Rebuild .apk because reproducible build failed for version 2.6.1 on f-droid

Version 2.6.1 from June 21st, 2026

  • Add support for Android 17

Version 2.6.0 from January 18th, 2026

  • Add Tasker integration
  • Add Ukrainian translation

Version 2.5.1 from December 29th, 2025

  • Add stop-clock action to the service notification
  • Add audio ducking during Greenwich time signal playback
  • Update tutorial text

Version 2.5.0 from December 16th, 2025

  • Duration of short and long vibrations configurable in settings
  • Test of time vibration added to tutorial and settings
  • When the screen is turned off and on, either a warning vibration or the current time can be vibrated
  • Greenwich Time Signal plays at the top of every hour
  • Tutorial text revised
  • Spanish translation added
  • Leading zeros in hour and minute field omitted