Our Rating
Summary:
3.9
An artificial dawn can be a great way to wake up in the morning. The only problem is that some sunrise alarms turn on and they’re already so bright at an introductory level that they wake you up immediately. That’s not the case with the Vansky Wake Up Light and Sunrise Alarm. Over the course of 30 minutes, this alarm clock begins at a 1% brightness instead of 10% or 25%, greatly reducing the risks of waking up too early when the light turns on.
You’ll also find these features are quite beneficial when you have the Vanksy sunrise alarm sitting next to your bed.
- There is a limited audio snooze function on this alarm clock. The audio sounds for 2 minutes at the designated time. If you hit the snooze button, the audio will shut off for 5 minutes and then play again on a 2-minute cycle.
- You have access to 6 natural sounds and an FM radio.
- There are 11 levels of brightness that can be selected if using this product as a bedside lamp.
- It offers a 7-color light that can act as an atmosphere lamp or as a nightlight for your room.
- You’re able to charge this alarm clock with a USB or it can be powered with AAA batteries.
Key Observations from Our Use of the Vanksy Wake-Up Light
To get the most out of this sunrise alarm, it is important to only press one key at a time on the unit. Pressing two or more keys at once will usually cause a malfunction to occur on the alarm clock, which requires you to reset it. Just unplug the unit for a few seconds and it works fine again. This issue only comes into play when you’re trying to hit the snooze button in the morning.
One nice feature with this clock is that you can control the brightness of the clock display in addition to the actual light. The controls are on the back of the unit, however, so they aren’t very easy to access when you’re lying in bed and want to make a change.
As for the FM radio, it will scan and present your stations based on the strength of your local signal. You do not have the option to set your own stations. The volume on the radio seems to have reset in our test to use it as an alarm option. It was so quiet that it could be barely heard, even though we had it set on the loudest setting during the programming of the unit.
The controls on this unit are clear, however, and once you figure out how to set it up, the sunrise alarm will do exactly what it says it can do.
Our Grade for the Vansky Wake Up Light and Sunrise Alarm: A-
This is an affordable wake-up light that gets most of the basics right and has several premium features that not every alarm clock in this category offers. It is a little difficult to use and the button placement and sensitivity can be somewhat frustrating. On the whole, however, this is a sunrise alarm that gets the job done.
