How are Moonfade Pro's editable presets different from built-in presets?

Moonfade's free version offers five built-in quick presets: 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 minutes. Moonfade Pro unlocks five editable presets instead, so you can set your own quick durations (Moonfade). The dial already covers 1 minute to 24 hours for free, so the presets are about saving a few seconds on repeat durations, not about unlocking longer timers.

Built-in presets: five fixed durations

The free version gives you a short row of ready-made durations — 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 minutes (Moonfade). Select one and the timer duration is set. This set suits common round-number choices: a 30-minute podcast, a 45-minute album, or 90 minutes of background audio while you read.

The limitation is flexibility. If your typical session is 25 minutes or 75 minutes, the closest fixed preset is either short or long, and you either use the dial or accept the mismatch. The five built-in values are covered in more detail in What are Moonfade's five built-in timer presets?.

Pro's five editable presets: your durations, kept in place

Moonfade Pro's optional one-time Google Play purchase unlocks five editable presets (Moonfade). The count stays at five; what changes is that the duration behind each preset is yours to set, so the quick row reflects your actual habits rather than default values.

This matters if you repeatedly start sessions of the same odd length — 25 minutes for one kind of podcast, 50 minutes for another, or a value tuned to when you usually stop. Editable presets let that value be one tap away instead of a dial adjustment every time.

This article describes the difference between the two preset sets. For which features sit behind Pro overall, see Which Moonfade features are free and which require Pro?.

What a preset does not change

A preset chooses a duration; the separate ending settings determine what Moonfade requests afterward. With Stop audio & video enabled, countdown completion starts the configured 0–60-second media-volume fade, followed by an audio-focus request to pause playback. Moonfade then separately requests display lock when Turn off the screen is enabled. Disabling Stop audio & video skips both fade and audio focus. These requests do not prove that the player paused or the physical display locked.

• The countdown still runs for the full duration you chose.
• The 0–60-second media-volume fade still begins after the countdown ends, followed by a request to pause playback — not during the countdown (Moonfade). See Does Moonfade fade audio before or after the countdown ends?.
• The fade length is a separate setting from the preset duration. See How do I choose a Moonfade fade length between 0 and 60 seconds?.
• Whether a specific media app pauses remains player- and device-dependent; Moonfade lowers the media-volume stream and requests audio focus, but cannot guarantee a pause.

Planning your own preset values

These are illustrations of how to reason about values, not claims about default settings.

1. Two typical session lengths. Pick the two durations you use most, one for each type of media, and assign them to the first two editable presets. Leave the other three for occasional choices.
2. A shorter buffer value. If you often extend a session by a small amount from the timer notification, set one editable preset near a shorter value so a fresh session starts at the right place. Notification add/subtract controls are described in How do I extend an active Moonfade timer from its notification?.
3. A long background value. If you leave music or ambient audio running while reading or working, a longer editable preset saves dial turns.
4. Values you can remember. A row of five familiar numbers is easier to use when you are half-awake than five arbitrary ones. If you cannot recall which preset is which, the row stops being quick.

If the built-in 15/30/45/60/90 set already matches your sessions, staying on the free version is a reasonable choice — Pro's presets matter most when your repeat durations fall outside those values.

How to start a timer with a preset

1. Start playback in your usual media app.
2. Open Moonfade and select the preset you want — or use the dial for 1 minute to 24 hours (Moonfade).
3. Tap Start. In the current version, complete the prompted Android Device Admin activation for screen lock before the countdown can begin. See Why does Moonfade ask for Device Admin before starting a timer?.
4. Leave the timer notification in place so you can add time, subtract time, or stop the timer.

If your player does not respond to the ending, check What does Stop audio & video do in Moonfade Settings? and Should I test Moonfade again after switching media apps?.

Presets are stored locally

Moonfade does not require an account. Timer settings, presets, themes, and fade choices are stored locally (Moonfade). That has two practical consequences:

• Clearing app data or uninstalling removes your edited preset values. Android backup and device transfer are disabled for Moonfade, so they do not move to a different installation. See What happens to Moonfade settings and Pro if I clear app data?.
• Clearing local data does not remove an eligible Pro purchase recorded by Google Play. If Pro is not active after a reinstall, use Restore purchase on the Moonfade Pro screen with the Google Play account that made the purchase; see How do I restore a Moonfade Pro purchase?.

Local storage does not mean no data is collected. The free version may show Google Mobile Ads, and advertising and consent services can process data as described in the privacy policy.

FAQ

Do editable presets replace the built-in 15/30/45/60/90 values? In Pro you have five editable presets to set yourself. The built-in set remains the free version's quick row; whether your edited values resemble them is up to you.

Do I need Pro to set a timer of any length? No. The dial covers 1 minute to 24 hours in the free version. Pro's presets are a shortcut for repeat durations.

Will my edited presets move to a new phone? No. They are stored locally and Android backup and device transfer are disabled for Moonfade. You would set them again on the new device; an eligible Pro purchase can be restored from Google Play. See Will my Moonfade presets and settings transfer to a new phone?.

Next step

Open Moonfade and note whether your two or three most common session lengths already fall in the 15/30/45/60/90 set. If they do not and you have Pro, set them as presets; then run one short test timer with your usual player to confirm the ending behaves as expected. Get Moonfade on Google Play