Is my Bodyclock STARTER 25 normal?

Hi, this is my first post here, and I've seen a few posts that are similar to this, but not quite the same! I bought a Bodyclock STARTER 25 a couple of weeks ago (my second attempt - I bought my first from Boots and it just plain didn't work, so I ordered another from this site) and I'm not sure whether it's behaving as it's meant to... There are two things that concern me - the first is that the sunrise will only seem to work in the morning if i've turned the light on and off again after I set the alarm. I don't want to use the light as a bedside lamp so it's a bit annoying (although no real bother) to have to do this. I forgot to do it last night, so only got the audible alarm with no sunrise. Is that normal?
Also, I've seen threads about how quickly the sunrise lights up, and I've tested mine several times (making sure to leave at least 30 mins before the alarm time for it to work fully) and what happens is that the light turns on full over about 15 seconds and then just stays that way for the rest of the 30 mins. I was under the impression that the sunrise was more gradual than that, ie actually taking place over the course of the 30 mins. Is my sunrise working how it's meant to?
Sorry for all the questions - it's taken me years to convince myself to buy one of these clocks, and now I'm not even sure if it's working as it should!!
I truly appreciate any help :)