How to use the online alarm clock
As you finish what you are doing and head away for the night, set the 11:33 pm alarm as your cue to listen to the Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4. It gives you a clear prompt before 12:00 am, without making you keep checking the clock while you put things away or settle into your final evening routine.
Once the alarm is set, leaving its browser page behind another app or page can make its status easy to overlook, so return briefly and check that it is still running before you move on. Keep the sound audible and avoid relying on a muted phone. If the browser page is closed or the phone goes to sleep, the alarm may not sound, and the Shipping Forecast could pass without your reminder.
Finishing at 11:33 pm leaves 27 minutes before midnight, which can serve as a useful buffer rather than space for another lengthy task. Keep that interval for the broadcast, tidying the radio area, or completing one small job that will not run into the next day. If something else must happen later that evening, note its time separately so this alarm remains tied to listening rather than carrying several reminders at once.
Common questions
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
What happens if my laptop goes to sleep before 11:33 pm?
The tab sleeps along with it and the alarm will not sound on time, if at all. If you are relying on it, change the power settings so the machine stays awake, or keep a phone alarm running as well.
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