How to use the online alarm clock
Waking at 11:57 am with the housing inspector due leaves no room for a slow start. The alarm marks the moment to get up, open the curtains and make sure the rented home is ready before 12:00 pm. Keep the keys and any tenancy paperwork where you can pick them up immediately rather than searching while the inspector waits outside.
With the inspection still ahead, keep this alarm page visible after setting it and check that your sound is turned up. If you move to another tab, the browser may reduce activity on the page, particularly when the phone is conserving power, so return here shortly before the alert is due. Do not depend on this alarm as the only prompt for meeting the inspector: it cannot sound if the page has been closed or the phone has gone to sleep.
A late-morning inspection may coincide with neighbours leaving for lunch, delivery vans stopping nearby and traffic building towards noon. Listen for the buzzer from a quieter room, and move away from a running washing machine, television or extractor fan. At 11:57 am, keeping the hallway calm for the next few minutes makes it easier to hear the inspector arrive and answer promptly.
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 11:57 am?
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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