How to use the online alarm clock
Pulling yourself away from a job at 3:56 pm is easier when an alarm marks the moment to leave and meet your child after their GCSE exam. Set it before returning to what you are doing, then keep your keys and coat nearby. With 4:00 pm almost here, those few minutes are enough to finish a sentence or save your work, but not to begin another task.
While you concentrate, this alarm page may slip behind another tab, so check that its sound is allowed and leave the page running. A tab in the background can still reach the set time, although browser settings may silence or pause it. If the page is closed or the phone falls asleep, the alarm will not sound, and your child could be left waiting after the exam. A separate phone alarm is a sensible backup when being there at a specific time matters.
Meeting your child in the late afternoon can divide the day between work and the journey home. If you were resting before 3:56 pm, decide beforehand whether the alarm ends that sleep or merely pauses it; a second alarm later can protect the remaining rest without tempting you to ignore the first one. Keep the first alarm’s label specific, so waking means getting up for the exam collection rather than drifting back to sleep.
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 3:56 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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