How to use the online alarm clock
You’re halfway through a job at home when you realise you must break off at 5:20 pm to meet the engineer arriving for the gas boiler check. An alarm at that exact time gives you a clear stopping point, while 6:00 pm remains far enough away for the visit to begin without making the whole afternoon feel on hold.
Because your attention is already on something else, the alarm needs a reliable place to keep running. Set it on a phone or computer that can stay powered and awake, then leave the browser page open while you continue. If the alert cannot run, the boiler engineer may be left waiting outside while you remain absorbed in your task, so a separate phone reminder is sensible when the screen might sleep before 5:20 pm.
When you need to leave your current task and meet someone at this point in the afternoon, allow for the journey rather than treating 5:20 pm as the moment to set off. UK roads can be getting busier with school pickups and early commuter traffic, even on a familiar local route. Check the expected travel time shortly beforehand, add a small margin for parking, and aim to arrive before the engineer does.
Common questions
Can I change the sound?
Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.
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.
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