How to use the online alarm clock
Waking at 5:40 pm gives you time to shake off sleep before the heating engineer arrives to inspect the gas boiler. The alarm marks the moment to get up, open the curtains and check that the area around the boiler is accessible. With 6:00 pm approaching, there is still a useful twenty-minute window to become alert, put on something presentable and have any paperwork about the heating ready.
Because an engineer’s arrival can be masked by a television, extractor fan or traffic outside, the alarm signal needs to be clearly audible from where you are sleeping. The selected volume can be checked beforehand without relying on a quiet room, and headphones should not be left connected if they would take the sound away from the room. If the browser alarm stops running or the phone falls asleep, no signal will sound, which could leave the boiler engineer waiting unanswered.
After getting up for this late-afternoon appointment, avoid treating 5:40 pm as the start of the day if you intend to sleep again later. Keeping the lights fairly low and preparing only what the boiler visit requires can make the remaining rest easier to return to. A glass of water and a brief stretch may help you feel ready for the conversation without turning the short waking period into a full evening routine.
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 5:40 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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