How to use the online alarm clock
Between three and six, most households are managing some kind of handover: work to home, school to training. An alarm for 5:17 pm helps keep it on schedule. Set it here and it'll ring right on 5:17 pm until you tell it to stop.
After picking a tone, press Start and leave the page open. It doesn't need an internet connection once it's running, but it does need the tab itself to stay open, so avoid closing the browser or letting the device fall asleep before the time is reached.
Some people use this alongside a phone alarm rather than instead of it: a louder backup through laptop speakers, or a way to set a reminder without touching a phone at all. It won't survive the tab closing or the device sleeping, so for anything critical overnight, keep a second alarm running as well. On a 24-hour clock 5:17 pm is written 17:17, and spoken aloud it's seventeen minutes past five in the evening. Timetables and rosters may show it as 17:17, and handwritten notes as 5.17 pm. Setting the alarm to 5:17 pm tomorrow morning works the same way: if the time has gone for today, the count runs through to it.
Common questions
Can I change the alarm sound?
Yes, there's a short list of tones to choose from before you press Start. Pick whichever one you're most likely to actually hear — softer sounds are easier to sleep through than a firm chime or bell.
What happens once the alarm goes off?
It rings through your device's speakers on a loop until you stop it from this page. There's no separate app notification, so make sure your volume is turned up before you rely on it.
Is this alarm accurate across daylight saving time?
It uses your device's local clock, so as long as your computer's time and date settings are correct, it'll adjust automatically when daylight saving time starts or ends.
Can I use this on my phone instead of a laptop?
Yes, it works in a mobile browser the same way, but phones are more likely to lock the screen or sleep, which can stop the alarm from ringing. A laptop or desktop tends to be more reliable for this.