How to use it
- Set the time with the big hour and minute boxes: type the numbers, or use the arrow buttons (hold one to move fast). In 12 hour mode, pick AM or PM. The line under the time tells you exactly when it will ring, for example "Rings tomorrow at 6:30 AM, in 8 h 12 min".
- Add a label if you like ("Leave for school", "Pizza"), and choose Once, Every day or Weekdays.
- Press Set alarm. That tap also switches on the sound for this page, which browsers only allow after you tap or click something.
- Pick a sound and a volume in the panel and press Test sound to hear it.
- Leave the page open. The clock shows the next alarm and a countdown, and the countdown also appears in the browser tab.
- When it rings, press Stop, or Snooze 5 min or Snooze 10 min. On a keyboard, Space or Enter stops it and S snoozes for 5 minutes.
In a hurry? The quick alarm buttons set an alarm in 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes or in 1 hour straight away, and the common times (6:00 to 8:00) fill in the time for you. Every alarm appears in Your alarms, where you can turn it off and on, edit it or delete it. Alarms and settings are saved in this browser, so they are still there when you come back.
Make sure it rings: tips for computer, iPhone and Android
A web page can only ring while it is open and running. These steps make the difference between an alarm that works and one that stays silent:
- Keep this tab open. If you try to close it while an alarm is set, your browser asks you to confirm first.
- Keep the sound on. Check the volume, and that neither the computer nor this browser tab is muted. If headphones or a Bluetooth speaker are connected, the alarm plays there, not through the built in speakers.
- Keep the device awake. While an alarm is set, the page asks the browser to keep the screen on. Most current browsers allow it; the note under the settings tells you if yours does not.
Windows and Mac computers. A sleeping computer runs nothing, so this alarm cannot wake it. Plug a laptop in and leave the lid open. If it goes to sleep on its own, set sleep to Never while you use the alarm: on Windows in Settings, then System, then Power; on a Mac in System Settings under Battery (or Energy) and Lock Screen. A background tab is fine on a computer: the sound is queued in the browser's audio system ahead of time, so it starts on time even when the browser slows down tabs you are not looking at.
iPhone and iPad. Keep Safari open on this page, in front, with the screen on. If you switch apps or the screen locks, the page stops and the alarm does not sound. If the screen still dims and locks, set Auto-Lock to Never for the night (Settings, then Display and Brightness, then Auto-Lock) and plug the phone in. Sound from web pages can be muted by the Ring/Silent switch or silent mode and uses the media volume, so turn silent mode off and turn the volume up. For the alarm that must wake you for a flight or an exam, use the phone's own Clock app.
Android. Keep Chrome open on this page, in front, with the screen on and the phone plugged in. Set a long screen timeout (Settings, then Display, names vary by phone maker) if the screen still turns off, and turn off battery saver for the night. The alarm plays through the media volume, not the ringer or alarm volume, so raise the media volume.
Why an online alarm can fail, and what this one does about it
Most failures of web alarm clocks come from how browsers save power, not from the clock itself:
- Slowed background tabs. Browsers run timers in hidden tabs less often, so an alarm that counts seconds with a timer can ring late or drift. This page never counts: every check compares your device's clock with the alarm time, and on computers the sound itself is queued ahead of time in the browser's audio system.
- Sleep and locked screens. When a computer sleeps or a phone locks, the page is paused. If the page runs again after the alarm time (you open the laptop, you unlock the phone), it rings at once and shows how late it is, for example "late by 12 min". If the page was closed for more than 3 hours past an alarm, it tells you the alarm was missed instead of ringing out of the blue.
- Sound blocked until you tap. Browsers do not let a page play sound on its own until you interact with it. Setting an alarm, turning one on or testing a sound unlocks it. If the page was reloaded and the browser still holds the sound back, the ringing screen says so: tap anywhere to hear it.
- A tab in the background. The tab title blinks while it rings, and if you allow notifications, you also get a system notification.
If an alarm is left ringing, it stops by itself after 20 minutes and leaves a note on the page.
The alarm sounds
Every sound is made on the spot by your browser's audio system: no sound files are downloaded.
| Sound | What it is like |
|---|---|
| Classic beep | Three square wave beeps and a pause, like a basic digital alarm clock. The most insistent one. |
| Digital | Pairs of short, high pips, like a wristwatch alarm. |
| Gentle chime | Four soft notes going up, then a long pause. Good for naps and reminders. |
| Bell | A two note ding dong with the ringing overtones of a struck bell. |
| Rising | A smooth tone that sweeps up in pitch, over and over. |
| Birds | Quick bird-like chirps and a short trill. Made from tones, not recordings of real birds. |
| Soft pulse | A low hum that swells and fades. The quietest and calmest. |
Start soft and get louder (on by default) begins at a low level and rises to your chosen volume over one minute. Turn it off if you want full volume from the first second.
Ideas for an alarm on your screen
- Power naps. Press In 15 min or In 30 min and choose the gentle chime.
- Cooking and baking. A quick alarm with a label like "Take out the bread" is easier to read from across the kitchen than a phone timer.
- Meetings and calls. Set an alarm 5 minutes before a call, label it with the meeting name, and keep working in another tab.
- Study breaks. Set alarms for the end of each study block and each break, one after another.
- Laundry and parking meters. Anything you need to remember at a set time while you are at the computer.
More clocks on this site: the online clock for a big clock with themes and a second time zone, the flip clock for flipping cards, the night clock for a dim bedside display, and the sunrise alarm, which wakes you with a screen that slowly brightens like a sunrise instead of a sound.
Questions
Will the alarm go off if I close the tab or my computer goes to sleep?
No. The page has to be open and running. If the computer sleeps or the phone locks through the alarm time, it rings as soon as the page runs again and shows how late it is. Keep the tab open and the device awake and plugged in.
Does this alarm clock work on iPhone and Android?
Yes, as long as the page stays open in front with the screen on. Phones pause pages in the background or on a locked screen, and silent mode can mute web page sound. For an alarm you cannot afford to miss, use the phone's own clock app as well.
Why did I not hear anything?
Check the volume, silent mode and whether the tab or browser is muted, and whether headphones or a Bluetooth speaker are connected. Browsers also hold sound back until you tap the page once: setting the alarm does that, and if the ringing screen asks, tap anywhere on it. Use Test sound to check before you rely on it.
Can I set more than one alarm?
Yes. Set as many as you need; each can have its own label and repeat Once, Every day or on Weekdays. Turn them off and on with the switch in Your alarms, edit them or delete them.
How do I stop or snooze the alarm?
Press Stop, or Snooze 5 min or Snooze 10 min on the ringing screen. With a keyboard, Space or Enter stops it and S snoozes it for 5 minutes. A snoozed alarm shows when it will ring again.
Are my alarms saved, and is anything sent anywhere?
Your alarms and settings are saved in this browser on this device only. Nothing is sent to a server, and there is no account or sign up.