How to set an alarm
- Add an alarm and set the time.
- Give it a label, like "Take the laundry out" or "Call the dentist back", so you know what it's for.
- Pick a sound and press the test button to hear it at your current volume.
- Check the line that says how long until it rings, for example "rings in 7 h 12 min". If it says 19 hours when you expected 7, you picked PM instead of AM.
- Leave the page open. The alarm can only ring while it's open.
Up to five alarms, each with its own label and sound
You can keep up to 5 alarms. Each one has its own time, label, sound and on/off switch, so you can keep the ones you use often and switch them on when you need them.
There are no repeat days: an alarm doesn't know about weekdays or weekends. Use the switch to turn alarms on and off.
Your alarms are saved in this browser. There's no account, so they won't show up on another device, and clearing your browser data removes them.
Snooze, sounds and the test button
When an alarm goes off, you can stop it or snooze it for 5 minutes.
Choose from Bell, Chime, Wood, Beep and Gentle, and set the volume. Press the test button once after you set an alarm. It's the quickest way to find out the tab is muted, the volume is low or your headphones are still plugged in.
If you turn on browser notifications and allow them, you also get a notification when an alarm rings.
Why the tab must stay open and the device awake
A web page can't set an alarm in your operating system. This alarm lives in the tab, so it only rings while the page is open and the device is awake. If either one fails, the alarm can be late or silent.
- Don't close the tab. It can sit in the background behind other tabs.
- Don't let the computer sleep. Closing a laptop lid or letting the computer go to sleep stops the page. For a long nap, plug it in and check its sleep settings.
- Keep the sound on. Check the system volume, the volume in the alarm clock and whether the tab is muted.
Using the alarm clock on a phone
Phones are strict about pages in the background. If you switch apps or the screen locks, the browser may freeze the page, and the alarm can ring late or not at all. On a phone, keep the page open on screen and the phone plugged in. Like the other tools, the alarm clock asks the browser to keep the screen awake while it runs, on browsers that support it.
On iPhone, the silent switch can mute the alarm, and a page can't play any sound until you've tapped it. Press the test button after you set the alarm: if you hear it, sound is working on that page.
For a wake-up alarm that must not fail, also set one in your phone's own clock app. Use this one as a big bedside clock and a backup, not as your only alarm.
A big clock in 12-hour or 24-hour time
The page shows a large live clock you can read from across the room. Switch between 12-hour time (7:30 PM) and 24-hour time (19:30), whichever you're used to.
Go full screen (F on a computer) to fill the screen with the clock, which is handy on a spare monitor or a laptop at the side of your desk. At night, the Graphite theme is black and easier on the eyes in a dark room.
Good uses for an online alarm clock
- Naps: set the time you want to be up and nap at your desk or on the couch with the laptop open and plugged in. If you think in minutes rather than clock times, the Timer does the same job.
- Reminders at a set time: a call at 2:30, leaving for school pickup, the moment registration opens.
- Waking at a desk: when you work late or rest between tasks at a computer that stays on, a loud alarm in an open tab does the job.