To use Alarm.now on an iPhone or Android, open the alarm page in your phone's browser, set your time, and leave the browser tab open with the screen awake until it rings. There's nothing to download and no account to make. It runs in the browser, so the key is keeping that tab open and the phone from sleeping.
Key points
- Open the alarm tool in your phone's browser - No app, no sign-up.
- It runs in the browser, so the tab must stay open and the screen must stay awake.
- It does not push notifications like a phone app, and it won't wake a sleeping phone.
- Alarms are saved on that phone only, with no sync to other devices.
- Test it once so you know your phone won't lock the screen and cut the sound.
How it works on a phone
Alarm.now is a website, not a phone app. When you open it in Safari on iPhone or Chrome on Android, the alarm runs inside that browser tab. That's the whole trick - And the whole catch.
It's different from your phone's built-in Clock app. The built-in alarm can ring even when the screen is off, because the phone's system runs it. A browser alarm can't do that. If the browser tab closes or the screen locks and the phone sleeps, the alarm has nothing to run on.
So it works great as long as you keep the tab open and the screen on.
Set an alarm on your phone in 5 steps
Here's the full process:
- Open the online alarm clock in Safari (iPhone) or Chrome (Android).
- Set your time - A preset like the 7:00 AM alarm loads ready to go.
- Pick a sound and turn your phone's volume up.
- Tap Set, then leave the browser open on that page.
- Keep the screen awake until the alarm rings (more on that below).
That's it. The page counts down to your time and plays the sound.
Keep the screen awake so it rings
This is the part that trips people up. Phones lock the screen to save battery, often after 30 seconds. A locked screen usually pauses the browser tab, and a paused tab can't ring.
Here's how to stop that:
| Phone | What to change | Where |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | Auto-Lock to Never (or longer) | Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock |
| Android | Screen timeout to a long time | Settings > Display > Screen timeout |
| Both | Plug in to charge | Stops battery-saver from sleeping it |
Set the screen timeout long, plug the phone in, and leave the Alarm.now tab open and on top. Then your alarm has what it needs to ring.
What it can and can't do
Let's be straight about the limits, so nothing surprises you:
- It can't ring with the screen off or the browser closed.
- It won't send a push notification or buzz you like the Clock app.
- It doesn't sync - An alarm set on your phone won't show up on your laptop.
- It can be muted by accident, so keep the tab and phone unmuted.
None of that is a flaw. It's just how a browser alarm works. If you'd rather not lean on your phone at all, see how to wake up on time without a phone alarm.
Save and find your alarms
Your alarms are stored right on that phone, with no account. You can see and manage them on the My Alarms page. Because they live on the device, an alarm you set on your phone stays on your phone. If you want the same alarm on your computer, you set it there too.
Want to send a friend the same alarm? You can with how to share an alarm link with someone else.
Test it before you trust it
Before you rely on it overnight, do a dry run. Set an alarm for a minute from now, lock nothing, and watch what happens. If your screen times out and the sound stops, fix the auto-lock setting and try again. A 60-second test now saves a missed alarm later.
TL;DR
Open the online alarm clock in Safari or Chrome, set your time, and keep the browser tab open with the screen awake until it rings. It runs in the browser, so it can't ring with the screen off, won't push notifications, and saves alarms only on that phone. Set your screen timeout long, plug in, and test it once before you trust it.