Use case
Keep your screen on while cooking
Phones dim and lock after 30 seconds to a few minutes without a touch, and nobody wants to wake a screen with floury fingers. AwakeTab asks your browser for a screen wake lock, so the display stays on for as long as you cook. It works while this tab is on screen, next to the recipe or on its own, and the pill in the tool tells you whether the lock is really held.
Try it
Start a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill.
On this page
Set it up in 30 seconds
- Open this page on the kitchen device.Prop the phone, tablet or laptop where you can read it from the counter. Plug it in if the cook will run long.
- Tap "Keep awake · ∞".The tool is already in cook mode with no end time. In Safari, this tap is also the one the browser needs before it grants the lock. Wait for the pill to read "Screen awake".
- Put the recipe beside it.On an iPad, a laptop or an Android phone in split screen, open the recipe in a window next to AwakeTab. On an iPhone only one app is on screen, so keep this tab in front and use the kitchen timers here.
What to expect while you cook
Cook mode counts up from the moment the screen is held, so you can see how long the onions have had. Tap the big number to pause the count; the screen stays on while it is paused. Add up to three kitchen timers with the 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 min buttons. Each one counts down on its own, chimes and flashes at zero, and keeps running while the count is paused. Cook mode has no end time, so no end-of-session prompt interrupts a recipe.
The pill at the top of the tool tells you what the browser is doing:
- Starting…
- AwakeTab has asked the browser and is waiting for an answer.
- Screen awake
- The browser is holding the lock, so the screen stays on while you cook.
- Paused — tab hidden
- You switched apps, changed tabs or the phone locked. Come back to this tab and AwakeTab asks again.
- Blocked — here's the fix
- The browser said no. The card names the cause, such as Safari wanting one more tap, or Firefox at 5% battery or less while not charging.
Before a long cook
0 of 4 checkedQuestions
My hands are covered in flour. How do I pause without a mess?
Tap the big number with a knuckle or the back of a finger. In cook mode the whole elapsed timer is one large target, so you do not need to hit a small button. The screen stays on while the count is paused, and your kitchen timers keep counting down.
The recipe is in another app. Can I still use AwakeTab?
Yes, if both stay on screen. Put the recipe app and your browser in side by side windows on an iPad, or use split screen on Android. On an iPhone only one app shows at a time, so use the recipe site's own cook mode, or a longer Auto-Lock in Settings > Display & Brightness until you finish.
Will a long braise drain my battery?
The wake lock costs almost nothing; the lit screen is what uses power. For a cook that runs for hours, plug the phone in and turn the brightness down. In Chrome and Edge, AwakeTab can also stop by itself at a battery level you pick in Settings.
Does it keep working if the phone locks?
No. Pressing the side button or letting the phone lock hides the page, and the browser takes the lock back. Unlock it and return to this tab, and AwakeTab asks the browser again.