Binary Clock
Help and user guide for the Binary Clock and Calendar app.
Getting started
Binary Clock begins displaying the current date and time when the app opens. To customise the display, tap the menu button at the bottom of the screen on your phone or tablet.
Understanding the display
The main display shows the date, followed by the day of the week, with the time in the middle of the screen.
shown in 12-hour mode only
In 12-hour mode, a half-filled circle appears near the time. The empty half is on the left for AM and on the right for PM.
The day, month, year, hours and minutes are displayed as binary digits. Seconds can also be shown, and the display updates once every second.
Settings
The settings menu controls the app's appearance, date order, time format, language, seconds display and learning mode.
COLOUR Appearance
- SYSTEM
- Follow the device's current light or dark appearance automatically.
- LIGHT
- Always use light mode.
- DARK
- Always use dark mode.
CALENDAR Date format
- DAYS – MONTHS – YEARS
- Day / Month / Year
- MONTHS – DAYS – YEARS
- Month / Day / Year
TIME Time format and seconds
- TWELVE HOUR
- Use a 12-hour clock with an AM or PM indicator.
- TWENTY-FOUR HOUR
- Use a 24-hour clock.
- SECONDS
- Show or hide the seconds columns. When enabled, the seconds display updates once every second.
LANGUAGE Displayed text
- ENGLISH
- Display day names and Help in English.
- FRANÇAIS
- Display day names and Help in French.
- DEUTSCH
- Display day names and Help in German.
- ESPAÑOL
- Display day names and Help in Spanish.
MISC Additional options
- LEARNING MODE
- Show the date and time in regular numerals below the binary calendar and clock.
- HELP
- Open this online help and user guide in the selected language.
Reading binary numbers
Each decimal digit is represented by four binary values. A filled dot represents 1; an unfilled or grey dot represents 0. The app displays these four values vertically because this gives the clock a cleaner layout.
Binary values from 0 to 9
| Binary numeral | Value |
|---|---|
| 0 0 0 0 | 0 |
| 0 0 0 1 | 1 |
| 0 0 1 0 | 2 |
| 0 0 1 1 | 3 |
| 0 1 0 0 | 4 |
| 0 1 0 1 | 5 |
| 0 1 1 0 | 6 |
| 0 1 1 1 | 7 |
| 1 0 0 0 | 8 |
| 1 0 0 1 | 9 |
Reading the time
Read the columns from left to right, just as you would read an ordinary digital clock. Each column represents one decimal digit. When seconds are enabled, two additional columns appear after the hour and minute columns.
09:33:12
16:49:35
Reading the date
The date uses the same column-based system. Read each binary column from top to bottom and then move from left to right across the display. The order of day and month follows the calendar format selected in Settings.
Learning mode
Learning Mode shows the date and time in conventional numerals below the binary display. This lets you compare each group of dots with the familiar value while learning how the system works.
Once you are comfortable reading the binary columns, switch Learning Mode off to show only the dot-based display.
Further help
For questions, feedback or support relating to Binary Clock, use the website contact form.