XREXS Digital Kitchen Timer Magnetic Countdown Up Cooking Timer Loud Alarm and Mute Optional, Magnet and Stand, Large Display Classroom Timer for Teachers (2 Batteries Included) Upgraded Version

This review is specifically for the “XREXS Digital Kitchen Timer Magnetic Countdown Up Cooking Timer Loud Alarm and Mute Optional, Magnet and Stand, Large Display Classroom Timer for Teachers (2 Batteries Included) Upgraded Version”……note the UPGRADED VERSION” detail since Amazon includes both the “OLD VERSION” and THIS version on the same listing, which is confusing and also results in sloppy reviewers not making it clear WHICH version they are writing about. This product appears to have no model number.I have had a handful of old ‘digital countdown timers’ for several decades (probably 40 years or so), which Radio Shack sold as the “Micronta 63-880”, and I used them for all sorts of applications around the house and shop where I needed to know when a certain amount of time had elapsed. Those old ones worked great for kitchen timers, shop timers, in my home recording studio to remind me when it was time to change the tapes/CDs/whatever's in my duplicators, by my recliner to wake me up after naps. But I wanted to update my collection of those timers with some new ones, and was frustrated because so many ‘digital kitchen timers’ are designed to be set using a single button that needs to be held down, like setting a digital watch. Those old Micronta ones had a 0~0 keypad for direct entering of desired time values, e.g; press 1 5 3 0 to set up the timer to count down from 15 minutes and 30 seconds, and that is a critical feature I wanted. I have tried some other newer ones that DO have the keypad feature, but they often had very weak audible alarms, or depleted their batteries very quickly, or simply were of low quality and quit working after a while.After some trial, error and experimentation, I have settled on this XREXS Digital Kitchen Timer and have purchased a few of them. In this review I will share various details in order to help out others who might be considering buying one or more of these.This is a digital count up/count down timer. This means that you can enter the desired time value (in the Hours:Minutes:Seconds 00:00:00 format) and the counter will start with that and count down the time until 00:00:00 and then sound an audible alarm and also give a visual indication. The counter retains the same entered time value until you press the RESET button, thus allowing you to easily repeat the same timing period without needing to re-enter it each time. The counter ALSO can count up from 00:00:00, and this is useful when you want to know how long some event takes; it can be used as a stop watch or to time any other event.Besides the ten numeric buttons, there are two more buttons “STOP/RESET” and “START”. For use as a countdown timer, typically you will press “STOP/RESET” to make sure that any old timing value is deleted, then use the numeric buttons to directly enter the desired time value, followed by pressing “START” to begin the timed countdown. If the counter is currently timing (either up or down) and you press “STOP/RESET” the counting will pause, and may either be reset to 00:00:00 by pressing “STOP/RESET” again, or timing will resume by pressing “START”. If the counter is currently on 00:00:00 (rather than some entered time value) and you press “START”, the counter will count UP until you press “STOP/RESET”. This is all very intuitive and easy to remember.One thing that is a bit confusing is that this counter will allow you to enter ANY numeric value, even if it does not make sense, e.g; you can enter 74 into the Minutes or Seconds fields, even though there should not be any value greater than 59 in either field. The counter deals with such unusual entries by dutifully just ignoring the unusually large value in any field, counting down until that field resets and rolls over past 00 to a more appropriate value of 59 in the field, after which it will always be no greater than 59. If you enter 3:74 (3 Minutes and 74 seconds) and press “START”, the seconds field will count down from 74 to 00, and then roll over to 59 at the same time the minutes field decrements from 3 to 2, and then all will be back to the normal expected countdown sequence. Just be careful when entering time values, because since this counter’s logic does not check for conventionally valid inputs, your timed interval might end up being longer than you intended (especially if the invalid number is in the Minutes field), and this could mess up any process that you are trying to time. When using this counter as an ‘up timer/stop watch’, it follows normal conventions. Note, I decided to test my old Micronta timers and discovered that they ALSO behaved in this same way, not preventing invalid entries, but dealing with them in the same rational way. It is possible to set a time value up to 99:99:99 for countdown, and in count up mode it will time up to 99:59:59.All buttons are of a soft rubbery material, but have a good feel and clear silk-screens legends on them.When the counter times down to 00:00:00, the audible alarm will sound. This is fairly loud, and should be easily heard in another room of the house, at least if you are not more than one room away from where the timer is located. It initially has a politely low volume and the sound is “di-di……di-di……di-di……”, then if you do not press “STOP” after a few seconds, the volume of the beeping increases noticeably, but the beep pattern continues for perhaps 10 seconds. If you still don’t acknowledge the alarm, it keeps the same louder volume but becomes more aggressive by changing the beep pattern to “di-di-di…… di-di-di…… di-di-di……”, and after a longer interval to allow you to respond, it finally goes to a continuous “di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di-di”. At the same time the audible alarm is sounding, a red LED on the front of the counter will flash in time with the beeps; it does not get any brighter, and always flashes with the same level of intensity. I find this visual indicator to be of minimal value for my own needs, because it is neither large or very bright. HOWEVER, you might have situations where an audible alarm will wake the baby or something, and wish to just use the visual alarm (in which case the counter will need to be right in front of you and in easy view), and for this a switch on the side of the counter allows you to disable the audible alarm. Note that if you lay the counter on its back on a table, etc; the loudness of the audible alarm is somewhat diminished.The counter’s display is an LCD type, non-backlit and monochrome (not color). The LCD is “passive”, so all display light comes from the ambient light in the room, which passes through the LCD to the rear where a mirrored surface reflects it back out through the LCD again so you can see the display. This means that this display is very hard to read in low-light environments. The LCD’s “viewing cone” (viewing angle) is quite good from side angles, but poor from higher or lower; this means that you can read the display easily when viewed from one side or another, but not so well when viewed from above or below. The LCD numeric digits are about 5/8” (15mm) tall.During any time when the counter is actively incrementing or decrementing (i.e. it is not stopped at 00:00:00 or paused), a set of eight special segments on the display, located above the numerical 00:00:00 readout, will indicate in a repeating sequence like a theater marquee, at a rate of 1 second per segment. I suppose this might be useful to help you instantly recognize whether the counter is actively timing or not, perhaps out of the corner of your eye or something, without needing to really look at the numerical display to see if the digits are changing.There are two indicators on the LCD which are always present while the counter is ON; one is an hourglass symbol and appears to be there simply to let the user know that the device is a timer, and the other is an image of a traditional wind-up alarm clock……I assumed that this would be visible only when the audible alarm is enabled (NOT disabled), but no, it is always visible.The counter turns itself off after a period of non-activity, but can be turned back on by pressing any of the buttons. This should extend battery life, but there are no specifications on this and I have not had any of mine for long enough to get a feel for low long the batteries can be expected to last. The counter uses 2x “AAA” size cells (batteries) which can be alkaline or lithium; a pair of these cells are provided with each counter, but nothing on them indicates their type. NOTE: The included AAA cells have a transparent plastic wrap which prevents their end terminals from making electrical contact with the battery clips. You will need to remove this plastic wrap before the counter will work; the included user manual does mention this as a reminder.The counter normally rests on its bottom edge, which is angled so that the face of the counter slopes backwards a few degrees for better visibility. It may also be laid flat on its back, and another option is to flip out a little foot on the top of the rear panel so that when the counter is on its back it still has a shallow upwards slope to the face for better visibility. For use as a stop watch (or any time you have a portable application for the counter), the same little foot can be flipped upwards so it extends past the top edge of the counter, and the included lanyard can be attached here so that the counter will hang from your wrist. If you supply a larger lanyard, the counter can be hung around your neck. The rear panel of the counter has two embedded neodymium magnets, allowing the counter to be stuck onto sides of appliances, steel office furniture, etc; I found that while these magnets are strong enough to keep the counter from falling, they are too weak to prevent the counter from sliding around while you try to use the buttons.The counter’s dimensions are 3” (7.5cm) wide, 2.5” (6.5cm) tall, and 7/8” (2.3cm) thick/deep. It weighs 2.7oz (76g).The included User Manual is a single small slip of paper, printed in English on one side and what I assume is Chinese on the other side. Unlike many products originating in China, at least the English text seems fairly well written and is understandable and covers all main aspects of using the product.

This timer is very sturdy. The read-out is large and very clear. The buzzer is good and loud and easy to hear in other parts of the house. Just be aware that the read-out is only minutes and seconds, no hours. But the full 0-9 "keyboard" makes it very fast to enter a time. Also, the time is accurate: I tested them against 2 other kitchen timers I own as well as an electric clock.

Grateful for an electronic timer with a keyboard. BUT, its admitted flaw is the "loud" timer. It can wake a baby, scare an animal, and make me jump (which, at least, is good exercise). The on-off alarm option spares you while setting the time. However, leaving it turned off to avoid the sound is counter-productive. How about a volume control button instead?

Designed well. Easy to see and numbers are far enough apart so you don't hit 2 buttons by mistake. Timer is very loud, no problem hearing when it goes off. Magnet is strong enough to hold on top of sloped exhaust hood.

Easy to set. Works well. However the magnets won’t hold it on the fridge.

Easy to use. I keep it on the frig so I don't lose it. Does what it should.

The design of this timer is great, in terms of actually having buttons that allow you to easily set hours, minutes and seconds. So many timers today just have a single button for hours or minutes that you have to press repeatedly to increment the numbers.However, the tiny magnets on this timer cannot support the weight of the timer. When I place this timer on my fridge door (like every other timer I've ever had), it just slides down to the floor. It's a shame, because other wise it would have been a great timer.

This is a replacement for an identical unit (albeit with a different brand name painted on it) that we used for many years until it fell in a sink full of water. These are not waterproof!The number buttons make it very easy and quick to set the desired countdown time. You can also easily start it to count up. The alarm is loud enough to hear anywhere in our modest apartment. The display is large enough without being obnoxious, and is about as readable as an unlit monochrome LCD can be -- fine for the kitchen. Despite being easy to read and control, the timer does not take up much space.This is only a timer, not a clock. That is a good thing. You never have to set the time, and it automatically shuts off a little while after you stop the timer, so the batteries last a very long time. We have plenty of clocks on other appliances and our phones, so we don't miss one here.I would not recommend using the magnet to hold this timer on an appliance, because the magnet projects far out from the center of the back of the timer. If you push any of the buttons towards either side of the timer, that will rock the timer and pop the magnet off the surface of the appliance. You could just stick the timer there and pull it off to push the buttons, but that might be tricky to do without using two (clean and dry) hands.Instead, we use the fold-out leg that stands the timer up. That makes it easily accessible, but not particularly stable, because it is lightweight and the leg supports it at only one point behind the timer. We usually grab it to press the start or stop button with a pinching motion with fingers behind the timer and a thumb pressing the button. This would be hard to do if it were stuck to a metal appliance, because there is not enough space to get your fingers behind the timer without popping it off the appliance. We do usually hold or pick it up to press the number buttons using two hands -- not because they require much pressure to push, but because the timer will scoot around or fall over if you just push at a button from the front. I bent a paperclip into a shape to hold the fold-out leg a little further away from the body than the built-it clip does. That makes it slightly more stable.Finally, I like the reasonably large, soft, long-travel buttons. They are not the smooth, clicky membrane switches found on many devices. Membrane switches are easier to clean and are potentially waterproof, but I find the buttons on this timer easier and more pleasant to press, cleaning was really never an issue, and they worked reliably for years.So while the stand and magnet could be improved, and making it waterproof would be nice, this still seems like the best simple kitchen timer I can find.