How Quizzy keeps everyone on the same clock
Slow Wi-Fi can make a question reach one phone late. Quizzy works out how late, takes that time off the timer, and tells the player if they missed it.
Updated October 28th, 2026
In a quiz, everyone should get the same amount of time for each question. That sounds easy. But every phone gets the question through the internet, and the internet isn’t always quick.
The problem: a message that arrives late
Imagine your teacher shouts “Go!” to start a race. Everyone hears it at once, except one friend wearing headphones. Someone taps them on the shoulder 10 seconds later. They start running, but the race is nearly over.
A phone on slow or patchy Wi-Fi is like that friend. The host says “Go!” and that phone hears it late, sometimes 20 seconds late. Before, the phone started a full timer when the question finally arrived. The player answered, but the host had already closed the question, so their answer didn’t count. It looked like the game was broken.
The fix: one clock everyone can read
Every message in a Quizzy game passes through our server on its way to the phones, a bit like letters going through a post office. The post office has one clock, and that’s the clock everyone uses.
1. Every phone learns the post office’s time
Every few seconds, each phone sends the post office a tiny “hello”. The post office writes back with the time on its clock. The phone checks how long the reply took. If it came back fast, the phone knows the post office’s time very closely. Slow replies are ignored, because they can’t be trusted.
2. The host stamps each question with the time
When the host sends a question, it writes the post office’s time on it, like a postmark on a letter.
3. Each phone checks the stamp
When the question arrives, the phone looks at the stamp and the clock. If the question was sent 8 seconds ago, the phone knows it’s 8 seconds late, and takes 8 seconds off the timer. Everyone’s timer then runs out at the same moment.
4. If the question has already closed
Sometimes a question arrives after its time has run out. Then the player doesn’t get the answer buttons, because the host can’t count an answer any more. Instead a panel slides up from the bottom of their screen. It says their phone fell behind, and lists why that might be. They can tap Sync to the latest question to jump to where the game is now, or just wait: the next question comes as normal. If they close the panel, Why? opens it again.
Does a player lose points because their internet is slow?
No. Speed points count from when the question appeared on the player’s own phone, not from when the host sent it.
Why did a player see “Catching up…”?
Their phone got the question after it had closed. It’s usually weak Wi-Fi, a phone switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data, or the screen locking during the game.
How can players stop this happening?
Sit closer to the Wi-Fi, keep the game open instead of switching apps, and turn on the sun at the top of the screen so the phone doesn’t lock.
What if the host’s internet is slow?
The stamp is written when the host sends the question, so any delay on the host’s side is counted too. Every phone still finishes at the same moment.