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In a computer-based test like JEE Main, your exam clock is set on the exam server, not on the machine in front of you. That is why a frozen screen should cost you a wait, not exam time, as long as you report it the right way.
What does NTA say happens if the computer stops working?
The JEE Main 2027 information bulletin sets out the rule in Appendix III, its computer-based test guidelines: "In case the computer/mouse allotted to any candidate malfunctions during the test, he/she will be immediately allotted another computer system and the time lost due to this will be adjusted in the server so as to give the candidate the full allotted time."
The same appendix explains why this is possible: "The on-screen computer clock counter of every candidate will be set at the server," and the exam ends by itself when your countdown timer reaches zero. NTA printed the same rule in earlier years too, for example in the JEE Main 2021 information bulletin.
The 2027 bulletin also says candidates "may approach the Centre Superintendent/Invigilator in the room for any technical assistance" (para 8.7).
What should you do the moment the screen freezes?
The 2027 bulletin shapes most of these steps. It lists "tampering, pausing or altering test timer" and "trying to hack the test software" as unfair means (para 9.1), and warns that a candidate who changes their allotted seat or fails to sit at their assigned computer may face cancellation (para 8.5).
Take your hands off the mouse and raise your hand. Do not restart, unplug or keep clicking.
On your rough sheet, write the time, the question number and the time left on your timer, if you saw it.
Tell the invigilator in one or two sentences (script below).
Stay in your seat until staff move you. Do not pick another computer yourself.
On the new system, check the timer before you read a single question. If it looks short, say so straight away.
Check the question palette. The bulletin's instructions say "To save your answer, you must click on the Save & Next button," so the question you were in the middle of may show as unanswered.
How is the lost time restored? A worked example
JEE Main Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) lasts 3 hours for most candidates, according to para 2.5 of the 2027 bulletin. Say your paper starts at 9:00 and your screen freezes at 10:12. You have used 72 minutes, so your timer shows 108 minutes left.
Staff move you and you log in again at 10:20, so 8 minutes have passed. Under the server-clock rule, your new screen should still show about 108 minutes, not 100. You would then finish at about 12:08 by the wall clock, while others in your room finish at 12:00. Don't let their leaving rush you: those 8 minutes are yours.
What if you think time was lost or answers are missing?
Sometimes the problem is bigger than one computer. On 22 January 2025, NTA rescheduled JEE Main for 114 candidates at a Bengaluru centre "due to unavoidable reason of technical snag", moving them to 28 or 29 January, according to Careers360's report of the NTA notice.
If you believe your time was not restored, act early. The 2027 bulletin says there will be no re-evaluation or re-checking of the result (para 11.4), and that a grievance arising out of the result is entertained only if raised within 30 days of its declaration (para 12.3).
Before you leave, ask the invigilator to note what happened and when.
That evening, write down your centre, shift and times.
NTA displays each candidate's recorded responses on the website before results (para 11.2). Download yours and check that the answers you saved are there.
Contact the NTA helpline on 011-40759000 or 011-69227700, or email jeemain@nta.ac.in (para 12.1 of the bulletin).
How can you prepare for a glitch before exam day?
Sit the NTA's official mock tests for JEE Main and learn the buttons and review flags on the JEE Main computer-based test screen until Save & Next after every answer is a habit. Then, if your system fails, little of your work should be left unsaved.
Say the invigilator script aloud once before the exam. For the nerves themselves, see what reappraisal studies found about treating exam nerves as energy.
If a topic falls apart under pressure in your mocks, the Fermi Problem Library has worked problems with a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning, so you can rebuild the method rather than memorise an answer.
If exam worry is bigger than one bad moment, Tele MANAS, the Health Ministry's national tele-mental health helpline, has a toll-free number.
On the day, remember three steps: hand up, say what happened, check the timer.
