Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
The iPhone has mishandled another time change as clocks across the continent were set forward one hour this weekend to mark the beginning of Daylight Savings Time (DST). Reports have surfaced on Apple forums, Twitter and other venues of frustrated iPhone owners missing appointments and experiencing strange behavior on their devices.
The DST bugs run the gamut from iPhone clocks jumping backward instead of forward by one hour, alarms going off an hour early, and phones switching to DST properly but later in the day undoing the change. Apple has not announced an official reason for the clock problems, but they are easily fixed.
To correct the DST clock issues on your iPhone, simply reboot the device. Alternatively you can turn on Airplane Mode then turn it back off. This will reset the connection to your cellular data provider. Typically the iPhone collects time data from the service provider to keep the clock accurate. The DST problems reportedly affected both AT&T and Verizon customers in the US.
The iPhone is no stranger to alarm clock bugs, with the most recent problems hitting users in the first days of 2011. Right after the New Year many alarms failed to go off at their scheduled time, leaving those without a backup alarm sleeping. Apple stated they were aware of the problem and working on a fix for the issue. The move to Standard Time in the fall of 2010 was also a rough one for the Clock app.
The time change to one hour earlier didn't take with any alarms that were already set. Many iPhone owners saw their alarms go off one hour late and had to delete and re-create repeat alarms on their devices. iOS 4.3 was just released last week, but it's not clear whether or not this update made the clock immune to the most recent DST problems. When all else fails, it's possible to manually set the time by navigating to Settings -> General -> Date & Time -> Set Automatically -> OFF and entering the time zone, date and time.
Comments
pao vang replied on Permalink
Well for me I got the 3gs and i just updated it to 4.3 version and it fine now
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Had the same issue last fall time change thought they would have fixed it by spring change but this so bad ,waking up an hour early daily .
Backhome77 replied on Permalink
Mine does the same. Tried the "fixes" and they worked at first. But then tonight, out of the blue, when I'm only getting a few hours of sleep anyway, the alarm goes off an hour early again. And keeps going off ! Come on Apple! "Dumb" phones nailed the whole clock technology thing over a decade ago. Why can't your amazing phone get it right? I used to love my iPhone, bit stupid stuff like this has me seriously considering a switch to Android.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Set the timezone to Phoenix, AZ as suggested by some folks earlier.. it works ! I live in California & have my timezone set to Phoenix Az.
OS upgrade screwed my contacts twice and so, I am really afraid to go that patch as the first choice...
AnonymousHouston replied on Permalink
I have tried all of the suggestions listed in this thread. Nothing worked! I stopped by the Iphone store and was told that they could not deal with software issues and to call the support line. Plus I had to explain to the stupid girl that the alarms were no longer set on repeating as they didn't work! What a duncil. sorry not nice to say but I was frustrated beyond belief!
Anonymous replied on Permalink
This is ridiculous and illustrates Apple's ineptitude when dealing with glitches. The iPhone seems rife with all kinds of flaws many of which fundamentally affect how the phone is used and yet, strangely enough, Apple isn't aware of many of these issues. This clock problem has dragged on for some time now and Apple has yet to release a fix, and probably never will. A ~£500 mobile phone that doesn't even have a fully functioning alarm clock, phone reboots after 5 minutes of a phone call and frequently disconnects from WIFI and 3G. So Apple's solution is 'To set your alarm an hour early/late' or 'delete your existing alarms and add them again'. What kind of a solution is that? Perhaps a car mechanic would suggest 'dismantling the engine' as an adequate solution to your car not starting. Perhaps Apple should do what most companies have to do when encountering problems: Fix the problem because that's what we expect when we pay £500 for a mobile, isn't it Apple?
DJ replied on Permalink
My time goes forward an hour when set to automatic and none of the suggestions will correct it. I have to manually set the time. It did not have this problem before 4.3.
DJ replied on Permalink
Update: Did a reset of all content and settings (it resets like a new phone) and restore from backup. Now I can set the time to set automatically and it is correct. Hopefully this will cure the battery drain problem as well.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I see most of these posts are a year old. I just started having this problem with the DST last week March 2012! I have tried everything suggested. The time on my phone is correct, but it still continues to go off an hour early. Are you seriously telling me that there is still no fix for this problem? Apple can come up with all this new great stuff and can't fix an alarm clock glitch - really??
TJ replied on Permalink
Yeah, great, fine, whatever. How do I get this POS device to IGNORE DST? I'm running pos 5.something – I mean "iOS 5.x", have auto set off, calendar time zone support off, location services off, … virtually as little contact with crApple as possible and it's still changed times when I do not want it to. DST starts first Sunday in April, ends last Sunday in October, and I'm a big boy and have managed to change clocks all my life when due with no help from tech. With it, how are people even aware that it changed?
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