Sometimes the clock may show the wrong time on an Android phone. If this is happening to you, here are four ways to fix the problem.
Automatic time and date setting is a handy feature on Android. You don’t have to worry about setting the time even when you buy a brand new phone. However, sometimes you may notice that your phone clock is off by a few minutes or up to a full hour in extreme cases.
This error can be a major inconvenience if you don’t notice it soon enough. You could miss a critical alarm or get in trouble if you were working a tight schedule. What is the cause of this problem and what can you do to fix it?
Why your Android phone shows the wrong time
There are three possible reasons why your phone is showing the wrong time:
- You accidentally turned off the Automatic time and date setting. While you’re at it, you may have unintentionally fiddled with the numbers.
- You may have set the wrong time zone if the Automatic date and time setting is off.
- The error may be caused by your carrier or by connecting to a different provider’s Wi-Fi network.
You can fix the incorrect time on your Android device using at least one of the following four methods.
1. Enable and Disable Automatic Date Settings
Go to Settings > General Management Where System > Date and Time and turn it Automatic date and time button off then back on. These settings may vary slightly depending on your device.
In most cases, this action should reset your clock to the correct time. You can continue to enjoy the benefits of automatic time and date settings, especially if you frequently change time zones.
2. Restart your phone
Restarting your phone eliminates any temporary bugs that may be hampering the functionality of your device. The good old tech support trick of turning a device off and on again. Try this option if you disable and re-enable the Automatic date and time the setting does not work.
3. Disable automatic date and time setting
Go to Settings > General Management Where System > Date and Time then turn the Automatic date and time button off. Set the time manually and continue using your device. Also, make sure your phone is set to the correct time zone. Follow the steps above and navigate to Select time zone and choose the appropriate one.
This approach is the most effective, especially if you encounter the wrong time several times over a period of time. But remember that you will have to adjust the time and date each time you travel to a different time zone.
4. Update your operating system or perform a hard reset
If none of the other steps work, check if a system update is available for your device. Updating Android can eliminate any bugs that may have affected your time settings. You can take the most drastic step of performing a hard reset on your phone if updating the system fails to fix the problem.
Fix the wrong time on your Android device
Your device’s clock will show the incorrect time more than once a year as long as automatic time and date adjustment is enabled. But you might not notice it all the time because your clock corrects itself if your network or carrier is the cause. To permanently avoid this problem, completely disable automatic time and date.