Clocks go back: does the time on your phone change automatically when clocks go back?

• Clocks will go back on Sunday October 27 as daylight saving time ends. 
• It means you may get an extra hour in bed - but don’t get caught out. 
• Make sure that your phone will change time automatically by switching on a simple feature in your settings. 

A cold chill is in the air and the leaves are starting to fall. For those of us in the northern hemisphere we are well and truly in the grips of autumn now. 

While the nights have already started drawing in, they will be getting darker a lot sooner as we prepare for the end of daylight savings time. It won’t be long before you are going to work in the dark and leaving at night as well - but at least the streets will be decked with Christmas lights for some warmth. 

The clocks went forward in March and in less than a week’s time (Sunday October 27) they will go back. It does mean you get an extra hour in bed, but at the cost of the sun setting earlier. 

But before you go to sleep on Saturday (October 26), you will want to make sure if you will be waking up to the right time - or if your phone will be an hour ahead. Here’s all you need to know: 

Do phone’s automatically change time when clocks change? 

Gone are the days when you would have to do a quick bit of addition when you wake up on the day the clocks change. Modern technology is able to adjust automatically, so no need to panic when you finally rise on Sunday October 27. 

If the software on your phone, tablet, TV, computer, or other devices connected to the internet is up-to-date then it should automatically update with the correct time. You may still have to manually adjust the time on your oven or any digital clocks you have. 

Turn on this feature before clocks change 

No matter if you have an iPhone, Android or Google phone, you will want to make sure that the “set automatically” function for date and time is switched on for your handset before Sunday (October 27). 

Apple 

If you have an iPhone (or iPad for that matter), make sure that you go to the settings on your device. Find the section called General, go to Date & Time and make sure ‘set automatically’ is switched on. 

Android 

The process is very similar for Android phones - albeit there may be a slight difference depending on the brand that makes your device. But like on Apple, make your way to settings and find Date & Time - for most phones it will likely be in the systems section, but on a Samsung device it may be under general management. 

Once you have found Date & Time, check to make sure that automatic feature for setting the time is switched on. It may have a slightly different phrasing that ‘set automatically’ but it will be along those lines. 

What do you think of daylight saving time? Share your thoughts by emailing me: [email protected].