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Iphone 3gs displays the wrong time

Hi,
My iphone 3gs is displaying the wrong time in the automatic setting. It works when you set it ur self but as soon as you switch it back to automatic it changes again to almost 2 hours behine.

I have tried restoring it, pressing the top and home button untill it reboots... Any other suggestions please?

IPhone 3GS, iOS 4

Posted on Oct 19, 2010 9:57 AM

Reply
18 replies

Oct 19, 2010 12:09 PM in response to Grace91

Hi

I am also having a similar problem, I was in mainland europe last week and since returing to the UK, everytime I try to automatically set the time, it takes me 1 hour forward.

I have been into the apple store and they can not work it out, I was told to change the sim card as it is a carrier fault, which I have done so and still no change, also they told me to back up the phone and restore to factory settings, not sure if that is going to help, but its strange how the time setting has changed.

Dec 3, 2010 1:49 AM in response to Grace91

I also have this problem except that my 3GS jumps ahead 2hrs when I set the Network Time setting to Auto. Got told by my Operator, Vodafone New Zealand, that I needed to update to os 4.2.1 (the latest update) & that would fix it.
Did that and "ah, No it didnt.
Then they said to restore it back to factory default then reinstall OS and all my apps etc. Did that - same prob exists so now have to have time set to manual mode as they said (with a shrug of the shoulders) they dont know anymore.

Typical of Vodafone, I mean "a void a phone"

Does anyone have an answer about how to actually fix this prob???

Dec 3, 2010 2:56 AM in response to ambarsaria

yes they do, a local vodafone shop assitant has exact same model, same operator etc and same settings except her phone is set to Network Time = Auto and time stays the same. when we changed my network time settings to identically the same, my phone displays a time 2 hours ahead of the actual time. So I have to keep my setting on manual time for it to display the correct time.
According to the release notes (apparently) the ios 4.2.1 release included a fix for this problem.
I did have the network time setting set to auto originally until about 2 weeks before the 4.2.1 release when it suddenly changed overnight when an alarm I had set the night before went off at 3.30am instead of the originally set time of 5.30am. it was then that I noticed that the time setting had changed & the only way around was to take it off the auto setting. Now I cant set it back to Network Time = Auto.

Mar 21, 2011 2:52 AM in response to GregTheMillionaire

Same stuff on my iphone 4 too!! This is BAD.. I mean real bad. Apparently, its been an issue for sooo long and Apple still cant find a fix? I had a Nokia N95 prior.. and Never ever had the same issue on it. And the funny thing is no one seems to have a solution including Apple's own 'Technical' support team!! They just have excuses blaming the software on the system etc. My issue is slightly more unique. Today suddenly when I was heading back from work, I checked the time on my phone and I was surprised to find not only did the actual time go around 4 and half hours behind but the date went forward by FREAKIN' FIVE days.. What the ****! I spoke with Apple .. they, as I said, are just as surprised and don't know the solution. This is ridiculous and unacceptable. They were like just manually change it and.. 'Why do I need the automatically update feature anyway?' .. I mean seriously what the ****.. Why would you have the feature then? CRAP! I'm really ****** now!

Apr 10, 2011 7:32 AM in response to Grace91

I will add my complaint to the list as well. I live in Mexico and my 3GS clock if set to automatic is running half an hour forward, no matter if it's regular or daylight savings time. This is getting very annoying as I suspect other applications on my phone are not working as they should. Restoring, erasing, rebooting has not worked at all. I hope Apple fixes this at one point.

Jul 5, 2011 3:40 AM in response to Grace91

I've had the same problem, mine was 7 hours ahead!!


but this fix works for me.


  1. Set Automatic time to off and make sure your time zone and actuall time are set correctly.
  2. Exit settings and do a hard reset (hold home and power until it shuts down)
  3. Go back into settings and turn Automatic time setting back on.


Should be fine after that but may pop up again, so just repeat the above if it does.

Jul 6, 2011 6:11 AM in response to Grace91

Same issue here in Calgary. My alarm woke me up an hour early this morning. It isn't an issue with our carrier; my husband's phone is fine. I tried the hard reset twice, as suggested above, and it now seems to be working, but I am taking it off automatic time-setting because I sure don't trust it any more.


Very disconcerting

Jun 18, 2012 5:05 PM in response to korinakim

Hey Korinakim,

What do you mean by removing the logic board from the battery? why was that affecting the proper operation of the clock?

I did myself the repair of the mute button this weekend and my iPhone 3GS hasn't been updating the time properly since then. Did I mess something by opening the case? (I opened before a couple times to replace the battery and to identify the issue with the mute button but it was working fine even after closing it again... )

Thanks for your help.

Iphone 3gs displays the wrong time

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