iOS 8 Calendar on iPhone showing GMT times for new events.

I Have a crude solution. Set your time zone under General manually to your local zone, not on auto. Then new appts appear without the GMT marker, when you travel though you have to manually change time zones.

Thanks Apple you are winning the race to bad buggy code against Google!

Martin,

I live in the Netherlands too and have the exact same problem with iOS 8.1 (and 8.1.1) and Google Apps calendars:

Weekview is useless, as times are shown on CET calendar with additional GMT time in the appointment. The additional GMT time is very confusing.

My timezone settings on iphone are cet to CET, location is Netherlands, I do not use timezone override in the calendar settings.

Google is set to CET.

My workstation is set to CET.

Items added trough iOS show calendar events in CET on iphone and google web interface. No problem here.

Items added in Google web interface show calendar events in CET on iphone and google web interface. No problem here.

Items added though thuinderbird/lightning (latest version) and android show show calendar events in GMT on iphone (in weekviewand CET on google web interface. These events have no calendar overrides in google web interface, and look identical to events added though google interface and iphone.

The bug seems to be on iOS... It worked in 7.x.

This was actually what fixed it for me. Of course all my devices were set to automatic time zone, it showed up fine as Amsterdam. When I turned it off on my iPad Mini it switched to London, I changed it to Amsterdam and checked my calendar. Most of the calendar entries showed up correctly again (one remained off).

@FrankCPNYC: I can sort of answer this question: "is this bug replicable if one would, let's say, unbox a new iPad and iPhone and start fresh with same account on both?" As part of my troubleshooting, I had Apple completely erase both of my iDevices and restore a factory image of iOS 8.1 onto both. I did this before syncing either of them with Exchange. I then set them both back up and the bug was present. It's baked in to iOS.

Also, an extremely helpful Genius at my local store was willing to lend me his brand new iPhone 6 Plus to troubleshoot with. It was not "right out of the box" but it was new and certainly had never been synced to an Exchange server, much less MY exchange server. The bug replicated on the brand new iPhone 6 Plus just like on my other devices.

The way this bug manifests in my setup is something you would not experience it if you were only using one (1) iDevice. It appears when you use a minimum of 2 iDevices, and propagates to as many iDevices as you might have. So, when you set up an appointment on the first devices (we'll call it the "originator") it looks fine, and also seems to STAY correct as to time zone. When it propagates over to another iDevice (the "receiver") the same appointment will now show transposed to GMT. If you modify or edit it in any way on the receiver, it then propagates back transposed to all other iDevices.

You confirmed something we were trying to determine: that iOS devices are modifying data on Exchange and not the other way around. This makes me 100% certain that the following is going on:

1. iOS 8 puts some sort of GMT data tag on your calendar appointment when you create it on the originator iDevice. The tag does not alter the display of the appointment on the originator device.
2. The data tag resides with the appointment, but doesn't get read or displayed any way by Exchange which is why you don't see it on your desktop
3. The data tag DOES get read and displayed by other iDevices which is why you see it when it syncs over to them.
4. Time zone transposition occurs only on the receiver device when it reads the data tag imprinted into the appointment by the originator.

The above explains why an appointment created directly in Outlook on your Desktop doesn't get transposed to GMT on any of the multiple devices synced to the same account, but shows up 100% of the time when a receiver iOS device syncs an appointment created on an iOS originator device. It also explains why an appointment created on your server will sync without transposition to any iDevice, but once modified on that device, syncs to a transposed time on your other iOS devices. Transposition occurs on the receiver device when the appointment is first downloaded to it.

I hope this is helpful, and also that you 1) have an open support case with Apple; and 2) that you have used the "tip" links I provided above to inform some online news outlets about this. It's a HUGE bug affecting thousands of users, particularly corporate users, and Apple needs to fix it.

Have you read through the preceding 100+ replies to this thread? Including highly detailed replies from people who are in IT departments who have extensively done testing to isolate this bug? Replies from people who are able to review raw data on the subscribed server calendars and have confirmed that the erroneous time zone info is being appended to appointments by iOS devices and not by the servers they are using?

Consider the following (all documented above in this thread):

• If the subscribed calendar service is unchanged, and iOS 7.x devices sync to it...no bug. But if an iOS 8 device syncs to the very same appointment(s) on the very same subscribed calendar....BUG.
• Appointments created on the server by non iOS devices (like your desktop computer) don't transpose to GMT. Yet any appointment created on an iOS 8.x device transposes to GMT on other iOS devices.
• The time zone transposition occurs on everyone's iOS devices regardless of what service they are using as a subscribed calendar (Google, Exchange etc.) Are the subscribed calendars all the same? No. Is the mobile device operating system the same? Yes.
• For most people, this bug began to show up immediately after updating to iOS 8.x when no other variables in their setup changed.
• Apple engineering tech support has acknowledged, in writing to my MS Exchange host, that this is a bug unique to iOS 8.x.

So exactly what leads you to believe this is not "proven" to be generated by iOS 8.x? And if you strongly believe it isn't, all of us who are working to try to get Apple to fix this would really appreciate a detailed explanation of what you think actually does generate it (other than iOS). Any information that helps to isolate and resolve this is greatly appreciated regardless of what the cause ultimately turns out to be.

As for why it would suddenly show up on your setup when you claim to have not changed anything? I can't explain that. But there are numerous cases where this bug showed up immediately after users updated to iOS 8. The same users never experienced it on the same devices, with the same subscribed calendars, with the same settings, prior to the iOS 8 update. This sort of indicates it is related to iOS 8 don't you think?

If I add a calendar event in my Exchange calendar, it shows up in my iPhone with the correct Eastern time zone. When I add a calendar event in iCal, it shows up in my iPhone with the correct Eastern timezone but like everyone else here, either adds CST or GMT. It's annoying. BUT, if I open my Exchange calendar and open one of these affected calendar events and click save, the CST or GMT on my iPhone disappears. So this ONLY happens from events created in my iCal. Once in a blue moon it won't happen but 99% of the time it does.

@rick287: Let me ask you this.... The fact that a guy is telling you that this issue has something to do with "Bluetooth" doesn't indicate to you that perhaps he has no idea what he is talking about? Calendar synchronization over the internet with Google, Exchange, Etc. does not have anything to do with Bluetooth. Did this guy give you any explanation if...since he knows for certain this is due to "Bluetooth and Google needing to catch up to iOS 8" why users that don't use either of those things (I don't sync my calendar using Bluetooth or any Google services...I use Exchange) are experiencing the same bug?

To answer your question...yes I know differently. My Exchange host, AppRiver has 100% confirmed this bug is generated by iOS 8. They did this looking at raw server data and testing multiple equipment and account configurations. Here's an article about it: http://blog.appriver.com/2014/12/ios-8-calendar-events-display-dual-time-zones/ . Also, we have written confirmation from Enterprise and Engineering technical support at Apple that they too have confirmed this is a bug in iOS 8.

It is pretty much common knowledge that it takes Herculean effort to get Apple to acknowledge when there is a problem with any of their software or products. It seems like their employees are trained that step one dealing with any customer problem is to blame any other services or software used by the customer and to assure the customer that this can't possibly be an Apple generated issue. I swear, if you are standing in an elevator with only one other person, and that other person is an Apple employee, and all of a sudden it starts to stink in there, they will assure you that it is YOU who passed gas....

I use Google calendar on my iPod Touch 4 (iOS 6.1.6) and an iPod Touch 5 and an iPhone 5s, both with iOS 8.1.2.

If I create a new calendar event, it is correctly shown on the old iPod. Viewing the same calendar entry on the new iPod or the iPhone, it's shown as GMT.

I restored the iPod Touch 5 to factory settings - still the same problem.

I only have this problem with the Google calendar. The iCloud calendar and a calendar provided via IBM Notes Traveler (Exchange sync) both show entries correctly with the local time.

Thank you Kid Dynamic for testing and reporting back. I believe I can explain why you are seeing this even though you are just using a single iOS device. It is for the exact same reason described in the AppRiver blog post I provided the link to above.

Google Calendar handles synchronization differently than Exchange. It appears that if the Google Calendar server receives new data from a subscribed client device (i.e. your iPhone) the server acquires the data and then it effectively says "new data just showed up....time to sync this data to EVERYTHING that is subscribed to me!" It then syncs that data to every single subscribed device...including syncing it back down to the iOS device that you just created the appointment on. This is why when you create the appointment on your iOS device it does not have the GMT thing on it, but then GMT "shows up" after a few seconds. The clean version you see immediately when you hit save on the iOS device is the original appointment you created. This then goes up to the Google Calendar server....picks up the system set time zone from the server because of the buggy iOS code embedded in the appointment...and then is synced back down to your iOS device which then displays the server system time (GMT). So in your case, your single iOS device is operating as both the originating device and then a few seconds later...as the receiver device!

When you create an appointment directly on the Google server using your browser, that appointment does not have the buggy iOS 8 code embedded in it. The server still says "time to sync this down to EVERYTHING" but since the buggy code is not there, it doesn't pick up the sever system time setting and subsequently does not display GMT on your iOS device (or devices if you had multiple ones). If you subsequently edit this very same appointment on your iOS device, GMT will show up a few seconds later once the newly updated appointment which now includes the embedded buggy iOS code goes up to Google and is resent to your iOS device a few seconds later when Google see the updated detained pings it out to all subscribed clients...

This bug on your single iOS device is identical to the one on my iOS devices, but in your case, because of how Google handles synchronization tasks, you are going to see the bug even using just one iOS device. In my case, I will only see the bug on the "receiver device" if I am using at least two iOS devices because Exchange handles synchronization like this: when Exchange receives new data from a subscribed client device, the server acquires the data but then it only sends the newly acquired data to the OTHER subscribed devices. Exchange does not resend the data it just received back to the device that it received it from....because Exchange knows that device already has the data on it.

I think we can be 100% certain that: a) the bug is a result of embedded code in appointments that is generated by iOS; and b) that it occurs and is displayed for the exact reason described in the AppRiver article I linked to above.

Also, once Apple fixes this, we won't need any fancy script to go through and "fix" all of the appointments in our calendars...we will need only to delete the calendar account and then re-create it. When the newly created account syncs with the server for the "first" time, it will just pull down all the existing appointments, but since the buggy code that displays the server system time and transposes the appointment to the server set time zone won't be there any more, the appointments will be at the correct ties and in the correct time zones even if some kernel of bad data still resides in them. That's my theory anyway 😉

Hi Stephan,

Although that page shows that Exchange setup is only for Google Apps, and I don't have Google Apps, I tried it anyway. It worked!

Unfortunately it seems that the Exchange setup only syncs my PRIMARY calendar, and ignores all my additional calendars. So I do have to leave the other Google setup in order to keep those calendars. And of course the GMT issue does appear on those calendars.

I ended up having both Exchange and standard setups, and disabling all but Calendars on the Exchange account, then going into the Calendar app and disabling just the Primary calendar on the standard google account.

So it's not a full fix, but at least alleviates the majority of my headaches.

I was having the same problem and this is what helped me.

1)If you have Gmail try this...

2)Sign into gmail on your computer.

3)Type in your bowers www.google.com/calendar

4)On the upper left hand side there is a small monthly calendar, under the small calendar it says 'Other calendars', under 'Other calendars' it says 'Add a friend's calendar.'

5)I typed in my own email under 'Add a friend's calendar' and it fixed it on my phone.

Hope this helps.

@thekingfishh225: Normally I make it a point not to respond to misinformed yet outspoken morons, but I am making an exception in this case and I am going to respond to you.

Here is a video I made demonstrating this bug....on my Exchange server:

http://youtu.be/cgP1zyi_iV8

The video demonstrates this bug occurring via MS Exchange...I don't use a single Google product for anything. You, and anyone else, can see it clearly with your own eyes. It has over 1200 views and many people commenting that they are also experiencing the same thing...using Exchange.

Also, here's confirmation for a 3rd party source: an article about this bug on the AppRiver blog:

http://blog.appriver.com/2014/12/ios-8-calendar-events-display-dual-time-zones/

Here are the first two sentences of the article in case you are too lazy to click the link....

"We’re getting reports from users on both AppRiver’s Hosted Exchange and Microsoft Office 365 platforms that calendar events are displaying two time zones on iPhones and iPads running iOS 8. Calendar events that were created on an iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher, or created in Microsoft Outlook in some cases, display the server time below the device’s local time when opened on an iPad or iPhone running iOS 8.0.0 through 8.1.1."

AppRiver is talking about their customers using Microsoft Exchange.

Then there's the not so insignificant fact....documented in several posts above...that APPLE HAS CONFIRMED THIS IS A BUG IN IOS.....and that they are working on a solution. So this sort of indicates you are 100% wrong about 1) this issue not being due to a bug in iOS; and, 2) whether "repeated insistence on this being an iOS bug" is preventing/delaying a solution. You are 0 for 2. Outstanding.

Also, if you had bothered to READ any of the preceding thread before jumping in and telling us we are all liars....you would see why it is possible that this might not affect YOU on Exchange but is affecting others using Exchange. Its the exact same reason why it affects YOU using Google but doesn't affect some others using Google. It has to do with the system time setting on the server that hosts your Calendar account...in Exchange, Google whatever. That's what the bug acquires and then references when it is displaying dual time zones.

Generally, it's a good idea to make sure you know what you are talking about before you spout off in a forum and call people liars. That is unless you absolutely don't care about looking like a moron in which case proceed as you have done above.

Have a great day.

Same problem here since we use ios8.1.2 on two iphone 6's. Google agenda with Caldav config.

Question:

when I create a appt on the iphone and I select the time (from,till) it says timezone=Amsterdam. After creation the gmt bug appears. When I reopen the appt, select time from, it says timezone gmt??? When I correct this back to Amsterdam...the bug is gone.

What made the timezone change from Amsterdam to GMT? Is this Google or is this iOS?

In google zone is amsterdam, override on iphone is amsterdam too...never bothered us before ios8

The only thing that worked for me is the workaround suggested by Gator5000e:

Gator5000e wrote:

A temporary solution is to enter the appointment as usual on your iOS device. After you click Add, the GMT will appear. Then edit the appointment, change it to an All Day appt and then immediately change it back to a non-all day appt; The time listed for the appt will now be the GMT time but you can now change it back to the proper time. do that and save the appt and the GMT entry will go away. As I said, a pain for each new appt but its worked for me.

However, I just wanted to chime in that this GMT problem appeared out of the blue about a week or so ago, on my iPhone5, running OS 6.0. I had never updated my OS on my old phone. Out of nowhere, this GMT thing popped up. I figured this happened because I never updated my OS and the phone had started acting wonky in other areas too. My phone syncs with google calendar only. I got a new iPhone6 today, with OS8.1.1 on it. I restored my new phone with a back up of my old phone. The GMT problem followed. My point is, this problem appeared on the OS6.0. So it can't just be a problem with OS8 and above.

i think, as i grope for understanding, that by default calendar, the iOS is referring to subcalendars, so, it wouldn't be iCloud or iCal, but the specific calendars those programs provide, in the case of iPhone Calendar or iCal, it would be Pets or Health or a calendar you create yourself etc.

In my system, if i use my Gmail calendar as default, i have the GMT problem. If i use an iCloud calendar as default calendar, i don't have the GMT problem. Are you saying you have this problem when you select one of the iCloud calendars on the Default Calendar page in Calendars (Settings), as well as having it if you select Google calendar? Google calendar is not an option in my system, only one of my Gmail accounts and alternatively, the iCloud calendars.