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

I tested to see that if I created entries in the Sunshine app and then removed the Sunshine app from my I6, would the events remain on the default cal app. All prior events stayed scheduled even after I deleted the app. So if you decide to go the third party sunshine route and then you wish to delete it after Apple fixes the problem, your created events SHOULD remain. But why worry about it? If it's eventually fixed by Apple and you don't want to use Sunshine anymore then just bury (move) the Sunshine icon in some created box somewhere with other unused apps. Then it'll still sync when you use the Original cal app.

And as far as using the third party app fix makes Apple decide not to fix the bug and that is going to make some of you absolutely crazy mad at Apple (JG?), then maybe some of you should really start a hobby because you're just a bit over the top with Apple. Their products will still be superior to the competition even if they aren't perfect. I do agree that this bug is a pain in the *** but this string gets a little crazy! Nothing personal, just suggesting some people may want to recheck the amount of time thier spending being upset at a phone/iPad App lol !

I can confirm this. I first noticed the bug immediately after upgrading my iPhone and iPad to IOS8. Both were syncing with an Exchange server in EST. Was not using Google Calendar at the time, only Exchange. When I created calendar entries in MDT and PST, they showed up with EST in parentheses. I subsequently left the company that used Exchange and started using Google Calendar. Ever since then, calendar entries show up with GMT in parentheses. I submitted a trouble report using your template. Thanks to everyone for their hard work on root cause and getting Apple's attention.

abubasim66 wrote:

The time zone setting in my Google calendar settings is already correct. If it weren't, the problem would affect all my devices. As it is, it now affects my iPhone 5s (iOS 8.1.2) and MBP (10.10.2 beta) but not my iPod Touch 4th gen (with iOS 6.1.6) and not my Asus NPFI running KitKat.

A correction to my post! I charged and powered on my old iPod Touch 4th generation with iOS 6.1.6 to test this again. The problem affects this as well. But the calendar doesn't show the time zone for an entry unless you select the entry to view the details. After creating an entry, it is shown with the same time, but when selecting it, I see that the time zone has changed to GMT. To fix this, the same steps need to be taken: change time zone back to the local time. The start and end times also need to be reverted back to the local time as well.

I also checked my iMac with Mac OS 10.6.8. I configured iCal with my google calendar. When creating an entry, time zone information is not shown unless time zone support is switched on in preferences. Then it also shows new entries with GMT as the time zone.

I'm optimistic that when Apple eventually fixes this, the fix will "fix" it on all platforms (Google, Exchange, etc.). The bug is doing the same thing on both Google and Exchange: picking up the time zone setting from the hosted account server clock and then transposing you r appointments to that time zone. So if Apple removes the code that does that, it should fix it on all platforms.

I'm a user of Google Cal synced to ical on my phone. Taking Garetth's advice, I went to Google Cal on my laptop and in the settings for my primary calendar, I found indeed it shows my time zone as GMT. I don't know when that happened. I had it set correctly before. There is no option for an upgrade because I'm using the calendar off the internet. As far as I know, it upgrades itself. So I went to change the time zone, and lo and behold, it presents ALL the time zones in the world as GMT (I unchecked the "show all time zones" button and my local time zones are presented the same way). I saved this, since at least I am now in the GMT version of Pacific time - my time zone, but it didn't change anything on my phone. Same problem still. I tried changing my language, and then changing back to English. That didn't help either. There is a box under the cogwheel button of Google Cal to offer feedback there. I suggest everyone on this forum go there and comment loudly. I understand some people who are not on the Google Cal have this problem, and I don't know what to say about fixing their's, but I'm 99.9% sure if Google fixes this bug, it will fix my own problem and that of other Google Cal users.

At the (very real) risk of getting off-topic: the reason Sunrise avoids the GMT issue, I believe, is that it logs into the external calendar service to create the event, rather than doing so via iOS calendar. A bonus is that if that calendar then syncs to iOS calendar, the correct time zone info stays intact. Sunrise doesn't let you explicitly set the event time zone, but it uses the local time zone of the location you set for the event. (For an event like an airline flight that starts in one time zone and ends in another, you need to use Google/Exchange, I guess.)

I have this same issue. I've been trying to remember to then go into Google calendar (via the browser on my phone, or on my computer) & remove the time zone. (Click the blue "Time Zone" to the right of the peach colored box listing GMT.) Very annoying, but I'm just trying to not miss a meeting!

So mikalh: your claim is that Apple purposefully designed the Calendar to take appointments that users set up, and rather than keeping those appointments at the time the user selected, to switch those appointments to a completely different time zone, in some cases even placing this appointments on different days than the user entered them on? And that this is "normal behavior" that users just don't like? No other calendar in the world works that way, and I assert there's a good reason for that.

Let me ask you this: if BMW designs a new car that, when you press the gas pedal, is causes the car to slow down, and when you press on the brake it causes it to accelerate....would you call that "normal behavior" since that is how the vehicle was "designed." Sure all drivers of the car would claim this was a "bug" or defect, but you would simply say "no it's not a bug because that's how the car was designed" correct?

Does it hold any significance for you that Apple's own engineers have confirmed this is a bug in iOS? I suppose they don't understand what a bug is either.

OK. Well I don't use Google....for anything. I use Exchange. So how exactly does your theory hold up in that case? And what's your explanation for why no previous version of iOS exhibited this behavior even when syncing with Google? For some reason, now, when nothing has changed at Google, Apple decided it would be better for users to have their appointments automatically re-assigned to different time zones even when they go in and explicitly tell iOS they want it in a specific time zone?

When a company "designs" a defective product, that doesn't mean it is "working correctly because that's how they designed it" it means it's defective. Again Apple's own engineers have confirmed this is a BUG and that they are working on a fix for it. What shall we argue about next? Whether the world is flat or round?

here is the configuration I am using: iphone 6 plus, iOS 8.1.3, I am connected to two calendars 1. Google Calendar, and 2. Outlook 365 for my work calendar. My default calendar is Google. For testing I have also connected to the iCloud calendar which came natively with my iPhone.

Since the upgrade to iOS 8 I have encountered the GMT issue when entering new events to the Google calendar. I do not experience any issue when entering new events to my Exchange calendar.

As annoying as it is that the display of the event is switched to GMT from EST (is my case) I do not think it is a bug, it is annoying and inconsistent with the Outlook and iCloud calendars but it maintains the time of the event correctly and only requires some caution when editing the meeting, as long as I am willing to edit the event time in GMT all works well.

Having said all of the above I also believe that Apple should be consistent and manipulate the event in local time by default and never expose the GMT conversion.

There is a very specific scenario in which the system has a definite bug as follows:

1. I created a new event in Google Calendar. The event shows correctly on both my iPhone and Google Calendar on my desktop

2. Edit the event. The time of the event shows in GMT.

3. Switch the event to an All-Day event.

4. Switch the event back to None-All-Day. The GMT has disappeared from the time, and it has been converted to local time, in my case EST. The event has shifted by 5 hours forward.

The All-Day work around was posted way back on page 6 or so of this thread. It added the requirement that when you edit using the All Day method, you have to re-adjust the start time back to your time zone (the end time will follow the start time). You also have to make sure the day is the correct day as sometimes it sets to the next day.

There is no way this behavior is intended by anyone, Google or Apple. It's a bug pure and simple.

I tested with new events following 8.1.3 and it is still doing it on my setup.

In other news, I was at my local Apple Store yesterday and can confirm there has been sort of a "Sea Change" with regard to this issue. Every Apple employee I spoke with yesterday was familiar with it. Compare that with two weeks ago when they still claimed they had never heard of this.

The one guy I spoke with at length said he was well aware of it, that many people had come into the store reporting the same thing, that the Geniuses at the store were all aware that this is a bug, and that many of his friends (who are also experiencing this bug) were asking him about it since he works for Apple.

You seriously have to wonder if all this occurred just in the last two weeks. Or whether this has been going on for months and the only thing that has changed is an Apple policy that now allows their employees to acknowledge this problem exists.......

Either way, I consider that progress.

I 100% agree. Is there anyone else out there besides me syncing using Exchange (not Outlook using Google to sync but actual Exchange like on a corporate server or hosted account like Office 365) that can confirm whether or not they are still seeing this bug?

I am near 100% certain Apple hasn't done anything to address this. Google did something that keeps Apple's still-buggy iOS code from being able to acquire the server time zone setting and since the bug can't get that, it can't "do its thing" and screw up your appointment times. This is the same reason the GMT Bug didn't show up on various Yahoo and Hotmail accounts earlier....those protocols don't supply the server time clock setting to clients (i.e. you iPhone, iPad, iPod etc.).

With all the Google Calendar users problem addressed by Google, I doubt Apple is ever going to do anything to fix this for the rest of us. They will revert to their new corporate mantra of "Thanks for being an Apple customer, and for giving us your $$$$, now go f^#k yourself."

The GMT BUG is gone for me as well I sink using Google Calendar with my iPhone Calendar only and it is now working GMT is gone. iOS 8.1.3 THANK YOU Google at least someone cares about the end user and how software should work.

I would say no since this started when everyone loaded iOS8 update. iOS8 changed something Google just made a change on their side to fix the issue. Plus you have issues with users that are using Exchange that have the GMT problem. So I believe the final fix still sits in Apple's lap. This is a BUG from Apple Google just did a work around for their users.