To change the time zone on an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Date & Time, turn off Set Automatically, tap Time Zone, and type the name of a city in the zone you want. The clock switches as soon as you tap the city.
If you’re traveling, you usually don’t need to do anything: with Set Automatically on, your iPhone picks up the local time zone once it connects to a network. If the switch is gray, or the time zone won’t update on its own, the fixes are further down.
How to change the time zone manually
Pick this route when the automatic setting keeps choosing the wrong zone, or when you want your phone to stay on home time while you’re away.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General, then tap Date & Time.
- Turn off Set Automatically. The Time Zone row below it becomes active.
- Tap Time Zone.
- Type the name of a city in the time zone you want, such as Chicago or London.
- Tap the city in the results. You return to the Date & Time screen, and the city now appears next to Time Zone.
Check the status bar at the top of the screen. It should now show the local time for the city you picked.
If your town doesn’t appear in the search, choose a bigger city that uses the same time zone. What matters is the zone, not the exact city, although a city in the same country is the safest pick because it follows the same daylight saving time rules.
Note: While Set Automatically is off, your iPhone won’t adjust for travel or daylight saving time on its own. Turn it back on when you no longer need the manual setting.
How to make your iPhone change time zones automatically
This is the best setting for most people, especially travelers. Apple’s steps boil down to three switches:
- Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Apple’s support page calls this Set Time Automatically in places, so either label may appear depending on your iOS version.
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and make sure Location Services is on.
- On the same screen, scroll to the bottom and tap System Services.
- Turn on Setting Time Zone.
With all of these on, your iPhone uses your carrier’s network time plus your location to decide which zone you’re in. If Location Services is off, see how to turn location back on first.
What happens when you land in a new time zone?
Once your iPhone connects to a cellular network or Wi-Fi at your destination, the clock should jump to local time. This can take a few minutes after you turn off Airplane Mode. If you keep cellular data off to avoid roaming charges, joining Wi-Fi at your hotel or the airport also works. For data abroad, see our guide to turning on data roaming.
A paired Apple Watch follows your iPhone’s time zone, so you don’t need to change it separately.
Why is Set Automatically grayed out?
Apple lists three reasons the switch can be dimmed:
- A Screen Time passcode is set. Go to Settings > Screen Time and check Content & Privacy Restrictions. On a child’s iPhone, the parent who manages Screen Time has to allow the change.
- A work or school profile restricts it. A company-managed iPhone may lock date and time settings. Only the organization’s IT team can change that.
- Your carrier or region doesn’t support it. Apple says the automatic option isn’t available with every carrier or in every country or region. In that case, set the time zone by hand using the steps above.
Time zone is wrong or not updating: what to try
- Connect to Wi-Fi or cellular data. Your iPhone needs a network connection to check the time.
- Install any update in Settings > General > Software Update. Updates sometimes carry time zone rule changes made by governments.
- Confirm Setting Time Zone is on under Location Services > System Services.
- Turn Set Automatically off and back on, then restart your iPhone. Apple recommends restarting the iPhone and any paired Apple Watch if a time zone update is waiting.
- If the zone is still wrong, turn off Set Automatically and pick the city yourself.
If the time is exactly one hour off, the zone is usually right but daylight saving time wasn’t applied. Turning Set Automatically on normally fixes that. For other clock problems, including setting the date and time by hand and switching to a 24-hour clock, see our guide to changing the time on iPhone.
How to keep Calendar events on home time
When your iPhone changes time zones, Calendar moves event times to match local time. A 9 AM call at home might show as 3 PM in Europe. That’s usually what you want. If you’d rather see every event in one fixed zone, use Time Zone Override:
- Go to Settings > Apps > Calendar. On iOS 17 and earlier, go to Settings > Calendar.
- Tap Time Zone Override and turn it on.
- Tap Time Zone and choose a city in the zone you want events shown in.
This only affects Calendar. The clock in the status bar still follows your Date & Time settings. With the override on, you can also set a time zone for an individual event when you create it.
Other time zone questions
Do alarms change when I switch time zones?
Alarms follow the local clock. An alarm set for 7:00 AM rings at 7:00 AM in whatever time zone your iPhone is set to, so check it after a long flight.
How can I see another time zone without changing mine?
Open the Clock app, tap World Clock, tap the Add button (+), and pick a city. It shows that city’s current time next to yours without touching your settings.
Will changing the time zone affect my texts or photos?
No. Messages and photos keep their original timestamps; they’re simply displayed in your iPhone’s current time zone. Apps that sync with a server, like Calendar, adjust automatically.
Apple’s full instructions are on its page about fixing the date and time on iPhone. If you’re changing your App Store country or region for a move abroad, that’s a separate setting, covered in our guide to changing your country on iPhone.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.