The clocks went forward overnight. But did your clocks go forward?
In the age of smartphones, smart TVs and smart home appliances, changing the clocks is at once much easier but more stressful. Almost everything adjusts automatically – but how can you be sure that it has?
The easiest way to know whether everything has updated is to check it against something authoritative, like the TV news. You can check the below clock, which shows the time that your devices should show if they’ve successfully sprung forward.
You can check whether your phone is set to change its time automatically by heading to the date and time settings.
On the iPhone, those are found in the Settings app, in the General option. On Android, just head to the Settings app and you’ll find it there.
On both of them, you’ll see an option to have the date and time set automatically according to your time zone. If those are on, and your phone has the right location, then it should adjust itself whenever the clocks change.
Computers will have similar options. You’ll find them in the control panel on Windows or in system preferences on the Mac – clicking through the date and time options will allow you to check whether automatic updates are on and let you change the clock if they’ve got it wrong.
On other devices, like TVs or smart appliances, everything will depend on the settings and whether or not it has an internet connection or the right calendar settings. But once you have one correct clock, using the tips above, you can head around the house and check everything else against it.
A version of this article was first published in 2016.
