Why does the time on a smartphone get lost? Why does the clock on my phone show different times? Why does the time on my phone get lost?
Android is the most popular operating system for mobile phones. Some people think that iOS is much better, perhaps, but the fact that Android is the most popular is undeniable.
Many people choose it because it is multifunctional. Some people just don't like it apple phones. Some people prefer an Android phone because they don’t have the opportunity to buy an Apple one.
You got an Android phone that works fine. It would seem that everything is going well, you always set the alarm clock to certain time, and it works. But there have also been situations where the alarm clock does not work. When you look and try to understand the reason, you see that time is running wrong.
Why does the time on my phone get lost? There are several various reasons. How to solve this problem and configure right time? You can find the answer to this question by reading this article.
What is Android?
First, some background. What is Android? This is an operating system that was created based on the Linux OS kernel. He has good connection, however, does not have NTP synchronization. That is, time zones are not synchronized. Hence the answer to the question “why does the time on the phone get lost?”
Previously, Android OS was intended only for mobile devices, namely smartphones. Later, after the release of version 3.0, the developers updated the interface, which was ideal not only for smartphones, but also for tablets.
The next version, Android 4.1, completely changed the way we receive time zone data. They returned to their "roots". Old phones took time information from towers cellular communication.
Why does the time on your phone get lost? There may be problems with cellular communication.
For Android tablet owners, it's even worse. These mobile devices cannot synchronize time without a special communication module.
Why does the time go wrong on an Android phone? Solutions
All mobile devices have time synchronization with mobile network. Before you start debugging, you need to disable it. If your device can work in stationary mode, then it is better to disable the time zone setting. If this is not possible, then set it to automatic mode.
As we have already said, in the standard Android OS there is no synchronization with the NTP server. So we must install third party application, which will perform this function. A good option is ClockSync.
Once you launch this application, you will see the deviation from your time zone. In most cases this is a small error, just a couple of minutes. In some situations, deviations may be for an hour, or maybe several.
After downloading this application, you will no longer ask yourself why the time on your phone is constantly lost.
Setting up synchronization using ClockSync
You need to configure automatic synchronization with NTP. To improve synchronization accuracy, we recommend enabling following settings- "Only via Wi-Fi" and enable "Mode increased accuracy". The most important thing is to enable the first option, as it is required due to the instability of the mobile Internet.
And to save energy on your mobile phone, you should activate the “When turned on” function.
Conclusion
So, now you won’t be tormented by the question: “Why does the time on my phone get lost?” And even if he does appear, which is unlikely, you know the answer and the solution.
May get confused time, is the device is powered by battery. For example, to replace a SIM card, most phone models require not only turning off, but also removing the battery. At a certain time of his absence in phone reset occurs various settings, including time. In some models, the same situation is observed when removing the memory card. Sometimes the contact of the battery with the phone weakens, for example, this can happen when it falls. In this case, there is also a high probability that the time settings will go wrong. Another variant - old battery, which quickly loses charge. Replacing it will help solve the problem. Another possible reason for resetting to phone time is incorrect setting time zone. To change it, open the phone menu, then the “Settings” section and select the appropriate item. Please note that one of the reasons may also be the legislative abolition of the transition to winter in Russia. time since autumn 2011. In those phones in which it was installed automatic switching between summer and winter times, a transition was made. Disable this setting to prevent it from causing problems in the future. additional problems. Another solution may be to update the firmware of your mobile device. If you use a program to synchronize your phone and computer, the reason may lie in the enabled time synchronization option. To disable it, run the program, open its settings, find the corresponding item and uncheck it, then save the changes. Some phone models also synchronize time when connected to the Internet. Disable this option in the phone settings.
The exact time is displayed on the computer using a special chip, which is powered by the mains when the computer is turned on and by a small battery when it is turned off. The reasons for errors in the displayed time are usually the same for each computer.
Hardware problems
The primary reason that when you turn on the computer and boot the system is displayed wrong time– depletion of battery life in the case, which makes the computer unable to maintain the correct passage of time after it is turned off. The battery needs to be replaced. To do this, turn off the computer from the network and disconnect the power cable from system unit. Unscrew the screws that hold the side cover of the device and pull out the cover itself. Find the battery and, bending the fastener, remove it. Place in case new battery. Usually a 3V battery is sufficient.
Make sure your computer's power supply is powerful enough. In some cases due to wrong choice of this element, the computer may malfunction, causing it to display the wrong time.
If, even after replacing the battery, the time is still set incorrectly, contact a technician: the problem may be due to an outdated motherboard, which is out of order or conflicts with newer equipment.
Problems with the operating system
Make sure you have set the time zone correctly. Typically, these settings are entered during system installation, but you can also set them later by double-left-clicking on the clock in the lower right corner of the screen and going to the “Time Zone” tab. Remember that if you set the wrong time zone, the system will automatically set the time corresponding to it.
Viruses may be the cause of incorrect time setting by the system. Check your computer's hard drive and removable media antivirus program and delete all malicious objects found.
Please note whether time synchronization with Internet services is enabled in the time settings. It is advisable to set the website as the time source Microsoft. In this case, it will become accurate and will be automatically adjusted every time you connect to the Internet.
Check if any software is messing up the time. Some programs have your own settings over time and after installation, they customize the system to suit their needs, ignoring the settings set by the user. It is advisable not to install on a computer suspicious applications, downloaded from suspicious online sources.
For many users, the mobile phone has become an excellent replacement wristwatch. With its help you can always determine current time. For this reason, for many of them, periodically resetting time settings is a serious problem.
Sponsor of the placement P&G Articles on the topic “Why the time on the phone is lost” How to transfer themes from the phone How to return a Samsung phone to factory settings How to restore standard settings in Nokia One of the reasons why the time on a mobile phone may go wrong is that the device is powered by a battery. For example, to replace a SIM card, most phone models require not only turning off, but also removing the battery. After a certain time of absence from the phone, various settings are reset, including the time. In some models, the same situation occurs when removing the memory card.
Sometimes the contact between the battery and the phone becomes loose, for example, this can happen if it is dropped. In this case, there is also a high probability that the time settings will go wrong. Another option is an old battery that quickly loses its charge. Replacing it will help solve the problem.
Another possible reason Resetting your phone's time is due to the incorrect time zone setting. To change it, open the phone menu, then the “Settings” section and select the appropriate item. Please note that one of the reasons may also be the legislative cancellation of the transition in Russia to winter time since autumn 2011. In those phones in which automatic switching between summer and winter times was set, the transition was made. Disable this setting to prevent it from causing additional problems in the future. A firmware update may also be a solution. mobile device.
If you use a program to synchronize your phone and computer, the reason may lie in the enabled time synchronization option. To disable it, run the program, open its settings, find the corresponding item and uncheck the box next to it, then save the changes.
Some phone models also synchronize time when connected to the Internet. Disable this option in your phone settings.
How simple
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There are several reasons for this “temporal anomaly” to appear in the tablet. And believe me, if the time is lost, it’s unlikely that the tablet has forgotten how to count.
List of main reasons why this happens and solutions
- You turn off the tablet at night, for example, to save battery. A very common reason, and the only way to get the time to work correctly is to stop turning off the tablet without a good reason. This is not a laptop or a TV.
- If your tablet is equipped with a 3G module and a SIM card is inserted into it, remember where you bought the SIM card. Perhaps you bought a card in another region, where there is a different time zone. And if you have a checkmark in your settings “Network date and time”, this means that the tablet is set to the time specified by the operator settings in the region where the SIM card was purchased. The solution is to uncheck this box and set the time manually.
- “Bad” firmware. If you have dabbled with flashing your tablet, it is quite possible that the firmware you installed contains some kind of bug. Solution - flash with official software.
- The problem may be the device itself. They say that Chinese tablets swirling over time is quite common. The ClockSync application will help in the fight against this disease (requires ROOT rights to work). This program will allow you to set up automatic time synchronization via the Internet, the main thing is in the date and time settings, uncheck the “Network time zone” item, and set the correct time zone that corresponds to your region.
I remembered that, together with a work colleague, I had long ago solved this problem on Android (HTC Hero) and wanted to write in the sandbox, but kept putting it off until later. And today another article “Updating time zones on Android” appeared, which practically buried the idea of writing and confirmed the idea that there is no need to put off important things for later. But... after remembering a little, I finally decided, because these articles discussed problems associated with the transition to winter/summer time and did not touch upon the issue regarding the operation of the clock widget with the weather and automatic determination of time through a cellular operator.
It all started when I was purchased new phone HTC Desire S.
During the setup process, it turned out that in the date and time settings there is no option to select my city - Novosibirsk and I have to select an alternative city with a suitable time zone.
It also turned out that time synchronization from the operator works somehow mysteriously and the HTC Clock widget in weather display mode and automatic synchronization is turned on displays the incorrect time.
The picture may seem like everything is fine, but the time on the phone has actually run back an hour. Can be disabled automatic detection and sets the zone with his hands, but then we get the following:
As you can see, Novosibirsk is not on the list. We had to choose Bangkok, while system time in the phone it became correct, but the widget still displays with an offset of an hour ago.
We tried to find a solution online. We discovered that we are not alone, and similar problems exist not only among residents of Novosibirsk, but also among residents of other cities on the planet. Integrated solution everyone mentioned problems we didn't find it.
We could ignore all this, turn it off, use our hands and not pay attention to the widget, but... this is Android - and this means that we can and must defeat it!
And so, we begin
The new phone was not rooted at that time and it was not possible to make it so. Therefore, for experiments I took HTC Hero with original firmware+ root/busybox/apps2sd, which had exactly the same problems.We found an application through osmonitor in which the time zone is selected - (com.android.settings). We looked at the sources of the com.android.settings package and found out that the resources are loaded from XML file timezones.xml.
Got the apk of this application /system/app/Settings.apk next command:
adb pull /system/app/Settings.apk
I won't describe all the details works apk manager and Android SDK tools, I think interested people will be easy to figure out. I will dwell only on the key points.
WITH using APK manager performed the following actions
- decompile
- edited the files manually in another window
- compile. When compiling APK manager asks the following questions:
“Is this a system apk (y/n)” – answer yes
“Aside from the signatures, would you like to copy over any additional files that you didn’t modify from the original apk in order to ensure least # of errors (y/n)” - we also answer yes.
Next, we follow the instructions suggested by the APK manager, in another window we delete from the keep directory the files that we changed + resources.arsc. - We complete the assembly.
The resulting apk was placed back into the phone:
adb push Settings.apk /system/app/
With this we ensured that Novosibirsk appeared in the list of manual time zone selection.
Our city appeared on the list, but the definition of the time zone in automatic mode still didn't work correctly. To do this, we went further and found out that time zone settings for cities are stored in the database, namely in the file /system/etc/WPDB.zip.
Having taken it out of the phone using the same adb, we extracted two databases from it
- WP_0409WWE.db
- WP_0419RUS.db
update locationlist set timezoneId = "Asia/Novosibirsk" where name = "Novosibirsk" -- (for WP_0409WWE.db) update locationlist set timezoneId = "Asia/Novosibirsk" where name = "Novosibirsk" -- (for WP_0419RUS.db)
In addition, an entry about our city was added to another database, namely in /system/etc/timezones.db
Added an entry, timezoneId: Asia/Novosibirsk, the remaining fields Novosibirsk, ru – Novosibirsk.
In order for all the changes made to take effect, reset the application cache
Clock, Settings and Weather Provider. Well, just to be sure, we restarted the phone.
Results
As a result, we got these pies: 
As we can see, in automatic mode the zone is determined correctly, the system time and the time on the widget are the same, and in manual mode Everything is fine.
Having become involved in a war against time, we decided to go to the end. Namely, to solve the problem of canceling the transition to winter/summer time.
Downloaded the latest tzdata (aka timeinfo.dat) from a then-available resource
May get confused time, is the device is powered by battery. For example, to replace a SIM card, most phone models require not only to remove the battery. At a certain time of his absence in phone Various settings are reset, including time. In some models, the same situation is observed when removing the memory card. Sometimes the battery weakens, for example, this can happen when dropped. In this case, there is also a high probability that the time settings will go wrong. Another option is an old battery that quickly loses its charge. Replacing it will help solve the problem. Another possible reason for resetting to phone time is incorrect setting. To do it, open the menu, then the “Settings” section and select the appropriate item. Please note that one of the reasons may also be the legislative abolition of the transition to winter in Russia. time since autumn 2011. In those phones in which automatic switching between summer and winter times was set, the transition was made. Disable this setting to prevent it from causing additional problems in the future. Another solution may be to update the firmware of your mobile device. If you use a program to synchronize your phone and computer, the reason may lie in the enabled time synchronization option. To do it, launch the program, open its settings, find the corresponding item and uncheck the box next to it, then save the changes. In some phone models, the time is also checked when connecting to. Disable this option in your phone settings.
The exact time is displayed on the computer using a special chip, which is powered by the mains when the computer is turned on and by a small battery when it is turned off. The reasons for errors in the displayed time are usually the same for each computer.
Hardware problems
The primary reason that the wrong time is displayed when you turn on the computer and boot the system is that the battery in the case is depleted, which makes the computer unable to maintain the correct time after it is turned off. The battery needs to be replaced. To do this, turn off the computer from the network and disconnect the power cable from the system unit. Unscrew the screws that hold the side cover of the device and pull out the cover itself. Find the battery and, bending the fastener, remove it. Place a new battery in the case. Usually a 3V battery is sufficient.
Make sure your computer's power supply is powerful enough. In some cases, due to the incorrect selection of this element, the computer may malfunction, causing it to display the wrong time.
If even after replacing the battery the time is still set incorrectly, contact a technician: the problem may be an outdated motherboard that has failed or is conflicting with newer hardware.
Problems with the operating system
Make sure you have set the time zone correctly. Typically, these settings are entered during system installation, but you can also set them later by double-left-clicking on the clock in the lower right corner of the screen and going to the “Time Zone” tab. Remember that if you set the wrong time zone, the system will automatically set the time corresponding to it.
Viruses may be the cause of incorrect time setting by the system. Check HDD computers and removable media antivirus program and remove all malicious objects found.
Please note whether time synchronization with Internet services is enabled in the time settings. It is advisable to set the Microsoft website as the time source. In this case, it will become accurate and will be automatically adjusted every time you connect to the Internet.
Check it doesn't crash
August 12, 2014 at 5:07 pmProblems with time and time zones in Android and ways to solve them
- System administration
- Tutorial
Let's say you've been using Android for a long time, and therefore it may seem that it copes perfectly with time synchronization tasks - alarms go off on time, there are no obvious time deviations, etc. However, are you completely sure where Android comes from? actually receives data about the exact time and time zones? If you have any doubts about how this works, welcome to cat.
Android has two problems with time: its unpredictable synchronization and the need to update time zone data even in the latest version of the OS.
Background: Android is a mobile OS based on Linux kernel, it easily connects to the Internet and, of course, one can assume that time synchronization is carried out using NTP, however, this is not the case. Historically, Android was intended to be used exclusively in mobile phones(remember version 1.6). At the same time, only by the 3rd major version did it acquire an interface for tablets and other progress began towards unifying the interface and OS hardware. However, even versions 4.4 and Android L receive time signals using the same methods that Nokia 3310 and other earlier GSM/3GPP phones received them, i.e. from cell towers when registering on the network (when connected to the tower). At the same time, tablets or other devices without a communication module, in principle, do not have the ability to synchronize time automatically.
Unfortunately, to teach Android to synchronize time completely automatically using NTP we need root access because the API for precise installation There is currently no time in Android.
Let's get started. The first thing you need to do is turn off time synchronization with the mobile network. At the same time, I recommend leaving the time zone setting in automatic mode, and turning it off only if there is a guarantee that the device will operate in stationary mode.
Screenshot of the settings window “Settings -> Date and time” Android versions 4.x:
Next, you need to install the ClockSync application, which will act as an alternative to the time synchronization daemon using NTP.
Screenshots of the ClockSync program window before synchronization (left) and after (right):
The screenshots show that the difference with exact time turned out to be quite small, however, there are different situations, for some, the time on the device may even float back and forth because the operator did not bother to put things in order on his BS.
After making sure that everything works, we’ll set up automatic synchronization in the ClockSync program. To improve accuracy, I recommend enabling the "Mode" options. high precision" and "Only via WI-FI." If everything is clear with the first option from the description in the program (see screenshot below), then I recommend enabling the second option first of all, not for reasons of economy mobile traffic, but due to the fact that Mobile Internet is not able to guarantee any stable delays.
A little more about accuracy:
The still widespread mobile Internet of the 2nd (GPRS/EDGE) is, in principle, unable to provide stable transmission delays. Even the Internet of the 3rd (3G) and, to some extent, 4th (LTE/LTE-advanced) generations when the network or communication channels between BS are heavily loaded, which is typical situation for large settlements,cannot guarantee stable latency. Therefore, even with approximation, the final accuracy of time setting can be worse than a fraction of a second and can even easily reach several seconds.
Screenshot of settings automatic synchronization in ClockSync:
In connection with large-scale changes in time zones in the Russian Federation in the fall of this year, it is necessary to think now about updating information about them on all devices, and if there are no problems with supported desktop OSes, then in Android even the most latest version The OS contains outdated data. To make sure of this, install TimeZone Fixer and observe an unsightly picture.
Screenshot of TimeZone Fixer running on Android 4.4.4 ( Cyanogenmod firmware dated August 4, 2014), which clearly shows that the data in the firmware is out of date:
A little bit of common sense and concern for users:
The author of the TimeZone Fixer program warns us that updating time zone data files can completely “break” the device and even gives recommendations on how to protect yourself from additional problems, although the cases of problems are isolated and very specific - this is really good care for ordinary users.
That’s the only reason I included this piece in the article; although it is not directly related to the problem, it is really good example care about users. At the same time, the warning about versions 4.3+ is caused by only a small number of reviews about the program for devices with new OS versions, so please be sure to write a review about this application after use.
After updating the time zone data, the program will offer to reboot, however, I recommend rebooting the device yourself via system menu since the program performs a reboot that is actually equivalent to a reset, which, albeit with a low probability, can lead to problems and data loss.
I will be happy to answer any questions or make additions that the community deems necessary, however, I would like to avoid overloading the article additional information, in order to adhere to the format of a compact guide to solving a specific problem.
UPD: This instruction completely solves the problem of time zones only for versions younger than 4.4. From version 4.4, additional patching is needed, while the issue is at the stage of exploring the possibilities for creating a user-friendly solution.
