How To: Update Daylight Savings On PC And Mobile Devices

I am quite aware that “fall back” to Standard time has already happened back on Sunday Nov 1st 2009 at 2:00am but I wanted to post this for those who are still trying to find ways to change back the time on both their computers PCs and Macs and mobile devices and also to have it for reading later.

Jump to:

DST for Palm OS devices
Automatic Time Update by Cellular Carriers/Networks
DST for Windows Mobile/Windows Phone
DST for Nokia devices
DST for Blackberry
DST for iPhone/iPod Touch
DST for Windows and easy manual DST change
DST for Vista
DST for Macs

Before I continue, I am focusing on the time change with respect to North America. In the fall/autumn and spring, the hours undergo time changes either forward or backwards. This is meant to adjust our hours, or more specifically, the amount of sunlight we receive for our typical day since the amount of sunlight we receive can be very short in the winter and very long in the summer. Also, it’s meant to decrease the amount of energy we use thus the “daylight savings” in the name. Previously, on the last Sunday of October and first Sunday of April, we “fall back” or turn the time back an hour (or half or none depending on the time zone) and “spring ahead” or move the time ahead by an hour (or half or none). Then, in 2007, it was changed.

Now, on the first Sunday of November at 2:00am, most time zones will “fall back” or turn back the time by an hour (or half or none) and on the second Sunday of March at 2:00am, most time zones will “spring ahead” by the same amount of time (eg. 3:00am) depending on the time zone. That means, we get an extra hour of sleep or time when we “fall back” in the fall and lose that same amount of time when we “spring ahead” in the spring.

Especially for those of us who still use older computers with older software and operating systems, this change in the time change certainly can cause a lot of headaches.

DST for Palm OS devices

I have previously provided a posting on changing your computer and devices to update the time change here: How To Series: Change Or Update to New Daylight Savings Time Settings. That post covers how to change the time on Windows Mobile, Palm OS devices like Zire 71 and Treo 650 plus a Windows computer.

Automatic Time Update by Cellular Carriers/Networks

First of all, if you own a smartphone or cell phone that has an option to have its clock or time updated by your local cellular network, then it can be very easy and you won’t need to change it manually. Simply set your cell phone or smartphone to have the clock or time updated by your cellular carrier/network. Depending on your cell phone or smartphone, the option and settings may vary. Most times, you may be able to find it under Options or Settings or Time and Date. Many cell phones and smartphones offer that feature. Once you have it set to have the clock updated by your carrier, you won’t ever need to worry about changing the time on your cell phone or smartphone again.

Update your Windows phone for Daylight Saving Time

Again, if you have a Palm OS device or a Windows Mobile device, check out this post for more details. Also, Microsoft has a newly updated page for DST updates for their Windows Phones. Click on this link: Update your Windows phone for Daylight Saving Time for more information.

For those with a Nokia cell phone or smartphone, you may want to check out the Nokia support page for updates. You may want to download and install the latest PC Suite software or the latest update for your device. They may already contain a fix for the DST. Check for the update and other software for your Nokia device here: Nokia support and software page

For those with Blackberrys, check out this link from Research in Motion’s DST page for the update and more information.

DST for iPhone and iPod Touch

For those with an iPhone, as long as it is set to “update automatically” in Settings -> General -> Date & Time, it should update automatically by your local cellular carrier.

For those with an iPod Touch, the device will automatically be updated when you synchronize your device with the computer. So, there’s nothing to do on your part with respect to these devices.

DST update for Windows computers

Although I previously provided a workaround for a manual time change on most older computers (eg. Windows 2000, 98, etc), it looks like there is a somewhat easier way to make the changes. Previously, I provided a link to a program that will create a new Time Zone on your computer, Microsoft has now provided its own program that will allow you to either create a new Time Zone or change its setting. I will discuss the latter.

Simply go to this Microsoft support page: How to configure daylight saving time for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It’s a big lengthy so scroll about three quarters (3/4) of the way down the page to: Method 2: Change the time zone settings on a single computer. Locate the link to: Download the Tzedit.exe utility package now. and download the Tzedit.exe file. Open it and it will be installed on your computer in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\TZEdit

Go to that location and run TZEDIT.EXE (double click on file or right click and select “Open”)

You should see the program’s main screen similar to this:

Windows Time Zone Editor Main screen (TZEdit.exe)

Find your local time zone and select it (highlighted). Then click on the Edit button on the right.

You should see a screen similar to what’s below:

Windows Time Zone Editor - Edit Time Zone screen (TZEdit.exe)

In this Edit Time Zone Screen, you can edit and make changes to that particular time zone.

For North American, you should select Start Day: Second Sunday of March and Last Day: First Sunday of November similar to the screenshot above. Make sure it is correct before clicking the “Ok” button as it will overwrite the existing time zone settings with this new one.

If you wish to create a New Time Zone, you can simply click on the New button and make the editions or changes. Then click Ok. But, in order for that particular Time Zone to be reflected on your computer, you must select (highlight) it in the main screen.

Since we won’t need to go back to the previous time zone changes, I think it’s perfectly fine to simply make the new DST changes on the time zone instead of creating a new one. But that is your choice.

For Windows Vista, check out the official Microsoft Daylight Savings Time Help an Support Page for more information. You may not necessarily need an update.

For Macs, check out this official Apple’s About Daylight Savings Time changes in 2007 page.

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