How To Set Time Apple Watch Without Iphone

Your Apple Watch sets the time automatically based on your iPhone's time settings.
If you want to set the time on your Apple Watch manually, you can use the Watch's Settings app to make it run up to 59 minutes ahead of the correct time.
You can also change the time zone settings on your iPhone to make your Watch display any time that you want.
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Ordinarily, setting the time on your Apple Watch is something you never need to worry about.

Your Watch automatically takes the time from your iPhone, and thus never needs to be adjusted — it's based on your current time zone, never runs fast or slow, and automatically adjusts for Daylight Saving Time.

Even so, it's possible to set the time on your Apple Watch manually if you need to. There are two ways to do so.

First, if you want to change the time on both your iPhone and Watch at the same time, you can manually set the time zone settings on your iPhone. To do that, follow the instructions in the article, "How to manually change the time and date on your iPhone, or set it to update automatically based on your location."

Second, if you only want to change the time on your Apple Watch, you can adjust it from the Settings app on your watch.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple Watch Series 5 (From $399 at Best Buy)

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)

How to set the time on an Apple Watch manually

1. Start the Settings app on your Apple Watch. To do that, press the Digital Crown and tap the app icon that's shaped like a gear.

Start the Settings app on your Apple Watch to adjust the time.

2. Scroll down and tap "Clock."

The time adjustment option is in the Clock settings.

3. On the Clock page, tap "+0 min."

The watch displays how many minutes it's manually set to run ahead of the correct time.

4. Spin the Digital Crown to choose how many minutes ahead you want the clock to display the time, and then tap "Set." You can set the watch to display a time that's up to 59 minutes ahead of your iPhone's correct local time. You can't change the hour like this, however.

Use the Digital Crown to adjust the time and then tap "Set."

5. Once you've set the time how you like, just exit the Settings app.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

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'Why does my Apple Watch die so fast?': How to improve the battery life on your Apple Watch in 7 ways
How to add music and other audio to your Apple Watch and listen to it from the watch

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.