Apple iOS daylight savings time recurring alarm bug hits Europe

“Users of Apple’s iPhone 4 mobile phone could be forgiven for arriving late in to work this morning – an apparent bug in the phone’s software prevented the handset’s alarm function from working correctly,” Claudine Beaumont reports for The Telegraph.

“Although the time on the iPhone 4 automatically updated when the clocks went back at the weekend, it seems the alarm function didn’t, resulting in scores of people being woken an hour later than they had intended today,” Beaumont reports. “A similar bug affected iPhone 4 users in Australia and New Zealand when clocks switched from Daylight Saving Time last month”

Beaumont warns, “The glitch could strike again next week when the United States adjusts its clocks to mark the start of winter.”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Note: Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. (except for Arizona and Hawaii which do not observe it) ends on the first Sunday of November (Nov. 7th, this year). Winter officially begins on December 21, 2010. The United States does not adjust its clocks to mark the start of winter.

68 Comments

  1. Did MDN ever mention the key lock bug? I don’t remember seeing it here, I read about it on HuffPost-

    1. On the key lock screen, go to Emergency call
    2. Dial a fake number, for instance ###
    3. Press SEND, then immediately press the lock button.

    This kicks you into the phone app, where you can access contacts, make calls, and send text messages, bypassing the key lock.

  2. Did MDN ever mention the key lock bug? I don’t remember seeing it here, I read about it on HuffPost-

    1. On the key lock screen, go to Emergency call
    2. Dial a fake number, for instance ###
    3. Press SEND, then immediately press the lock button.

    This kicks you into the phone app, where you can access contacts, make calls, and send text messages, bypassing the key lock.

  3. Beaumont warns, “The glitch could strike again next week when the United States adjusts its clocks to mark the start of winter.”

    In Canada, where clocks will be adjusted next week, the well-educated populace knows doing so won’t herald winter. The winter solstice does that — next month.

    @Casey O’Connor: No one forgot, except the exceedingly provincial.

  4. Beaumont warns, “The glitch could strike again next week when the United States adjusts its clocks to mark the start of winter.”

    In Canada, where clocks will be adjusted next week, the well-educated populace knows doing so won’t herald winter. The winter solstice does that — next month.

    @Casey O’Connor: No one forgot, except the exceedingly provincial.

  5. This bug hit me today, I was actually quite impressed because my iPhone automatically changed its’ time on Saturday night/Sunday morning… was nearly late for work this morning.

  6. This bug hit me today, I was actually quite impressed because my iPhone automatically changed its’ time on Saturday night/Sunday morning… was nearly late for work this morning.

  7. @shadowoddoubt your logic appears sound, however my 6.45am alarm call this morning went off at 7.45am, making me late for work. As for having all Sunday to figure it out, many people including myself don’t have an alarm set on a Sunday. On a more serious note, I personally feel that Apple is growing so fast it’s legendary quality is suffering. This is just another in an ever growing list of issues that i’ve experienced in the last 12 months. The proximity sensor on my iPhone4 was a major problem, fortunately now fixed. Come on Apple I’m a big fan, you’re much better than this.

  8. @shadowoddoubt your logic appears sound, however my 6.45am alarm call this morning went off at 7.45am, making me late for work. As for having all Sunday to figure it out, many people including myself don’t have an alarm set on a Sunday. On a more serious note, I personally feel that Apple is growing so fast it’s legendary quality is suffering. This is just another in an ever growing list of issues that i’ve experienced in the last 12 months. The proximity sensor on my iPhone4 was a major problem, fortunately now fixed. Come on Apple I’m a big fan, you’re much better than this.

  9. What’s with the xenophobia? I’ve only briefly perused yet I see deeply offensive comments about Germans, French and Brazilians. Cut it out, you guy. Apple supporters should be above that sort of disgraceful shit.

    Even the article itself deserves criticism. Two paragraphs without mentioning that the comments are relevant only to Western Europe and the FSU. MDN already noted the second error. And the third error is that Australia and New Zealand did not switch from Daylight Saving last month, they switched TO Daylight saving. Fourth error, only Australia moved last month, first Sunday in October. New Zealand moved on the last Sunday in September.

  10. What’s with the xenophobia? I’ve only briefly perused yet I see deeply offensive comments about Germans, French and Brazilians. Cut it out, you guy. Apple supporters should be above that sort of disgraceful shit.

    Even the article itself deserves criticism. Two paragraphs without mentioning that the comments are relevant only to Western Europe and the FSU. MDN already noted the second error. And the third error is that Australia and New Zealand did not switch from Daylight Saving last month, they switched TO Daylight saving. Fourth error, only Australia moved last month, first Sunday in October. New Zealand moved on the last Sunday in September.

  11. “A similar bug affected iPhone 4 users in Australia and New Zealand when clocks switched from Daylight Saving Time last month”

    Apple has known about this for a month and done nothing?!?!?
    There should have been a MDN Take complaining about that, not a MDN Note talking about winter.

    It may be a small detail, but being an hour late for work, school, or other appointment is a big deal. Especially if I see that the iPhone did automatically change the clock on Sunday.
    Many of us depend on the alarm clock, I need to trust Apple’s software on the iPhone.

  12. “A similar bug affected iPhone 4 users in Australia and New Zealand when clocks switched from Daylight Saving Time last month”

    Apple has known about this for a month and done nothing?!?!?
    There should have been a MDN Take complaining about that, not a MDN Note talking about winter.

    It may be a small detail, but being an hour late for work, school, or other appointment is a big deal. Especially if I see that the iPhone did automatically change the clock on Sunday.
    Many of us depend on the alarm clock, I need to trust Apple’s software on the iPhone.

  13. Flew from San Francisco to London one day. Had switch from Daylight Savings Time the next day. Headed to Paris with the time zone change the next day.

    For some reason, my iPhone switched flawlessly and the alarms went off on time. My girlfriend never even noticed the time changes.

  14. Flew from San Francisco to London one day. Had switch from Daylight Savings Time the next day. Headed to Paris with the time zone change the next day.

    For some reason, my iPhone switched flawlessly and the alarms went off on time. My girlfriend never even noticed the time changes.

  15. What’s the problem?
    I live in London everything worked just fine. No problem with time updating.
    iOs 4.1 (8B117)
    Am I just lucky or what is everybody else doing wrong!

  16. What’s the problem?
    I live in London everything worked just fine. No problem with time updating.
    iOs 4.1 (8B117)
    Am I just lucky or what is everybody else doing wrong!

  17. First, Apple needs to catch this kind of software bug in functional testing.

    Second, I vote to end daylight savings time. Arizona and Hawaii get by fine without it. The rest of us could, too.

  18. First, Apple needs to catch this kind of software bug in functional testing.

    Second, I vote to end daylight savings time. Arizona and Hawaii get by fine without it. The rest of us could, too.

  19. This is a puzzle. When you switch from daylite saving to standard time you gain an hour. The alarms would have woken everyone up early not late.
    As you go to daylite savings you lose the hour so Australia and NZ most certainly had alarms go off 1 hour late.

    So how is it that users in Europe would be late?

    Strange article. Sure the bug exists but at least get the detail right way round. For whatever reason it did not effect me in the slightest while i was in NZ for the change and back in australia the week after. No fuss. No pain…

  20. This is a puzzle. When you switch from daylite saving to standard time you gain an hour. The alarms would have woken everyone up early not late.
    As you go to daylite savings you lose the hour so Australia and NZ most certainly had alarms go off 1 hour late.

    So how is it that users in Europe would be late?

    Strange article. Sure the bug exists but at least get the detail right way round. For whatever reason it did not effect me in the slightest while i was in NZ for the change and back in australia the week after. No fuss. No pain…

  21. @Michael Dickson, please think before you type.

    Think about Australia and New Zealand. The day before, real time, phone time and alarm time are the same. Perhaps the alarm is set to go off at 0700 each morning.

    Jump forward a day. At 0300 real time and phone time suddenly jump to 0400 but the bug does not shift alarm time which still thinks it’s 0300.

    A few hours later, real time and phone time show 0700 but the alarm is set to go off at yesterday’s 0700 which, today, occurs when the phone says 0800

  22. @Michael Dickson

    Ooops…I should take my own advice.

    I just thought more about what you typed and you’re absolutely right.

    Of course Aussies and Kiwis would have been woken an hour late. The Telegraph is wrong in telling us that Europeans were woken an hour late, they would’ve been woken an hour early!

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