The quickest way to change your iPad's time

Open Settings, tap General, then tap Date & Time. Toggle off Set Automatically if it is on. Tap the time display, and you will see hour and minute wheels that you can spin to set the correct time. When you are done, tap outside the time picker or press the back arrow to save your change.

If Set Automatically is already off, you can skip that step and go straight to tapping the time display. The whole process takes about 30 seconds.

Key Takeaways

  • Go to Settings > General > Date & Time to reach the time controls on any iPad.
  • Turn off Set Automatically first, or your iPad will override your manual change within minutes.
  • Use the spinning wheels to set hours and minutes, then tap outside the picker to save.
  • If your time keeps changing back, Set Automatically is still on — toggle it off again and check that your iPad has a stable internet connection.

Why your iPad might have the wrong time

iPads are designed to pull the correct time from the internet automatically. If your time is wrong, it usually means either your iPad lost its internet connection for a while, or Set Automatically was turned off at some point and never turned back on.

If you just changed time zones — say, you flew across the country — your iPad should update on its own within a few minutes of connecting to WiFi or cellular data. If it does not, manually setting the time is faster than waiting.

Turning off automatic time so you can set it manually

Open Settings and tap General. Scroll down and tap Date & Time. You will see a toggle next to Set Automatically. If it is green (on), tap it once to turn it off. The toggle will turn gray.

Once it is off, the time display below it becomes tappable. Tap it to open the time picker with the spinning wheels. This is the only way to manually adjust the time — the toggle must be off first.

Using the time picker wheels to set hours and minutes

When you tap the time display, two wheels appear side by side: one for hours and one for minutes. Spin the left wheel up or down to change the hour. Spin the right wheel to change the minutes. The wheels work like a slot machine — flick them quickly to jump several numbers, or tap and drag slowly to land on an exact minute.

Most people set minutes in 5-minute or 15-minute increments by flicking past the numbers they do not need. Once both wheels show the time you want, tap anywhere outside the picker or press the back arrow at the top left to close it and save your change.

What to do if your time keeps changing back

Set Automatically is almost certainly still on. Go back to Settings > General > Date & Time and check the toggle. If it is green, tap it to turn it off. Some iPads turn this setting back on after a software update, so it is worth checking even if you turned it off before.

If the toggle is already off and your time is still changing, your iPad may be losing and regaining internet connection. Check that you are connected to a stable WiFi network. If you are on cellular data, try switching to WiFi. Once your connection is stable and Set Automatically is off, your manual time setting will stick.

The difference between 12-hour and 24-hour time

Your iPad shows time in the format you set in your region settings. In the United States, Canada, and most English-speaking countries, the default is 12-hour time with AM and PM. In most of Europe and many other regions, the default is 24-hour time (also called military time), where 1 PM shows as 13:00.

If you want to change between 12-hour and 24-hour format, go to Settings > General > Date & Time and look for 24-Hour Time. Toggle it on to use 24-hour format, or off to use 12-hour format with AM and PM. This setting does not affect how you set the time — the wheels work the same way either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my iPad keep resetting the time to the wrong hour?

Set Automatically is on and your iPad is pulling the time from a server that has the wrong time zone. Turn off Set Automatically in Settings > General > Date & Time, set the time manually, and leave it off. If you travel frequently, you may want to turn it back on so your iPad updates automatically in each new time zone.

Can I set the time to something that is not the real time?

Yes. Once you turn off Set Automatically, you can set your iPad to any time you want. Some people do this to test apps or to set a reminder for a specific time without changing their system clock. Just remember to set it back to the real time, or your iPad will show the wrong time until you do.

What if the time picker wheels do not appear when I tap the time?

Set Automatically is still on. Go back to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure the toggle next to Set Automatically is gray (off). If it is green, tap it to turn it off. Then try tapping the time display again.

Does changing the time on my iPad affect other devices?

No. Each device — your iPad, iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch — keeps its own time setting. Changing the time on your iPad does not change the time on any other device. If you want them all to show the same time, you will need to set each one separately or turn on Set Automatically on all of them.