It happens to everyone. You wake up, glance at your wrist to see if you can squeeze in another ten minutes of sleep, and realize your watch thinks it is three in the morning. Or maybe you just landed in London, but your Versa 4 is stubbornly clinging to New York time. It’s annoying. Honestly, for a device that’s supposed to keep your life on track, having the wrong time feels like a betrayal.
But here’s the thing: you can’t actually "set" the time on the watch itself. There is no hidden clock menu on a Charge 6 or an Inspire 3 where you can manually type in the digits. Fitbit devices are essentially "dumb" clocks that piggyback off your phone’s internal clock via Bluetooth. If the time is wrong, it’s almost always a communication breakdown between the app and the hardware. Knowing how to change the time Fitbit shows involves a bit of troubleshooting in the settings of the Fitbit app, rather than tapping the screen on your wrist.
The Quick Fix: Syncing is Everything
Most of the time, the solution is just a manual sync. If your phone knows the right time, your Fitbit should too. Open the Fitbit app on your iPhone or Android. Ensure your device is nearby. Tap your profile icon or the device icon in the top-left corner. Find your specific tracker. Now, pull down on the screen. You’ll see a little progress bar. Once that finishes, the time usually snaps into place.
Sometimes it doesn't.
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If a simple sync doesn't do the trick, the problem is likely your "Automatic Time Zone" setting. This is a notorious culprit for travelers. Your phone updates to the local tower, but the Fitbit app stays locked in your home turf because it hasn't "asked" the phone for a location update recently.
Diving Into the Time Zone Settings
To really fix it, you need to dig into the app’s weeds. This is where most people get lost because the menu has moved around a few times since Google took over.
- Hit that Photo/Profile icon in the top left.
- Go to App Settings. Don't look at the device settings yet; look at the app-wide settings.
- Tap Time Zone.
- You'll likely see a toggle that says Set Automatically.
Turn it off. Seriously. Toggle it off, wait five seconds, and toggle it back on. This forces the app to re-query your phone’s operating system for the current, local time. If you are still seeing the wrong hour, turn it off and manually select your time zone from the list. It’s a bit old school, but it works when the automation fails. Once you pick the right zone, go back to the main dashboard and sync the device again.
Why the 24-Hour Clock Matters
Some people prefer military time. Others hate it. If you want to switch from a 12-hour to a 24-hour clock, you can’t do this in the mobile app. It's a weird quirk of the Fitbit ecosystem. You actually have to log into your dashboard on Fitbit.com using a web browser.
Once you’re logged in, click the gear icon and go to Settings. Scroll down to Personal Info. Under the Advanced Settings section, find Clock Display Time. This is where you toggle between 12-hour and 24-hour formats. After you save the change on the website, you must sync your tracker with the app on your phone for the change to take effect. It’s a lot of hoops for a simple clock change, but that’s the current architecture.
Dealing with the "Bluetooth Glitch"
If you’ve tried the sync and the time zone toggle and it’s still wrong, you're likely dealing with a "hung" Bluetooth connection. This happens frequently on older Android models or if you have multiple Bluetooth devices (like headphones and a smart scale) fighting for the phone’s attention.
Try the "nuclear" reset.
Turn off your phone's Bluetooth. Wait. Turn it back on. If that fails, unpair your Fitbit from the phone’s Bluetooth settings (choose "Forget This Device"). Don't worry; you won't lose your step data as long as you don't delete the device from the Fitbit app. Re-pair it through the app. This creates a fresh handshake between the devices, which almost always pushes the correct time data through.
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Specific Issues for Pixel Watch Users
Since Google integrated Fitbit into the Pixel Watch line, things are slightly different. The Pixel Watch gets its time directly from the Wear OS system. If your Pixel Watch time is wrong, you actually need to fix it in the Watch app or the System Settings of the watch itself. Go to Settings > System > Date and Time. Ensure "Set time automatically" is checked. Unlike the standalone Fitbit trackers, the Pixel Watch is a bit more independent.
Daylight Savings and the "Ghost Hour"
Twice a year, Fitbit forums explode with people asking how to change the time Fitbit displays because of Daylight Savings Time. The device is supposed to handle this. It doesn't always.
The most common reason for a DST failure is that your phone updated at 2:00 AM, but you didn't open the Fitbit app until 8:00 AM. The tracker won't know the time changed until that first sync of the day. If it’s been hours and it hasn't updated, check if your phone itself is actually showing the right time. Occasionally, older operating systems miss the update, and the Fitbit just follows the leader.
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When Hardware is the Problem
Is your Fitbit actually staying on? If your battery is critically low, the internal oscillator can struggle. If the device dies completely and sits empty for a day or two, the internal clock resets to a factory default (often January 1st).
When you plug it back in, it might show a wildly inaccurate date. This requires a "Force Sync." If the app says "Syncing..." but the time doesn't change, your tracker might need a hardware restart. For most models like the Luxe or Charge series, you can do this by plugging it into the charger and pressing the button on the charging cable three times, or by going to Settings > Restart Device on the watch screen.
Actionable Steps to Fix Your Clock Now
- Check the App Sync: Open the Fitbit app and pull down on the Today tab. This is the "have you tried turning it off and on again" of the Fitbit world.
- Toggle Time Zone: Go to App Settings > Time Zone. Switch "Set Automatically" to OFF, then back to ON.
- Force a Web Update: If you want to change from 12-hour to 24-hour time, go to the Fitbit.com web dashboard; you can't do it in the app.
- The Bluetooth Refresh: If all else fails, toggle your phone's Bluetooth or "Forget" the device and re-pair it to force a new data handshake.
- Verify Battery Health: Ensure your tracker isn't constantly hitting 0%, as this causes the internal clock to lose its "place" in time.
If you follow these steps, your wrist will match the world around you again. No more showing up to meetings an hour early or thinking it's midnight when it's only 11:00 PM. Keep your app updated and sync at least once a day to prevent the time from drifting more than a few seconds.