It happens to the best of us. You glance down at your wrist after a long flight or a weekend where your tracker died, and the numbers just don't add up. Maybe you're living twenty minutes in the past, or perhaps you've somehow jumped ahead into tomorrow. It’s annoying. Actually, it’s more than annoying when you’re trying to time a soft-boiled egg or catch a bus. If you need to know how to update the time on Fitbit, you’re probably expecting a "Set Time" button on the watch itself.
Spoilers: that button doesn't exist.
Fitbit devices are essentially "dumb" clocks. They don't have an internal oscillator that keeps high-precision time independent of a source. Instead, they rely entirely on your smartphone or computer to tell them what year it is. If the link between your phone and your wrist breaks, the time drifts. It’s a common quirk of the ecosystem that catches new users off guard.
🔗 Read more: The First Mobile Phone Picture: What Actually Happened in Philippe Kahn’s Kitchen
The Sync Solution: First Steps to Fixing Your Clock
Most of the time, your Fitbit is wrong because it hasn't talked to the app lately. If you've been force-closing your apps to save battery (which, honestly, you shouldn't do), the Fitbit app can't run in the background. No background sync means no time updates.
Open the Fitbit app on your iPhone or Android. You'll see your device icon in the top-left corner. Tap it. Now, look for the "Sync Now" button. Press it. Usually, this solves 90% of the issues. You'll see a little progress bar, and once it finishes, the digits on your wrist should jump to the correct time.
If it doesn't? Well, then things get a bit more technical, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Sometimes the Bluetooth "handshake" between the two devices gets stale. It's like a conversation that stopped making sense five minutes ago. You might need to toggle Bluetooth off and on in your phone settings to kickstart the connection.
How to Update the Time on Fitbit When You Change Time Zones
Traveling is the biggest culprit for a confused Fitbit. You land in London, your phone updates to GMT, but your Charge 6 or Versa 4 is stubbornly stuck on New York time. Why? Because the app might be set to a manual time zone.
To fix this, go into your app settings. Tap your profile picture or the icon in the top left. Navigate to "App Settings" and then look for "Time Zone." You'll likely see a toggle for "Set Automatically." If that’s already on and it’s still wrong, turn it off. Switch it to a different zone, sync the watch, then turn it back on and sync again. It’s a classic "turn it off and back on" move that forces the software to re-verify its location data.
Some people prefer to keep their watches on a specific time zone for work. If that's you, just keep the automatic toggle off and manually select your preferred city. Just remember that every time you sync, the app will push that specific manual time to your device, regardless of where you actually are in the world.
Dealing with the Dreaded 12 or 24-Hour Format
While we're talking about the clock, let's address the military time issue. Some people hate the 24-hour clock. Others find the 12-hour clock confusing. Interestingly, you cannot change this on the watch itself. You have to go to the Fitbit.com web dashboard or the app settings.
🔗 Read more: CVT How It Works: Why Your Next Car Might Not Have Gears
Change the setting, save it, and then—this is the part everyone forgets—you must sync the device. Changes made in the cloud don't magically appear on your wrist until that Bluetooth data transfer happens.
What to Do When Syncing Fails Repeatedly
Is your Fitbit refusing to sync? This is the "nuclear option" territory. First, check if your phone is paired with too many other Bluetooth devices. Sometimes the "pipe" is too full.
Next, try a restart of the Fitbit itself.
For most modern models like the Luxe or Inspire 3, you'll need to plug it into the charger. Press the button on the charging cable three times, pausing for a second between presses. The Fitbit logo will pop up. For the Sense or Versa series, hold the side button for about 10 seconds until the vibration hits and the logo appears.
Restoring the hardware to a fresh boot state often clears out the cache bugs that prevent time synchronization. It doesn't delete your steps or your sleep data, so don't worry about losing your progress for the day. It's just a quick "brain reset" for the tracker.
The Role of Software Updates
Sometimes the reason you can't figure out how to update the time on Fitbit is that your firmware is ancient. Google (who owns Fitbit now) pushes out updates that occasionally include fixes for sync stability.
Check the app. If there’s a pinkish-red arrow next to your device icon, an update is waiting. Plug the watch into the charger, keep your phone close, and let it run. This can take 20 minutes. Don't walk away. If the update fails halfway through, you might end up with a "bricked" device that shows a weird error screen, and then you'll definitely have time issues because the clock won't show up at all.
Technical Nuances and Troubleshooting Limits
Let's get real for a second. If your Fitbit is consistently losing minutes every day even after syncing, you might be looking at a hardware failure. Lithium-ion batteries nearing the end of their life can sometimes cause voltage drops that affect the internal clock chip's ability to maintain a steady count between syncs.
If your device is more than three years old and the time is constantly drifting, it might be time for an upgrade. Also, keep in mind that the Fitbit app needs "Location Services" set to "Always" on many Android phones to maintain the Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) connection. Without location data, Android's privacy settings often prevent the app from talking to the watch in the background.
Actionable Steps for a Perfect Clock
- Check the App First: Ensure the Fitbit app is open and "Sync Now" is successful.
- Toggle Time Zone Settings: Switch "Set Automatically" off and on in the App Settings to force a refresh.
- The Restart Trick: Restart your tracker by holding the side button or using the charging cable button sequence.
- Phone Settings: Make sure your phone’s system time is correct. If your phone is wrong, your Fitbit will be wrong.
- Battery Check: Ensure your Fitbit has at least 20% battery; low power modes sometimes throttle sync frequency to save energy.
Once you've confirmed your time zone settings in the app and performed a manual sync, the watch should instantly reflect the correct time. If the issue persists, verify that your smartphone's operating system is up to date, as Bluetooth protocols are frequently updated for better device communication.