How To Fix a Locked Date and Time on Your iPhone Quickly
How to Manually Change Date and Time Settings on Your iPhone
So, here’s where I got stuck — trying to manually set the date and time on my iPhone after it kept sticking to the wrong time, especially when traveling. It turns out, Apple doesn’t make this obvious. It’s buried pretty well, and the setting is a toggle that’s easy to overlook. Trust me, it took me a couple of tries to find the right spot—and it’s not always straightforward even if you think you’re in the right menu.
Navigating to the Date and Time Settings
The first step is going into Settings. But here’s the thing: simply tapping on Settings > General > Date & Time might not get you the manual controls right away. Sometimes, unless you search for it, it’s not obvious. Apple tends to hide this option behind a toggle — Set Automatically. When that’s turned on, the date and time fields are grayed out and unchangeable. Finding that toggle took me a bit of trial and error—so if you’re not seeing the options enabled, check this first.
To get there, go to Settings > General > Date & Time. If you’re not seeing it, try swiping down on the Settings main page to reveal the search bar. Type Date & Time in there, and it should pop up. Once you find it, tap it to get into the settings. On some devices, the menu might look a little different depending on iOS versions, but it’s generally under General.
Making Sure Your iOS is Up to Date
Before messing with the settings, I found it’s a good idea to check if your iPhone is running the latest iOS. Sometimes, if you’re behind on updates, certain options just won’t behave right or might be missing altogether. To do that, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If your phone isn’t on the latest version, do the update—yes, it might take a reboot or two, and sometimes the update process resets or re-enables hidden options. For me, updating sometimes made the manual date setting just reappear, so worth a shot.
Disabling ‘Set Automatically’ for Manual Adjustment
Here’s where I finally landed: in the Date & Time menu, you’ll see a toggle called Set Automatically. If this is enabled (which it is by default), the date and time fields are grayed out. It’s like Apple wants to keep you from messing with it manually. To set the date manually, you need to turn this off. Tapping on the toggle sometimes feels a bit stubborn — it might not respond instantly or need a second to switch. Once it’s off, the Date and Time options become active, and you can set them how you want.
After disabling Set Automatically, the date and time fields should become clickable or you’ll see a Change button appear. Tapping that gets you the scrolling wheels to pick your preferred date and time. Be aware that in some iOS versions, these controls can be temperamental — sometimes the wheel won’t update until you let go, or you might need to restart the device if it’s acting weird. I’ve had to do that more than once when settings refused to stick.
Changing Date and Time Manually
Once the wheels are active, just scroll through to set the date and time. It’s pretty similar to setting alarms or calendar events, so it shouldn’t be too tricky. Sometimes the scroll doesn’t seem to update immediately—just tap outside or wait a second for it to register. And a quick tip: if the manual change isn’t sticking or the options are unresponsive, try restarting the phone. Weird glitches happen, especially after updates or if restrictions are messing with your settings.
Common Problems and What To Do
If the Date & Time menu itself is missing or certain options are grayed out, it could be restrictions. Check out Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions. If changing the date/time is disabled there, you’ll need to turn that restriction off. Sometimes device management profiles—like on work or school phones—also block these settings, so it’s worth checking profiles if they’re present.
And, sometimes, the Set Automatically toggle is just grayed out or missing entirely. I’ve run into this after updates or if a device profile is controlling the settings. In those cases, a restart might unlock things. If that doesn’t work, a full reset of all settings (found under Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings) can reset restrictions and preferences without deleting your data. Just a heads up—this resets Wi-Fi passwords, display preferences, and so on, but avoids wiping everything.
In the end, manually changing the date and time on an iPhone isn’t a big deal once you know where to look. The tricky part is the Set Automatically toggle, which is easy to miss or get stuck. With some patience and a few restarts, you’ll be able to set the clock the way you want. I know it’s frustrating at first — I spent way too long trying to find this little toggle — but now it’s a simple fix.
Just double-check you’ve got:
- Went into Settings > General > Date & Time
- Turned off Set Automatically
- Confirmed your iOS is updated
- Checked restrictions or profiles that might block changes
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure it out, and honestly, I still get caught by that toggle sometimes. Anyway, hope this saves someone else a weekend. Patience, reboot, and toggling are your friends here.