Do the Clocks Go Back Tonight? Check Your Phone’s Automatic Time Settings

Example scenario (hypothetical): Maya has an early appointment on Sunday and wants to know whether her phone will show the right time after the autumn clock change. She checks the official UK schedule, then confirms that her phone can set both the time and time zone automatically. This is an illustration, not a report of a real person or a device test.

Do the clocks go back tonight in the UK?

Yes. In the United Kingdom, clocks go back on Sunday, October 25, 2026. At 2:00 a.m. British Summer Time (BST, UTC+01:00), the clocks return to 1:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+00:00). The change gives the UK an extra hour on the clock, and the hour from 1:00 to 1:59 a.m. occurs twice. The government lists October 25 as the 2026 autumn clock-change date and says clocks go back at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.

That means “tonight” applies to Saturday, October 24, for readers in the UK. The change happens at the same instant nationwide; it is not a different hour in London, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. For an international reference, the switch occurs at 1:00 a.m. UTC on October 25. Check the UK government clock-change schedule if you need to confirm another year.

How to check whether your phone updates automatically

Maya’s practical question is not only whether the clocks change, but whether she needs to adjust her phone herself. On most current phones, automatic date and time settings are designed to follow the relevant time zone. The exact controls vary by operating system, manufacturer, carrier, and software version. Check both automatic time and automatic time-zone options where they are available; one setting does not always stand in for the other.

1. Check the automatic setting on an iPhone

On an iPhone, open Settings, tap General, then Date & Time. Turn on Set Automatically. Apple says this option sets the device’s date and time based on its time zone. Connect to the internet and install available software updates before relying on automatic changes. If the phone offers updated time-zone information and asks for a restart, follow that prompt.

Apple also points users to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services, where Setting Time Zone can be enabled so the phone can use its current location to determine the correct zone. Maya can check that option if her phone is set to update time zones based on location. The labels may differ slightly by iOS release. See Apple’s instructions for automatic date and time settings.

2. Check automatic date and time on Android

On Android, open the Clock app, tap More, and open Settings. Tap Change date and time. Turn on Automatic date and time, and, if the option is available, turn on Automatic time zone under the time-zone section. Google’s Android help page describes this route, but menus and wording can vary among Android versions and phone makers.

Some devices use location to detect the time zone. If your settings show a Use location control, review whether it is enabled. Google notes that only some devices support automatic time-zone setting, and some tablets or devices may use location without showing a separate “Use location” option. Maya should use the controls available on her particular phone rather than expecting every Android device to have an identical menu. The current steps are in Google’s Android date, time, and time-zone guide.

What to verify after the clocks change

Before bed, Maya can confirm that automatic settings are on and that the phone has a network connection. On Sunday morning, she can look at the displayed time and time-zone label. A phone set to the UK time zone should use GMT (UTC+00:00) after the change, rather than continuing to show BST (UTC+01:00). Comparing it with a trusted time source is a useful check if the display looks wrong.

Do not move the clock forward or backward manually just because the date changed. If automatic settings are enabled, the device should handle the transition. Manual changes can leave the displayed clock inconsistent with calendar events or other services. Also keep the date with any time you share: the repeated hour on October 25 can make “1:30 a.m.” ambiguous unless the time zone or whether it is before or after the change is clear.

For Maya’s appointment, the safest plan is to save it in her calendar with the correct date and UK time zone, check the phone’s automatic settings, and verify the display in the morning. If an overnight alarm or appointment is scheduled during the repeated 1:00–1:59 a.m. hour, check the alarm or calendar app’s own guidance; behavior can depend on the device and app. The clock change itself does not establish how a particular alarm will behave.

If your phone still shows the wrong time

First, check that automatic date and time and automatic time zone are enabled, connect to Wi-Fi or mobile data, and restart the phone. Review the time-zone setting as well as the clock digits: a manually selected zone can keep the wrong offset even if the time itself looks plausible. Install current system updates, then check again.

On Apple devices, the Set Automatically control may be unavailable with some network providers or regions, and Apple says Screen Time restrictions or a corporate management profile can make the control dim or inaccessible. If the setting is locked, contact the person or organization that manages the device or consult the provider. On Android, the automatic time-zone option may not exist on every device; check the phone maker’s instructions if Google’s menu path does not match your screen. Avoid guessing a manual offset. If manual selection is the only available option, select the UK time zone for the device’s region and verify the displayed time against a trusted source.

Quick checklist

• UK clock change: Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 2:00 a.m. BST (UTC+01:00), changing to 1:00 a.m. GMT (UTC+00:00).
• iPhone: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically.
• Android: Clock > More > Settings > Change date and time; check automatic date/time and time zone.
• Afterward: Confirm the phone shows UK time in GMT and check a trusted time source if needed.

The government schedule and phone-maker instructions answer different parts of the question: the official UK date tells you when the change occurs, while your phone’s settings determine how it handles time and time-zone updates. For the latest guidance, use the GOV.UK clock-change page, Apple Support, or Android Help. The UK government’s published schedule was checked on October 24, 2026.