When do the clocks go back? How to make sure your iPhone or Android changes to the correct time

The clocks are about to go back. But thanks to modern technology, there’s very little you need to do.

All modern Apple, Android and Microsoft smartphones should automatically switch on 25 October, when the clocks change back at 2am in the morning.

But you’ll need to check that the settings are all correct. While phones are built to automatically check in on the time and location and adjust themselves accordingly, that option can be turned off.

On iPhone, the setting can be check in Settings, then General, Date and Time then switch on Set Automatically. On Android, head to the settings and choose Date and Time, where the “Automatic time zone” option can be found under “Automatic date and time”.

The setting isn’t only useful for moving between Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time. It also ensures that if you’re travelling, the time will get automatically switched.

But it can be turned off to save battery life — the feature checks in periodically to find out where it is and whether its time is right.

Smartwatches will take the time from the phone that they’re attached to. So if your phone has updated, as will your Apple Watch or other wearable.

Because phones get their time from the Network Time Protocol, a technology that tells them what time it is over the internet, phones might not go back if they’re not connected to the internet. And in previous years, there have been some bugs that have led clocks not to switch back automatically — though most of those seem to have been fixed.

Still the best way to ensure that your phone time is correct is to get an old-school, non-connected clock and set it back before you go to sleep. That way you can always check what time it is, without worrying about whether clocks have gone back yet or if your phone is being late to update.