How to set up time on Xiaomi phone: a step-by-step guide

When the wrong time is displayed on your smartphone screen, it may seem like a trifle, but it can disrupt dozens of apps.Sync with Google servers, banking apps, messengers and even alarm notifications depend on the correctness of the system timer. On Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco devices, this problem is less common than on budget Chinese brands, but still occurs, especially after resetting or flashing.

Often, users experience a clock that is exactly an hour behind or a different date than the calendar, which can be due to incorrect time zone selection or network synchronization failures. MIUI’s shell and its new version of HyperOS provide flexible tools to manage these parameters, allowing not only the exact time, but also the format, separators and even the font to be customized.

In this article, we will discuss all the ways to correct time stamps in detail. We will look at both standard methods through the settings menu and advanced solutions for problems when sliders are locked or settings are not saved. In 90% of cases, the problem is solved by forced switching of the “Use Network Time” slider. If you want your gadget to work like a Swiss watch, follow the instructions below.

Basic time and date settings through the menu

The easiest and most obvious way to get your watch in order is to use the system's standard menu. In most cases, automatic sync is on by default, but if you've just turned on your phone or changed your phone, you've got to be on the phone. SIM-The card, the system may not have had time to get the data from the operator. → Additional settings → Date and time.

Here you'll see some key switches. If the "Use Network Time" slider is active (blue or green), the date and time fields will be unavailable for editing — the system takes them directly from the cellular operator or Wi-Fi router. Automatic setting is considered the most reliable method, because it eliminates human error and errors in translating arrows.

But there are situations where the automation fails, like when you're roaming or in a poorly-covered area, and the phone is clinging to a tower in a nearby region, and you have to temporarily turn off automatic synchronization, and when you turn off the sliders, the fields will become active, and you can manually set the current values by scrolling through the reels with the numbers.

⚠️ Warning: If you have disabled automatic synchronization, remember to turn it back on after setting correct values. Otherwise, when changing the time zone during travel, the time on the phone will not change, which will lead to confusion.

Time zone problems and automatic synchronization

One of the most common causes of incorrect time is a conflict between the time zone set in the system and the real geographic location. On Xiaomi smartphones, sometimes there is a bug when the “Auto-determining Time Zone” option is turned on, the device selects the neighboring zone. This often happens in border regions or when using virtual devices. SIM-map.

To fix this, go to the date and time menu. Find the time zone or the time zone selection option. Make sure that the city you are in physically is chosen, not just an acronym like GMT+3. For example, for Moscow and St. Petersburg, this should be explicitly "Moscow", as winter/summer time transitions may vary from country to country.

If the automatic definition is constantly wrong, the best way to fix the settings is manually. Turn off the time zone auto-detection switch and select the desired city from the list. This action will force the offset relative to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which will apply regardless of which tower your smartphone connects to.

💡

For frequent travel between time zones, it is more convenient to leave the automatic determination on, but always check it immediately after the plane lands until the phone catches the local network.

It's also worth mentioning the impact of flight mode: If you've been in flight mode for a long time, your phone may lose sync with network time. Once you turn off flight mode, give the device 1-2 minutes to log in before you try to change your settings manually.

Setting the time format: 12 or 24 hours

The issue of time format often arises before users who are accustomed to a certain standard. 24-hourly format, however, some applications or system notifications may default to 12-clock-cycle AM/PM. The setting of this option is in the same Settings menu → Additional settings → Date and time.

Here you'll find the 24-hour format switch, which turns the clock on, which puts the day from 00:00 to 23:59. Turning off returns the 12-hour format, and it's important to understand that changing this setting affects not only the clock in the status bar, but also the time you send messages, the time in the call log and the screenshots.

Interestingly, on some MIUI global firmware, this switch may be missing or hidden if the device region is defined as the United States, in which case the time format may depend on the system language or region selected in the Region settings, changing the region to "Russia" or "Ukraine" often automatically switches the format to 24-hour.

Change the style of the watch and font on the lock screen

For many users, it's not so much the accuracy of the internal clock that matters as much as how the time looks on the lock screen. The MIUI and HyperOS shells offer tremendous customization capabilities. You can change not only the numbers, but also their location, color and animation. To do this, go to Settings → Lock Screen or use the Themes app.

The lock screen section often includes the "Time Format" or "Clock Style" option, where you can choose a classic digital look, an analog watch or minimalist text, and some themes completely change the interface by adding seconds, a large-format date, or even live wallpaper that responds to the time of day.

If standard options aren't enough, you can download a third-party theme from the GetThemes store. Thousands of designers create styles that take up full-screen time or are in an unusual font. Once the theme is installed, the time on the lock screen and in the status bar will change according to the style they choose, and it's a secure way to personalize without root rights.

⚠️ Warning: Be careful when installing third-party themes from unofficial sources. Some modified themes may contain ad modules or misuse new versions of Android, causing the interface to reboot.

Time failures after flashing or resetting settings

Users who experiment with firmware (Global on China or custom builds based on AOSP) often face a critical failure: time is reset to the release date of the processor (for example, 2015 or 2018) and refuses to sync. This is due to RTC (real-time clock) desynchronization and the lack of the correct security certificates in the new firmware.

In such cases, simply setting up the menu might not help, because once you reboot, the time will go off again. The first thing you need to do is check for root rights. If the phone is rooted, a SuperSU or Magisk app could block the com.android.settings system process from accessing the time change. Check the access log and resolve the requests.

If root rights are not available, the problem may lie in the wrong SSL certificate date. Try manually setting the current date and time, then force the security certificates to be updated through the Google Play Store (Google Play Services section). Also, cleaning the Settings app data (Settings → Apps → All Apps → Settings → Clear Data) helps, but this will reset all your preferences in the system.

💡

If time is reset after each reboot on custom firmware, it is likely that the persist partition is damaged or there is no time patch in the core of the system.

Another reason could be a discharged RTC battery on the motherboard, although in modern smartphones it is rare, since the watch is powered by the main battery even when it is turned off. However, if the phone has been lying for a long time with a fully discharged battery, a time reset is quite expected.

Use of widgets and third-party applications

Xiaomi’s regular time widgets are enough for most tasks, but if you want to display your watch on the desktop in the format of “always on the screen” or add world time, you will have to use additional software.

To add a widget, press the blank space on your desktop and select "Widgets." In the list, find "Clock." The system will offer several options: digital, analog, with date and weather. Drag the desired widget onto the screen. For widgets with world time, you can add several cities just by clicking on the plus in the settings of the widget itself.

If MIUI is not available, Google Play has hundreds of apps like Google Watch or HTC Clock that allow you to create complex dials with stopwatches, timers and calendars, but it’s worth remembering that active widgets consume more battery power because they keep the processor from going to deep sleep.

• 🕰️ Google Watch – a reference application with minimalistic design and synchronization with a Google account.
• 🌍 World Clock Pro is ideal for those who need to keep track of the time in the world. 5-10 different cities.
• 🎨 KWGT Kustom Widget – for advanced users, allowing you to create a time widget from scratch, using any font and graphics.