Xiaomi smartphone owners often face a situation where the lock screen displays the wrong time tied to the Moscow time zone, even if the device is in another region. This problem is especially relevant for users who have bought equipment with global firmware or through gray supply channels. Incorrect time stamp can cause confusion in notifications, alarms and application logs.
The solution is not a hardware glitch, but a software setting of MIUI, which is based on Android. The default system can use the manufacturer's or operator's server time, ignoring your geographic location. To fix this, you need to manually intervene in the date and time settings by turning off automatic synchronization or selecting the desired city.
In this guide, we will take a detailed look at all available time zone adjustment methods on the Redmi Note 8 model, learn how to change the region manually, what to do if settings are reset after a reboot, and how to use the engineering menu to diagnose network time settings.
Automatic synchronization through the network
The first and most logical step is to check the automatic synchronization operation, the network time is broadcast by your carrier and must automatically adjust to the current cell tower to which the phone is registered. If Moscow is still on the lock screen, then the data acquisition mechanism is not working correctly or blocked.
To start, you need to go to the basic settings of the device. Find Settings → Additional → Date and Time. This is where the "Use Network Time" (or "AutoTime Setting") switch is located. Try turning it off, waiting a few seconds and turning it back on. This action forcefully triggers a request to the operator's server.
Sometimes the system sticks to the previous value, which is where the temporary switch to flight mode helps, turn on Air Mode, turn off automatic time synchronization, then turn off air mode and turn on sync again, which causes the modem to re-register online and get up-to-date time zone data.
- ⏱️ Make sure that the device is installed SIM-map.
- 📡 Check if the time synchronization is blocked in your settings SIM-map.
- 🔄 Rebooting your phone often solves the problem of time service hanging.
⚠️ Note: If the automatic setting is permanently reset to Moscow time after the reboot, it is possible that the system has a “Russia” region with a mandatory link to update servers in this time zone.
Manual time zone setting
When automatic methods fail, manual adjustment is the only solution, which allows you to ignore the operator’s signals and fix the desired bias relative to UTC. For residents of the Far East, Siberia or Kaliningrad, this is the only way to remove Moscow time from the Redmi Note 8 lock screen.
In the Date and Time menu, you need to turn off the option "Use Network Time." Once you do, the option "Select Time Zone" will become active. Click on it. A list of cities or a map will open. Don't just look for a country, you need to find a specific city that corresponds to your time zone (for example, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg).
It is important to understand the difference between summer and winter time, although in Russia transitions are canceled, in the global firmware of MIUI Global this setting may be present. Make sure that the tick "Switching to daylight saving time" (if any) is set correctly for your region, otherwise the difference can be an hour.
☑️ Checking manual settings
When you select a city, the time should change instantly on the lock screen. If that doesn't happen, try to select the next city on the list, as the city databases in Android sometimes contain errors in the reference coordinates.
Change of region in MIUI settings
One of the hidden reasons for displaying Moscow time is the installed region of the device. The MIUI shell often adjusts the behavior of system applications, weather and widgets to the selected region. If there is a "Russia", the system can force Moscow time for Xiaomi services.
To change this setting, go to Settings → Additional settings → Region. In the list that opens, select your country or another country that is not tied to Moscow (for example, Kazakhstan, Belarus or any European country, if you are there). After changing the region, the interface can briefly blink and the time can be recalculated.
Changing the region also affects the GetApps app store and system recommendations, and changing the region to India or Indonesia often completely disables intrusive widgets, but can change the list of available themes, a side effect that you should be aware of before making changes.
| Parameter | Impact on the system | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Region: Russia | Local services are active, Moscow time is by default | Change when time is in the way. |
| Region: Kazakhstan | Minimum advertising, their time zones | Optimal for CIS |
| Region: India | Other topics, no local services | For advanced users |
| Region: Germany | Strict privacy, European time | Safe option |
Problems with global and Chinese firmware
Redmi Note 8 owners often buy devices originally designed for the Chinese market, on which sellers installed Global ROM (reflashed version), in such cases, the problem with time can be deeper than simple settings. The Chinese version of the system (China ROM) is by default sharpened for Beijing time, and when reflashed to the global can remain artifacts in the system files.
If you have a flashed phone, the menu can behave strangely, like when you select automatic time, it can jump between Beijing and Moscow, in which case only a complete flashing to a clean Global Stable via a computer using the Mi Flash Tool utility will help, which will remove all traces of Chinese services.
It's also worth checking the base station version. In rare cases, carriers will pass the wrong Time Zone Code. If everyone around that operator's network is on the right time and you don't have the right time, the phone is on the right time. If everyone's time is down, wait for the carrier to update you.
How to distinguish a re-interlaced phone?
Resetting date and time settings
Sometimes, configuration system files accumulate errors that prevent you from applying new settings, in which case, resetting the date helps. There is no separate "Reset Time" button on the Redmi Note 8, but you can use a trick.
Try manually setting the wrong date (e.g. January 1, 2020), saving, and then turning on automatic synchronization again.This method shakes up the system process of com.android.providers.settings, causing it to reread configuration files again.
If that didn't work, the radical method is to reset all phone settings to factory settings. Hard Reset will delete all user data, so be sure to back up your contacts and photos. Once reset, the phone will ask your region and time zone when you first set up, and will likely set them correctly.
- 🗑️ Resetting network settings can help if a problem is in the communication module.
- 📅 Manual change of year "rocks" system calendar.
- 🔋 Battery extraction (if possible) or full discharge is also discharged RTC-clockwork.
⚠️ Note: Before performing a full reset (Wipe Data), make sure you remember the password from your Google and Mi Account account, otherwise the phone may lock after turning on.
Diagnostics through the Engineering Menu
For advanced users, there is a way to check the time status through the Android engineering menu, which is a hidden section that allows you to see the technical parameters of the phone. On the Redmi Note 8, you enter through a dial.
Type in dialer code ##4636##. The Check menu will open. Select "Phone Information." You can see the status of the network registration here. Although there is no direct time setting here, you can see if the phone receives NITZ (Network Identity and Time Zone) data from the operator.
The path to time logs (root rights required):
/data/misc/zoneinfo/current/tzdata
/system/usr/share/zoneinfo/If you see persistent sync errors in the logs, you may have damaged the tzdata file, which requires superuser rights and knowledge of the structure of the Linux file system, and the average user should limit himself to resetting the settings described in the previous section.
💡
If you use third-party clock widgets on your desktop, check their settings separately. They may have their own time zone, independent of the system.
The Impact of Third-Party Apps and Widgets
Users often forget that there may be third-party clock widgets on the lock screen or desktop. Standard MIUI clocks take time from the system, but applications like Beautiful Widgets or HD Widgets can have their own time zone settings inside the application.
Check if you have a third-party watch or alarm app that duplicates the system's functionality. Go to the settings of each app and make sure that it doesn't have a "Use Your Time Zone" checkbox or a forced Moscow selection.
And you should also look at travel apps, some of which automatically change the time when you change geolocation, but they may not do it properly if you have too many permissions, check the list of applications that have access to geodata, and disable that access for unnecessary programs.
💡
Third-party widgets and alarm apps often take precedence over system time settings, check their configuration first.