STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — When Daylight Saving Time ends on Nov. 2, we have to set our clocks back one hour.
This happens every fall, giving us an extra hour of sleep, but costing us an hour of daylight as the days naturally turn darker and winter approaches.
But many of us rely on our cell phones to check time and set alarms.
So, do they need to be set back?
The answer is no.
If you have Date & Time turned to “Set Automatically,’’ which is how your device arrives from the store, Apple devices and alarms will automatically adjust and wake us at the new current time, reflecting the time change, according to Apple Support.
Android phones will do the same, according to Android Central.
In fact, many of the clocks we rely on daily do the resetting themselves. Unless you have a really old Android phone or if you have previously meddled with the time and date settings, you shouldn’t have to do anything, the customer service site stated.
Most smartphones, laptops and smartwatches rely on GPS satellites to keep time and reset themselves, if the “set automatically‘’ function is chosen.
They may also set themselves according to atomic clocks.
That’s how they adjust when we travel into different time zones once they are taken out of airplane mode upon arrival.
Other devices are always accurate, too.
A radio-controlled clock, often inaccurately called an atomic clock by manufacturers, has a radio inside, which receives a signal that comes from a place where an atomic clock is located, so they, too, are always accurate, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
In the United States, the signals received by radio-controlled clocks originate from NIST Radio Station WWVB, which is located near Fort Collins, Colorado. WWVB broadcasts on a frequency of 60 kHz.
A radio-controlled clock actually has a miniature radio receiver inside, which is permanently tuned to receive the 60 kHz signal, according to NIST.
A number of national metrology laboratories around the world maintain atomic clocks.
Once your radio-controlled clock has decoded the signal from an atomic clock, it will synchronize its own clock to the message received by radio, according to NIST.
Before it does so, it applies a time zone correction, based on the time zone setting that you supply.
Radio-controlled clocks are available in digital and analog forms for your home or office, and many are not expensive.
For example, you can find a desktop digital version for $18.99 on Amazon.com
A La Crosse Technology 12- inch “atomic” analog wall clock is now on sale for $20.95. It frees you from ever having to remember to adjust your clock as you “spring forward” or “fall back.”
These radio-controlled clocks became available to consumers in the late 1980s.
So, if your clock is older than that, you’ll have to change the time manually.
Grandfather clocks and many wall clocks will need to be adjusted at 2 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2025. Or do it before you go to sleep on Nov. 1 to avoid confusion the next day if you forget.