iPhone Time Bug Causing Alarms to be Wrong

With our cell phones basically glued to our bodies at almost all times, the utility of a watch and an alarm clock aren't anywhere near what they used to be. These days many people rely on their mobiles as both a timepiece as well as an alarm clock.

For those who have been using their iPhone as their alarm clocks may have had a somewhat rude awakening (though sleeping in is never that bad).

Reports from around the world have exposed a daylights savings flaw in the iOS software, which is causing alarms to go off either an hour late or early, depending on where you live.

The flaw first reared its ugly head when it hit Australia a few weeks ago. Now the bug has hit Europe, which causes alarms to go off an hour later than they should. The odd part is that the clock itself has switched over and correctly displays the time, but the alarm is still stuck in time from the past.

Now reports from North American users have their phones going off an hour early rather than late.

Apple has acknowledged that this is a software bug and says that it will correct it in a software update. For now, the only way to avoid getting punk'd by this bug is to use a certain class of alarm, which are:

* An alarm that doesn't repeat (repeat set to "never")

* An alarm set to repeat "every day"

Source: Engadget

Marcus Yam is a technology evangelist for Intel Corporation, the latest in a long line of tech-focused roles spanning a more than 20-year career in the industry. As Executive Editor, News on Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, Marcus was responsible for shaping the sites' news output, and he also spent a period as Editor of Outdoors & Sports at Digital Trends.