Free tech support / small logo


How do I add a new world clock to the Clock app on my iPhone 3GS?

My parents are traveling in Africa and I want to be able to quickly see what the time is where they are in Johannesburg, South Africa, before I try to text or call them. I know that the iPhone has a Clock app as part of the built-in software, but how do I add a specific country clock to the list?


Dave's Answer:

I've been a fan of the Clock app since I first got my phone, actually, since I live in MST, my parents live in PST and my sister lives in AKDT. To keep track of what time it is for everyone, it's darn helpful to have a clock app that shows all the different time zones at once. When World Cup action was happening, I added Johannesburg too, so I could figure out the time difference during matches.

It might be that I'm a inveterate tinkerer and am constantly fiddling with my gadgets, but if you've figured out how to manage your phone favorites, you've got 90% of the skills you need to figure out how to add or tweak your clocks. If you've added a new weather location in the iPhone weather app, you're at 100%!

Let's have a look so you can see what I mean.

When I launch the Clock app and tap on World Clock on the bottom, here's what I see:

iphone add international clock 1.PNG

As you can see, I am currently tracking the time in Mumbai, India, London, England, Tokyo, Japan and Honolulu, Hawaii. Why? Not sure, actually. Two are on my want-to-visit list, and two I've been to more than once.

Notice that the app tracks daytime/nighttime: black faced clocks denote that it's nighttime in those cities, while white faced clocks indicate daytime. Helpful if you do international work!

Tap on the "+" button on the top right and you'll be at a data input screen:

iphone add international clock 3.PNG

Enter the first few letters of the city you desire - in this case "jo" - and it'll pop up with a list of matches:

iphone add international clock 4.PNG

Tap on the matching city "Johannesburg", and it automatically places it at the bottom of the current city list and shows the time there:

iphone add international clock 5.PNG

Want to make changes to the order of clocks or even remove one? Tap on "Edit" in the top left corner, then tap on the small red circle that appears on the left, as I've done with "Dallas" below:

iphone add international clock 6.PNG

Delete that clock entry by tapping on "Delete" or reorder your clocks by tapping and dragging on the three small horizontal lines just to the right of the clock face: drag up to move it nearer the top and drag down to drop it lower down.

When you're done, remember to tap on "Done" in the top left corner.

Hope your parents have a great time in South Africa!









Subscribe!
Never miss another Q&A article! Click to subscribe: Add to Google Reader Add to My Yahoo! Subscribe in NewsGator RDF XML
Comments

Dave:
Thanks for the article, however I want to add a city which is not on the list. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, yet this is not on the list! How do I add it to the world clock on my iPhone4?
Thanks.

Posted by: Ken at April 24, 2011 10:15 PM

Sorry I'm probably just being dense but you say that the colour of the clocks relates to whether it's morning or afternoon but even in your picture this doesn't work (e.g. London and Dallas are both black but London is in the morning and Dallas in the afternoon) there is probably some very simple explanation for this that I just can't see but it would be great if you could explain it. Thanks

Posted by: Dobby at April 29, 2011 1:23 AM

No, Dobby, it works to me and is consistent when I look at these screen shots: Black face is after sunset or before sunrise, and white face is for when it's daytime.

Posted by: Dave Taylor at April 29, 2011 7:48 AM

I have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











Remember personal info?


Please note that I will never send you any unsolicited email. Ever.

While I'm at it, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to my terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site.









Recent Entries


Search
I Need Help!
Need Help? Ask Dave Taylor!


© 2002 - 2012 by Dave Taylor. All Rights Reserved.

Note: This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this web site or on any linked site.

[whiteboard marker tray]
"Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.