Never miss an update Follow AppleInsider
Monday, November 01, 2010, 07:40 am
Europeans wake up an hour late as Apple fails to fix iPhone alarm clock bug
A still-unfixed bug with Apple's iPhone caused alarms in Europe to go off an hour late Monday as the continent switched from daylight saving time, but their phone's alarms did not.A number of readers contacted AppleInsider Monday to note that their handset's alarms failed to go off Monday morning. Instead, alarms went off an hour late, not automatically adjusting for the change in clocks.
"Both iPhones (3GS and 4) in my house failed to go off this morning," one reader said. "Even after checking and switching the settings in time/date and in the alarm app, there is still no alarm going off. Apparently this happened before. I had to delete, all the alarms, restart my phone then re-set the alarms before they worked as expected."
Most countries in Europe conclude daylight saving time on the last Sunday in October. The same bug affected iPhone users in Australia and New Zealand in September, causing their alarms to go off an hour early in the southern hemisphere.
In North America, the switch from daylight saving time occurs later this week. Clocks will be rolled back on Sunday, Nov., 7, and if Apple doesn't issue an update for iOS, the glitch will likely affect users there as well.
In October, Apple said it was aware of the issue and had "already developed" a fix that would be available to users in an upcoming software update. That fix could be a part of iOS 4.2, which Apple said would be released for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in November.
Though Apple indicated last month that the software fix had already been developed, it was not issued in time for the end of daylight saving time in Europe.
On Topic: iPhone
- Pegatron CEO: Apple's 'low-cost iPhone' will not be cheap
- IDC gives Apple 9% of Chinese smartphone market, double the prevailing growth rate
- New patent lawsuit targets Apple over iPhone 5's call forwarding feature
- Researchers crack default iPhone Personal Hotspot passwords in under a minute
- Leaked schematics reveal what case makers expect Apple's low-cost iPhone & 'iPhone 5S' will look like
Previous Comments View All
This sucks. Everyone will have to use an ALARM clock, instead of their PHONE to wake them up.
I don't know about you, but my ALARM clock works great.
Skip
So your alarm clock allows you to set an infinite number of alarms, alarms only on certain days, and tells you what the alarm is for?
That's pretty neat. Because I have to use my iPhone for appointments and the like because of early-stage severe memory loss.
It happened to me also..but all you have to do is delete your alarm setting and re-enter it (just as the one reader said).
But how could a bug like this be entered? (in perl hehe)
$alarm_time = <STDIN>; # mine is 0830
if ($continent ne 'North America' && $daylight_savings == 1)
{
$alarm_time += 100;
}
It doesn't seem like the alarm app and clock app are in sync concerning how they evaluate time.
In London, my iPhone 4 (4.2 beta 3) got me up at 6:30AM as set. My partner's iPhone 4 (4.1) also went off at the right time.
at least in the case of a computer or an iPhone you can have software that gets fixed.
My TV has an alarm function and a daylight savings time function - but no way to reprogram the DST dates - so I got up late this morning.
Many devices such as VCR - Oven - MIcrowave - Thermostat - either do not have an auto DST or if they do cannot be reprogrammed with the new dates. Then again I don't depend on any of those to wake me up in the morning.
I have also had some oddness with things such as setting a reminder while traveling in a different time zone and then finding the appt time shifted when returning home.
They've already developed a fix... Hmm.. I guess Apple felt the DST/Alarm bug is too insignificant to release a fix ASAP prior to 4.2 release?
Well at least Europeans got an extra hour of sleep. Hopefully their bosses will take the iPhone glitch as an excuse. Unless of course their boss has an iPhone too.
No wonder my alarm clock went off this morning while I was on the bus. Luckily I woke up 15mins before I usually get up. But this is annoying. hurry up apple and fix it.
What is it with Apple and Daylight Savings Time? Aperture had a DST bug, too, that they just fixed with the 3.1 update...just in time for DST to be over! Great timing Apple. 
This sucks. Everyone will have to use an ALARM clock, instead of their PHONE to wake them up.
I don't know about you, but my ALARM clock works great.
Skip
From your post it sounds like we shouldn't hold Apple's feet to the fire for issuing a patch to fix a clock on a $300 phone? Do you pack your ALARM clock when you travel? I prefer to leave my ALARM clock at home. One less thing taking up space in my suitcase and I don't have to worry about leaving it in a hotel room somewhere. And before you mention the ALARM clocks in hotel rooms, let me say you can never trust those things. They are worse than the ALARM clock function built in to the phone.
They've already developed a fix... Hmm.. I guess Apple felt the DST/Alarm bug is too insignificant to release a fix ASAP prior to 4.2 release?
Well at least Europeans got an extra hour of sleep. Hopefully their bosses will take the iPhone glitch as an excuse. Unless of course their boss has an iPhone too.
But if your boss had an iPhone wouldn't he/she be more understanding?
My iPod Touch was fine. Apple have been remiss in not fixing this, however, and it demonstrates two problems - a) Apple can't send out minor patches for issues like this, and b) Apple don't seem to care about this kind of problem, otherwise they would have fixed it. Perhaps Steve is holding it back to announce as an extra bullet point at the next Keynote, like he did with the proximity sensor problem.
Latest Apple Headlines
-
Apple's fingerprint sensor encapsulation tech could be headed for future iPhone
~3 hours ago -
Pegatron CEO: Apple's 'low-cost iPhone' will not be cheap
~4 hours ago -
Analyst recants claim that Apple will add Retina display to iPad mini before 2014
~10 hours ago -
First benchmarks for redesigned Mac Pro reportedly appear online
~11 hours ago -
Best Buy recalls 5,100 third-party MacBook batteries for fire risk
~12 hours ago - more...
Want to write for AppleInsider? Submit your application now!
| Model | White | Black | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPad mini (WiFi only) | |||
| 16GB WiFi |  |
$329.00 | $329.00 |
| 32GB WiFi | |
$429.00 | $429.00 |
| 64GB WiFi | |
$529.00 | $529.00 |
| iPad mini (WiFi + 4G) | |||
 |
 |
 |
|
| 16GB 4G White | $459.00 | $459.00 | $459.00 |
| 32GB 4G White | $559.00 | $539.99 | $559.00 |
| 64GB 4G White | $659.00 | $659.00 | $629.99 |
| 16GB 4G Black | $459.00 | $459.00 | $459.00 |
| 32GB 4G Black | $559.00 | $539.99 | $539.99 |
| 64GB 4G Black | $659.00 | $659.00 | $629.99 |
Lowest Prices Anywhere!
| Model | Price | You Save |
|---|---|---|
| 11"1.3GHz/4GB/128GB | $964.18* | $34.82 |
| 11" 1.3GHz/8GB/128GB | $1,061.18* | $37.82 |
| 11" 1.3GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,255.18* | $43.82 |
| 11"1.7GHz/8GB/128GB | $1,206.68* | $42.32 |
| 11"1.7GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,400.68* | $48.32 |
| 11" 1.7GHz/8GB/512GB | $1,691.68* | $57.32 |
| 13" 1.3GHz/4GB/128GB | $1,061.18* | $37.82 |
| 13" 1.3GHz/4GB/256GB | $1,255.18* | $43.82 |
| 13" 1.3GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,352.18* | $46.82 |
| 13" 1.3GHz/8GB/512GB | $1,643.18* | $46.82 |
| 13" 1.7GHz/8GB/256GB | $1,497.00* | $52.00 |
| 13" 1.7GHz/8GB/512GB | $1,788.68* | $60.32 |
* price with Promo Code:
APPLEINSIDER01
|
||
| Click for even more configurations | ||
This sucks. Everyone will have to use an ALARM clock, instead of their PHONE to wake them up.
I don't know about you, but my ALARM clock works great.
Skip