Daily TipsWatch

How to Set Your Apple Watch Time Ahead

Years ago, my wife taught me a trick for always getting to meetings and appointments on time. She’d set her watch, alarm clock, and car clock ahead by a few minutes, which meant that she always left early for meetings after glancing at one of the timepieces. Your Apple Watch is designed to be very precise thanks to Internet time synchronization, but it’s easy to set the display ahead. Here’s how!

Don’t Set the Apple Watch TOO Far Ahead!

One caveat — don’t set your Watch too far ahead, or you may have issues getting anywhere on time. Instead, set it anywhere from five to ten minutes fast. That’s usually sufficient to get you out the door early and to your next meeting on time.

It’s All In The Settings

The Apple Watch settings app is the place to set your Watch time ahead by a few minutes. To get to Settings, press the Digital Crown to make the apps appear, then look for the “gear” icon. Tap it to enter Settings.

Settings button on Apple Watch

Once in Settings, scroll with your finger or by turning the Digital Crown until you see the Clock button. Tap it.

Clock Settings on Apple Watch

The first Clock option is “Set Watch Face Display Time Ahead”. It’s set at +0 min, meaning that the watch displays the actual time. Tap the “+0 min” button to change the displayed time:

Tap +0 min to set your watch display ahead

Rotate the digital crown until you get to the desired number of minutes ahead. When you see thatnumber, tap the green “Set” button.

Setting the watch display 7 minutes ahead

Alerts and Notifications Don’t Change

Alerts and notifications still happen at the correct “real world” time. Set your alarm clock for 7 AM, and it’s going off at 7 AM — even though the Watch face will show 7:07 AM.

Be sure to check out another Daily Tip for the Apple Watch!

Steve Sande
the authorSteve Sande
Steve is the founder and former publisher of Apple World Today and has authored a number of books about Apple products. He's an avid photographer, an FAA-licensed drone pilot, and a really bad guitarist. Steve and his wife Barb love to travel everywhere!