auto time update when traveling

[zeke009]

It's rare that I travel these days, but I'm on the east coast this week and was wondering if my 2125 shouldn't have picked up the current time zone from the towers here and adjusted my phone as such.

I could have sworn that some of my old devices picked up the current time and time zone when I traveled in the past.

Did I miss a setting?

[Mike Temporale]

No you didn't. Windows Mobile devices don't grab the time settings from the towers. I think this is done because not all towers/networks support it. Instead, it grabs the time off your pc when you sync.

[zeke009]

No you didn't. Windows Mobile devices don't grab the time settings from the towers. I think this is done because not all towers/networks support it. Instead, it grabs the time off your pc when you sync.
Alright, thanks for clearing that up Mike!

Wonder which device/carrier I had that did that...
Aerial, Voicestream, T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless...
Motorola, Nokia...

Who knows... thanks again

[edgar]

My AT&T TDMA did that - it was great to have that

But now your phone keeps track of what TZ you have set on the phone vs, the TZ of where you are.

I can see why, with a calendar that is all set to PST, I would hate for it all to shift into CST then EST if I'm flying across the US with a stopover.

[PantherShade]

No you didn't. Windows Mobile devices don't grab the time settings from the towers. I think this is done because not all towers/networks support it. Instead, it grabs the time off your pc when you sync.

That's not entirely true. My Cingular 3125 automatically adjusted when I went from Boston, MA to San Juan, PR. 8O

It didn't occur to me until I almost missed my return flight, when I noticed that my calendar entry for the flight wasn't what I remembered. :(

If it's going to adust the time, it should at least give an option to adjust the schedule or leave it alone. :x

[Mike Temporale]

That's not entirely true. My Cingular 3125 automatically adjusted when I went from Boston, MA to San Juan, PR. 8O

Calendar is another beast. I'll explain that in a second.

You must have changed the time settings on your phone or synced with your laptop where you had adjusted the time. I'm not sure how this works if you're using an exchange server. The phone doesn't automatically adjust when you roam. Unless that's something new in the 3125, but I don't think that's the case.

Calendar appointments are based on GMT. So whenever you adjust your time settings, your calendar will adjust as well. This is by design, however there's no clear answer among users if this is right or not. Some say yes, and some say no.

[Jerry Raia]

It should be an option you can set how you want. How long have we struggled and debated this and MS still gives us no options?

[PantherShade]

That's not entirely true. My Cingular 3125 automatically adjusted when I went from Boston, MA to San Juan, PR. 8O

You must have changed the time settings on your phone or synced with your laptop where you had adjusted the time. I'm not sure how this works if you're using an exchange server. The phone doesn't automatically adjust when you roam. Unless that's something new in the 3125, but I don't think that's the case.

Nope. I don't own a laptop, and didn't sync with anything en route. All I did was turn off the phone while in flight and then turn it back on after landing. It automatically adjusted the time to match the local time. It did it again on the return trip.

But, the GMT thing explains the calendar. It's annoying, but at least it's explained. :)

[Daryl9jr]

Greetings all. I have 2125 (wife's) and a 3125. The 2125 Does NOT auto adjust for local time zone, but 3125 does. We recently traveled from our home in Balitmore to Dallas and noted this occurance. Originally WM5 did not have that awareness, but it would seem that has been fixed in newer phones.

[edgar]

My I607 Blackjack seems to update OTA as well.

[Mike Temporale]

Originally WM5 did not have that awareness, but it would seem that has been fixed in newer phones.

It's not a WinMo feature. If your phone does it, then chances are that Cingular or HTC has added this code into the device. I'm glad that someone has done it. I wish Microsoft would have stuff like this in the OS from the start. :(

[Sven Johannsen]

Originally WM5 did not have that awareness, but it would seem that has been fixed in newer phones.

It's not a WinMo feature. If your phone does it, then chances are that Cingular or HTC has added this code into the device. I'm glad that someone has done it. I wish Microsoft would have stuff like this in the OS from the start. :(

IMHO this is NOT fixed, but rather broken worse. It has always been the case that changing the TZ on a Windows device (mobile or desktop) has 'adjusted' all your appointments to the new zone. That is due to the internal storage mechanism for appointments. If you are on the west coast and put in a 12 Noon appt, and change the TZ to East coast the appt will be at 3 PM. When it is 12 PM in LA, it is 3PM in NY. That's great if it was a conf call, because you can dial in at 3PM in NY and join. Not so good if you put a lunch date for NY on your calendar at 12 while sitting in your office in LA...you'll be a bit late.

Some folks adjusted when they put the appointment in, and there are even third party programs that let you select a Time Zone when entering a new appointment. My solution was to change the time...not the TZ.. when I traveled, so my appointments didn't shift.

If a SP automatically adjusts the TZ, I no longer have an option..I must enter appointments at the 'wrong' time based on the TZ in which they occur, or rather what time it will be, where I currently am, when I need to be notified, where I will be. Make sense? Not to me either. But my lunch date in NY needs to be on my calendar in LA at 9AM. Got it? Of course my secretary will make flight arrangements based on the 9AM appt in NY, because that 's where it shows up on the calendar.

We need the option to not move appointments when the TZ shifts, if we no longer have the option of the TZ not shifting.

[ifonline]

It's not a WinMo feature. If your phone does it, then chances are that Cingular or HTC has added this code into the device. I'm glad that someone has done it. I wish Microsoft would have stuff like this in the OS from the start. :(

I'm confused, then. On my Blackjack, there is a setting under Date and Time for Auto Adjust on/off. What is this setting for, if it isn't for picking up the time off of the towers? And if this is for auto updating the time off of the towers, then isn't this a function of the OS because it's in the OS settings? I'm curious, is all...

[Jerry Raia]

Just because it appears in settings doesn't mean it is part of the Windows Mobile OS. Mike is saying that Samsung (in the case of the BlackJack) and or Cingular decided to add that option after the fact. So in that case you do have the option. Not all Smartphones have that setting.

[ifonline]

Ah, got it. I didn't realize that the carriers/manufacturers had access to the OS like that. I suppose it makes sense.

[Mike Temporale]

The carriers/ODM's are able to do a fair amount of customization. That is really what they want. They want to make their offerings better than others by adding little customizations and tuning the device to better suit their customers needs. At least, that's what they think they're doing. ;)

[Sven Johannsen]

And that customization is one of the reasons you don't get updates for the OS from MS. You are at the mercy of the device provider.