snacks

[anuenue]

to get off course a bit, as long as we a talking time zone, will a smartphone automatically adjust to time zone change?

Yep, long as you have service!

Hmm, not necessarily, but most likely. My phone did not change time zones when I took the LSL to Chicago a few years ago. My tech support (family member) advised me to put it into then out of airplane mode. Or to reboot. Or both, I think. I think the airplane mode solution was what I did first and it worked. After that, it did change for the rest of the timezones I passed through.

It can actually depend on several factors; who your carrier is, what your device is, and what the operating system is. I usually travel with two connected devices, same carrier [Verizon], and one will update relatively quickly and the other takes up to an hour longer (and it sometimes varies between devices).
It can also be more complicated if you’re using a reseller carrier (TracFone/StraightTalk, Virgin Mobile, et al). Sometimes the signal transfer can delay the time synchronization. The Airplane Mode off/on is indeed the quickest way to wake up/reset sluggish connections (and autocorrect any time deficiencies).

If you have data service and want to determine what time it is, the most helpful page I have come across to find that out is <http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/timer.pl>.It’s a snapshot of the current time in all US time zones + Coordinated Universal Time [GMT]. I use it when on the train to verify the time on my devices and during the biannual time change when there are multiple clocks & such, some of which auto reset and some of which don’t.

I was anticipating using the "world clock" on iPhone. Wouldn't that give the same info? Even if your phone doesn't acknowledge being in a particular time zone, you can set it to display the current time in multiple zones.

 

[RSG]

to get off course a bit, as long as we a talking time zone, will a smartphone automatically adjust to time zone change?

Yep, long as you have service!

Hmm, not necessarily, but most likely. My phone did not change time zones when I took the LSL to Chicago a few years ago. My tech support (family member) advised me to put it into then out of airplane mode. Or to reboot. Or both, I think. I think the airplane mode solution was what I did first and it worked. After that, it did change for the rest of the timezones I passed through.

It can actually depend on several factors; who your carrier is, what your device is, and what the operating system is. I usually travel with two connected devices, same carrier [Verizon], and one will update relatively quickly and the other takes up to an hour longer (and it sometimes varies between devices).
It can also be more complicated if you’re using a reseller carrier (TracFone/StraightTalk, Virgin Mobile, et al). Sometimes the signal transfer can delay the time synchronization. The Airplane Mode off/on is indeed the quickest way to wake up/reset sluggish connections (and autocorrect any time deficiencies).

If you have data service and want to determine what time it is, the most helpful page I have come across to find that out is <http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/timer.pl>.It’s a snapshot of the current time in all US time zones + Coordinated Universal Time [GMT]. I use it when on the train to verify the time on my devices and during the biannual time change when there are multiple clocks & such, some of which auto reset and some of which don’t.

I was anticipating using the "world clock" on iPhone. Wouldn't that give the same info? Even if your phone doesn't acknowledge being in a particular time zone, you can set it to display the current time in multiple zones.

It might work, as long as the World Clock app is basing its information on UTC/GMT and going from there. It might also be dependent on whether the 'allow carrier to set time’ setting is enabled or not. It the World Clock is basing its information on that setting, then it could vary. I’ve noticed that various time/clock/solar apps I’ve installed over the years usually mention the carrier time setting and how that affects the accuracy of the information. Also of note is the use of Daylight Savings Time, which in most of the US is now the dominant time setting, for two-thirds of the year. Many apps take this into account automatically while others have a setting to enable or override the change.
If one has an iPad or Android tablet which is not continously connected then a World Clock or similar app would theoretically always be correct. Then the issue becomes one of “what time is it where we are now”. Sometimes OBS will make accurate announcements and other times very generic ones like “once we arrive into Next Stop, Iowa we will be on Central Time” or “set your watches ahead/back one hour before you go to bed as we will change into Eastern/Central/Mountain Time overnight”. On occasion I’ve had to look up the town the train just passed by and find out what time zone its in to figure out what the actual current time is (particularly true if I wake up early in the AM and have been told that breakfast will start at 6:30 Central Time, for example and want to know how far that is away relative to the current time).