Daylight saving time ends in the United States at 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when clocks move back one hour. Phones and PCs with automatic time turned on will change by themselves, and the fix for a device that does not is almost always to switch the automatic settings back on and check the time zone.
This guide shows where those settings are on iPhone and Windows 11, how to check that Outlook shows meetings at the right time, and what to do about the few known quirks around the changeover.
Who this is for and what you will have at the end
This is for anyone who wants to be sure the phone, PC and calendar agree on the time before the clocks go back, or who is looking at a device that is an hour off right now. It also suits the person in a small office who gets the "my meeting is at the wrong time" message every year.
By the end you will know what changes on November 1, where the automatic time settings live on iPhone and Windows 11, how to read the time zone and display settings in Outlook, and which problems are really a time zone setting rather than a bug. The article does not cover Android phones or Teams, because it only includes steps that were checked against official pages while writing.
What actually changes on November 1, 2026
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), daylight saving time ends on November 1, 2026, at 2:00 a.m. local time. The rule is the first Sunday of November. At that moment clocks move from 2:00 a.m. back to 1:00 a.m., so the hour from 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. happens twice.
Not everywhere changes. NIST lists Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Arizona as places that do not observe daylight saving time, with the Navajo Indian Reservation as the exception because it does observe it. If you live in one of these places, your devices should simply stay on their usual time zone.
| Situation | What should happen on November 1 |
|---|---|
| iPhone with Set Automatically on | Clock moves back an hour on its own |
| Windows 11 with Set time automatically on | Clock moves back an hour on its own |
| Device set to a time zone that observes DST, in Arizona or Hawaii | Wrong: it will shift when it should not |
| Device with time set by hand | Does not follow the rules, so you may have to correct it yourself |
The practical takeaway: automatic settings do the work. Manual settings are where almost every wrong-clock problem comes from.
Check the clock on iPhone
Apple's support article on changing the time or time zone describes the steps for a device that shows the wrong time. Work through them in this order.
Turn on automatic time
- Make sure the iPhone is connected to the internet.
- Install the latest iOS update. Apple lists this as an early step.
- Open Settings > General > Date & Time.
- Turn on Set Automatically.
If Set Automatically is dimmed, Apple says it may be unavailable with your carrier or in your country or region. A Screen Time passcode or a corporate profile with device restrictions can also dim it. On a work phone, that restriction is set by whoever manages the device, so you cannot change it from the phone.
Restart if a time zone message appears
If a message says updated time zone information is available, Apple says to restart the iPhone, and any paired Apple Watch. Do this rather than dismissing the message.
Let the phone use its location for the time zone
- Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap System Services.
- Turn on Setting Time Zone.
This lets the iPhone use its current location to work out the right time zone. If it is off, the phone cannot use your location to choose the time zone.
Set the time zone by hand when automatic does not work
- Open Settings > General > Date & Time.
- Turn off Set Automatically.
- Tap Time Zone and enter a city in the time zone you need.
Choose a city in the time zone you actually live in. A city in a place that does not observe daylight saving time, such as one in Arizona, can look right on one date and be an hour out on another.
You can also tap the date to change the date and time manually. Apple advises against changing the clock by hand to alter app behavior, such as game timers.
Check anything the iPhone syncs with
Apple notes that if the time is wrong after you sync with a Mac, you should check the date and time settings on the Mac. A Mac with a wrong clock can push the wrong time to a connected device in that situation.
Check the clock on Windows 11
Microsoft's article on time, date and time zone settings in Windows gives the path: Start > Settings > Time & language > Date & time.
Automatic settings
- Turn on Set time automatically to let Windows keep the date and time.
- Turn on Set time zone automatically to let Windows choose the time zone. Microsoft says daylight saving time is set automatically when this is on.
For most home and office PCs, turning on both is the whole fix.
When you set the time zone by hand
- Turn off Set time zone automatically.
- Pick the zone from the Time zone drop-down.
- Turn on Adjust for daylight saving time automatically.
Microsoft says that if you turn this last setting off, you may need to set the time manually, so leave it on in a place that observes daylight saving time. In Arizona, where most of the state does not observe it, choose a time zone that matches rather than a DST-observing zone with adjustment off.
Set the time manually
If the time is still wrong, turn off Set time automatically, then select Change next to the date and time option, enter the values and confirm. Treat this as a temporary measure, because a manually set clock will not follow the rules on its own.
If the options are greyed out
A work or school device may be managed by an administrator who controls time settings. Check with whoever runs the device before trying to work around it. Nothing in the Microsoft page covers these managed cases, so the right move is to ask the administrator.
Check Outlook meeting times
Outlook stores meeting times in UTC and shows them in each person's own time zone. Microsoft's page on time zone settings in Outlook says exactly this. A meeting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern appears as 7:00 a.m. for an attendee set to Pacific time. When a time looks wrong, the usual cause is that one person's device or calendar is on the wrong time zone, not that the invitation is faulty.
Confirm the calendar's time zone
The menu path depends on which Outlook you use.
| Outlook version | Where to look |
|---|---|
| New Outlook for Windows | Settings > Calendar > View, then Display my calendar in time zone |
| Outlook on the web | Settings > Calendar > View, then Display my calendar in time zone |
| Classic Outlook for Windows | File > Options > Calendar, then Time zones |
In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web, choose the zone, add an optional label and select Save. If your organization has restricted the new Outlook, see New Outlook for Windows admin controls for how admin controls work.
Show a second time zone
A second time zone is useful when you work with people in another part of the country. In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web, select Add time zone under Settings > Calendar > View, search for a city under Other time zones, check Show in calendar and select Save. In classic Outlook, select File > Options > Calendar and choose Show a second time zone.
Microsoft notes that the second time zone appears only in Day or Week view. Classic Outlook in current Microsoft 365 versions supports three time zones, while Outlook 2016 and Outlook 2019 LTSC support two.
Know the time bar quirk on changeover day
Microsoft documents a known issue with the multiple time zones feature. When DST begins or ends on different dates in each time zone, or one zone does not observe DST, the time bar can show the wrong time difference on the first and last day of DST. Events on that day and on later days in the same view can then look as if they are scheduled at the wrong time.
Microsoft's example involves Eastern Time and London time. The article's scenario is any pair of zones whose changeover dates differ, or where one zone has no DST. The workaround is to use a Calendar view that does not display the day when DST starts or ends. Since DST ends on a Sunday, the Work Week view (Monday to Friday) avoids it. For the new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, using Week view with Sunday as the first day also avoids the issue. Microsoft says that second workaround is being rolled out gradually and may not be available in your organization yet.
The next week's view shows the correct difference, which tells you the underlying meeting data is fine.
A note on future-year meetings
A separate Microsoft article, now archived, explains that after a country changes its time zone or daylight saving rules, some recurring meetings scheduled for the next year may show the wrong time in classic Outlook. The cause is that Outlook does not apply time zone rules for recurring meetings until the year the change takes effect. Microsoft's listed workarounds are to wait until that year starts or to view the calendar in Outlook on the web, which is not affected. This applies when rules change, such as when a country drops daylight saving. It is not what happens in an ordinary autumn change.
Troubleshooting
One person sees the meeting an hour off, everyone else is correct
Check that person's device first. On the iPhone, look at Settings > General > Date & Time. On Windows, look at Settings > Time & language > Date & time. Then check the Outlook calendar's time zone using the table above. The meeting is stored in UTC, so the display is almost always the thing to fix.
The clock is correct but the time zone label is wrong
This happens when someone travels or sets a zone by hand and forgets. Turn the automatic time zone setting back on, or choose the right zone from the list.
A device in Arizona or Hawaii changes an hour
The device is set to a time zone that observes daylight saving. Change it to a zone that matches your location. On Windows, check that you did not pick a DST-observing zone and then turn off Adjust for daylight saving time automatically, which can leave the clock wrong for part of the year.
The automatic setting is dimmed
On iPhone, Apple names carrier or regional limits, a Screen Time passcode, or a corporate profile with device restrictions. On a managed Windows PC, an administrator may control the setting. In both cases the change has to be made by whoever manages the device or profile.
The 1:00 a.m. hour looks wrong in logs or schedules
Because the 1:00 a.m. hour repeats, a job or entry stamped with a local time in that hour is ambiguous. If you review logs or scheduled tasks from that night, prefer UTC timestamps over local times.
Checklist before the clocks go back
- Confirm the date: Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2:00 a.m. local time.
- iPhone: Set Automatically is on under Settings > General > Date & Time.
- iPhone: Setting Time Zone is on under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services.
- Windows 11: Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically are on under Settings > Time & language > Date & time.
- Outlook: the calendar's time zone is correct under Settings > Calendar > View or File > Options > Calendar.
- If you view two time zones, use Work Week view on November 1 or after to avoid the time bar issue.
- If you are in Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or another place that does not observe DST, check that no device uses a DST-observing zone.
- Restart a device that shows an updated time zone information message.
For more everyday fixes in this series, see Wi-Fi not working on Windows 11 and Outlook keeps asking for a password.
References
- NIST, Daylight Saving Time (checked October 31, 2026): https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/popular-links/daylight-saving-time-dst
- Apple Support, If you can't change the time or time zone on your Apple device: https://support.apple.com/en-us/101619
- Microsoft Support, Set time, date, and time zone settings in Windows: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experience/personalization/set-time-date-and-time-zone-settings-in-windows
- Microsoft Support, Manage time zone settings in Outlook: https://support.microsoft.com/office/manage-time-zone-settings-in-outlook-65239869-12e7-4a9d-bca1-76b0ad7ce273
- Microsoft Learn, Multiple time zones show an incorrect time difference when DST starts and ends: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/outlook/calendaring/additional-time-zone-shows-one-hour-offset-on-dst
- Microsoft Learn (archived), Calendar items for the next year may display an incorrect time in Outlook: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/troubleshoot/outlook/calendar-items-display-incorrect-time
This guide was researched and drafted with AI assistance and checked against the vendor documentation listed in its References. Read the maintained version and related guides on EpiFive.
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