Apple Issues 2-Step Fix for Apple Watch 1-Hour DST Bug

Q: Why does the Apple Watch Always On display show the wrong time after DST, and how can a face swap fix it?

The one-hour error appears to be a daylight saving time bug in the Apple Watch’s Always On display, not a failure of the watch’s main timekeeping. Apple says the incorrect time shows only when the wrist is down, while the active display updates correctly as soon as the user taps the screen or raises the wrist. Alarms and other core functions are not affected. The most likely explanation is that the dimmed Always On watch face is using a stale cached version of the face or its low-power time state that did not refresh properly when the time zone offset changed after DST ended. That fits user reports from Europe and the UK that the Always On screen kept showing summer time even though the fully active screen showed the correct local time. Switching to another watch face and then back works because it forces watchOS to reload and redraw the face, replacing the outdated Always On state with a newly generated one using the correct post-DST time. A restart does the same thing more broadly by clearing temporary state and reinitializing the display system. Apple also says the issue may clear on its own by midnight after the time change, suggesting the system eventually refreshes the affected display state automatically. For users seeing the bug, Apple’s guidance is to swap to a different face and back, or restart the watch, and keep watchOS updated for future fixes.

Q: If the Apple Watch internal clock remains accurate, why does its low-power standby screen fail to sync during Daylight Saving Time?

The most likely reason is a software bug in the Apple Watch’s low-power display layer, not in the watch’s core timekeeping. Apple’s own support note says the error appears only on the Always On display when the wrist is down, while the time becomes correct as soon as the watch wakes. That strongly suggests the internal system clock, alarms, and time-zone data are updating properly, but the dimmed standby view is showing a stale or cached rendering that did not refresh when daylight saving time ended. That fits how Always On works. In low-power mode, the watch face is simplified and refreshed less often to save battery, typically only once a minute or as needed. Because this mode uses a separate, reduced-power display state, it appears that the DST change did not trigger a full redraw or resynchronization of the wrist-down watch face. When the user raises the wrist or taps the display, the fully active interface reloads the current time correctly from the main system. The reported fixes support that explanation. Restarting the watch or switching to another watch face and back forces the face to reload and redraw, which clears the outdated one-hour offset. Apple also says the issue may resolve itself by midnight, implying the system eventually performs a scheduled refresh that corrects the cached display. In short, the watch knows the right time; the bug is that the low-power Always On screen sometimes fails to refresh its displayed hour after the DST transition.

3 articles · Updated · MacRumors · Nov 1

Apple published a support document telling Apple Watch users to switch watch faces and back again, or restart the device, if it shows the wrong time after the daylight saving change.
The bug affects only the Always On display when the wearer’s wrist is down, with the watch returning to the correct hour when tapped or raised.
U.S. users hit the issue after clocks went back on Sunday, and MacRumors said similar reports had already surfaced in Europe after its recent time change.