iPad 2 (Wi-Fi only) automatically update internal clock now available with iOS 5

[Theophilus]

I notice that in the new iOS 5 operating system under settings>general>date and time, there is a new setting: "Set Automatically" now available for the Wi-Fi only iPad 2.

Was wondering if anyone knows how it actually works? e.g. how often does it sync with a time server? Is it done on a regular interval or only if the time is "out" by a set increment?

Is there a way to get it to sync more regularly, such as every hour?

Any thoughts or knowledge much appreciated.

 

[Gabriel1]

It's there on iPad 1 as well......during set up I noticed that my location for time had changed, when I set this to on it changed my location to London (which is correct) so not sure if it auto updates the time or just auto detects your location for the correct time zone.

The Archangel

 

[Theophilus]

I have observed when using Emerald Time, that the offset from the "real" time starts at around +0.5 seconds, slowly increases to no more than -2.5 seconds over the period of about 48 hours, and then returns to +0.5 seconds again. So I am still wondering if the sync with a ntp time server is done say every 48 hours, or when the differential is over 2 seconds?? A question for the iOS 5 developers perhaps?

 

[saphire]

Mine only show New York, it won't auto sync to uk I have had to switch to manual.

 

[gmhyman]

My best guess is that, at least on my original iPAD, the time is being reset when it syncs wirelessly with my home computer. If I don't sync for a day or so, the same clock drift as before - 2-5 sec/day, which is pretty terrible for a clock chip these days.

I doubt there's really an NTP client going since there's no way to set the server, although Apple could certainly be arrogant enough to direct us all to their server.

 

[gmhyman]

OK, there is an NTP client running - the console messages (thanks to AppSwitch) show timed NTP messages, and show the server as time.apple.com. However, there appears no way to change the server e.g. to time.nist.gov or some other well-known server. The check interval seems to be pretty long as well - a couple of days at least, which is long considering how bad iPad clocks are, and there doesn't seem to be any recording/setting of a timetrim to make the clock better.

 

[debsylvania]

The big daylight savings time change is upon us this coming weekend. Will be interesting to see what happens with the iPad's clock(s).

 

[Gabriel1]

The big daylight savings time change is upon us this coming weekend. Will be interesting to see what happens with the iPad's clock(s).

We changed in the UK this last weekend and my iPad automatically updated the time.

The Archangel

 

[Wolfpuppies3]

But be aware that the automatic time update comes at a

significant cost to your battery life. All the talk of 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and CultofMac today concerning iPhones but it would have to adversely affect battery life in our iPads as well. They also recommend that you turn off Diagnostics and Usage and Location-based iAds while you are turning off Setting Time Zone.

 

[Gabriel1]

I've not noticed any difference in my battery life, still around 10 hours use on a full charge.

The Archangel