How to Change Your Phone to Military Time.
Switching your devices to the 24 hour clock takes less than 30 seconds.
Whether you’re a nurse learning military time for work, a student preparing for a career in law enforcement, or just someone who wants to stop confusing AM and PM, changing your phone and computer clock is the fastest way to get comfortable with it.
Here’s how to do it on every major platform.
iPhone and iPad
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Tap Date & Time
- Toggle 24-Hour Time to on
That’s it. Your lock screen, alarms, and all apps that use the system clock will switch to 24-hour format immediately.
To switch back: Follow the same steps and toggle 24-Hour Time off.
Good to know: Your alarms stay set to the same actual time. If you had an alarm at 7:00 AM, it will now show as 07:00. Nothing changes except how the time is displayed.
Android
The exact path varies slightly by manufacturer (Samsung, Google Pixel, OnePlus, etc.), but the general steps are the same.
- Open Settings
- Tap System (or General Management on Samsung)
- Tap Date & Time
- Toggle Use 24-hour format on
On some Android phones, you can also long press the clock widget on your home screen and go directly to time settings.
Samsung specific path: Settings > General Management > Date and Time > Toggle “Use 24-hour format”
Google Pixel specific path: Settings > System > Date & Time > Toggle “Use 24-hour format”
Windows 10 and 11
- Right click the clock in the bottom right corner of your taskbar
- Click Adjust date and time (Windows 11) or Adjust date/time (Windows 10)
- Scroll down and click Change date and time formats (Windows 10) or look under Related links (Windows 11)
- Under Short time, select HH:mm (this is the 24-hour format)
- Under Long time, select HH:mm:ss
The H must be uppercase HH for a 24-hour format. Lowercase hh gives you a 12-hour format.
Alternative method: Open Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time > Change date and time formats.
Mac (macOS)
- Click the Apple menu in the top left corner
- Click System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
- Click General
- Click Date & Time
- Toggle 24-hour time to on
On older versions of macOS (pre-Ventura), the path is: System Preferences > Language & Region > Check “24-Hour Time”
Your menu bar clock, Calendar app, and all system time displays will switch immediately.
Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch follows your iPhone’s settings. If you turn on 24-Hour Time on your iPhone, your watch will automatically switch too.
If you want to verify: Open the Watch app on your iPhone > Clock > Make sure 24-Hour Time is toggled on.
Why Switching Your Devices Helps
Changing your devices to military time is the single most effective way to learn the system. Here’s why it works better than flashcards or memorization drills.
Constant passive exposure. You check your phone dozens of times a day. Every time you glance at the clock and see 14:32 instead of 2:32 PM, your brain makes the connection. After a few days, you stop converting and start reading 24-hour time naturally.
Alarm clock practice. Setting an alarm for 0630 instead of 6:30 AM reinforces the morning hours. Setting one for 1700 to remind you to leave work reinforces the afternoon hours.
Real-world context. Seeing 19:45 on your phone while you’re eating dinner connects the number to a moment you can feel. That’s more effective than reading it on a chart.
It’s reversible. If it drives you crazy after a week, you can switch back in 30 seconds. But most people who try it for a week end up keeping it. The system clicks faster than you’d expect.
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Tips for the First Week
Don’t panic at 1300. The first time you see 13:00 on your phone, your brain might freeze for a second. That’s normal. Subtract 12 and move on. 13 minus 12 is 1:00 PM.
The afternoon hours are the only tricky part. 0100 through 1200 look almost identical to regular time. It’s 1300 through 2359 that takes practice. Focus your energy there.
Use the subtraction shortcut. For times from 1300 to 2300, subtract 2 from the second digit. 15 becomes 3 PM. 18 becomes 6 PM. 21 becomes 9 PM. This is faster than subtracting 12 every time.
Set important reminders in military time. If you have a meeting at 2:00 PM, set the reminder as 1400. If dinner is at 6:30 PM, think of it as 1830. Tying military time to real events speeds up the learning process.
Give it a full week. Most people are comfortable with military time within 5 to 7 days of switching their phone. Some people get it in 3 days. Either way, it’s faster than you think.
Ready to test yourself? Try our military time quiz on the homepage, or use the instant converter whenever you need a quick lookup.
