How to change time and timezone in iPhone simulator?

Question

How do I change time and time zone in the iPhone simulator?

Answer 1

Here is a solution available from iOS 13 and Xcode 11 at least. (did not test with previous versions)

By default the iOS Simulator shows whatever the time is on your Mac, however, you can use Xcode’s command line to override that with this command in the terminal:

xcrun simctl status_bar "iPhone 11 Pro Max" override --time '9:41'

Replace the simulator name with the device you want to change.

For the status bar you have this overrides:

You may specify any combination of these flags (at least one is required):

--time <string>
     Set the date or time to a fixed value.
     If the string is a valid ISO date string it will also set the date on relevant devices.
--dataNetwork <dataNetworkType>
     If specified must be one of 'wifi', '3g', '4g', 'lte', 'lte-a', or 'lte+'.
--wifiMode <mode>
     If specified must be one of 'searching', 'failed', or 'active'.
--wifiBars <int>
     If specified must be 0-3.
--cellularMode <mode>
     If specified must be one of 'notSupported', 'searching', 'failed', or 'active'.
--cellularBars <int>
     If specified must be 0-4.
--batteryState <state>
     If specified must be one of 'charging', 'charged', or 'discharging'.
--batteryLevel <int>
     If specified must be 0-100.

The time can be any string. But if you want the device to show the date you will need use the ISO format. For example a valid ISO date string would be '2007-01-09T10:41:00+01:00'

Otherwise you can use the time parameter as a string and it will display whatever you pass in it.

With thanks to the original post by Paul Hudson Here's the link!

Answer 2

For the purpose of taking a screenshot, Apple finally made it possible to override time on the status bar of iOS simulator (since Xcode 11) by using simctl tool:

xcrun simctl status_bar "iPhone Xs" override --time "21:08"

Answer 3

I'm guessing it uses your system timezone, so changing the TZ in System Preferences would probably do the trick

Answer 4

This is an old thread but it is closest to my question. I need to simulate time zone for Europe, this method works for me. Go to 'TimeZone' tap instead of 'Date&Time' tap. Uncheck the 'Set time zone automatically using current location' box and slide the vertical rectangle bar (with blue dot on it) to simulate your system time.

Answer 5

Restart the Simulator after changing the system date time preferences and you shall see the changes reflected. It worked for me.