How to get local time on iOS

Question

I just noticed that NSDate *nowDate = [NSDate date]; gives me GMT+0 Time and not the local time. So basically on my iPad it's 13:00 and the output of this code is 12:00.

How do I get local time properly?

Try this link, it allows you to get local time zone. http://buildingmyworld.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/get-local-time-from-iphone-local-nsdate/ — Adrian P, Mar 25 '13 at 13:14
How are you getting the "output of this code"? Are you using an NSDateFormatter to get a string or are you just `NSLog`ging the NSDate object? — colincameron, Mar 25 '13 at 16:34

score 28 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 01 '17 at 18:14

28

Give it a Shot !

NSDate* sourceDate = [NSDate date];

NSTimeZone* sourceTimeZone = [NSTimeZone timeZoneWithAbbreviation:@"GMT"];
NSTimeZone* destinationTimeZone = [NSTimeZone systemTimeZone];//use `[NSTimeZone localTimeZone]` if your users will be changing time-zones. 

NSInteger sourceGMTOffset = [sourceTimeZone secondsFromGMTForDate:sourceDate];
NSInteger destinationGMTOffset = [destinationTimeZone secondsFromGMTForDate:sourceDate];
NSTimeInterval interval = destinationGMTOffset - sourceGMTOffset;

NSDate* destinationDate = [[[NSDate alloc] initWithTimeInterval:interval sinceDate:sourceDate] autorelease];

It will give you the time according to the current system timezone.

edited Aug 01 '17 at 18:14

Albert Renshaw

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answered Mar 25 '13 at 13:04

Rajan Balana

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11

why is it so bloody complicated. -1 for iOS! – Jacek Kwiecień Mar 25 '13 at 13:07
4

its not complicated. Time is Time is Time. The format of time is hard because humans created timezones. So that 6:00 pm around the world would be evening. – John Mar 25 '13 at 14:14
This will give you a point in time `x hours` ago or in the future, not the current time. – colincameron Mar 25 '13 at 16:32
This code worked for me – Parth Pandya Dec 05 '15 at 12:12
**WARNING!** It is very important to call `resetSystemTimeZone` method before you call `systemTimeZone` method, due to the caching of the timezone for the entire life of the application. See Apple's description for the `systemTimeZone` method. – Soberman Jan 08 '16 at 12:11
Or just use `localTimeZone` – Soberman Jan 08 '16 at 14:24

colincameron · Answer 2 · 2016-01-14T14:36:10.770

6

NSDate does not care about timezones. It simply records a moment in time.

You should set the local timezone when using the NSDateFormatter to get a string representation of the date:

NSDate *date = [NSDate date];
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
[dateFormatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle];
[dateFormatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle]; // Set date and time styles
[dateFormatter setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone localTimeZone]];
NSString *dateString = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:date];

edited Jan 14 '16 at 14:36

answered Mar 25 '13 at 13:23

colincameron

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and then what? Should I convert NSSTring to NSDate again? Doesn't look much efficient – Jacek Kwiecień Mar 26 '13 at 08:47
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If you need an NSDate then just use `[NSDate date]` - it doesn't care about timezones. I suggest you read the Date and Time Programming Guide - https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/DatesAndTimes/DatesAndTimes.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000039i – colincameron Mar 26 '13 at 10:10
Thats the problem I need an NSDate object that cares ;) – Jacek Kwiecień Mar 26 '13 at 13:58
@amergin thanks - edited – colincameron Jan 14 '16 at 14:36

score 5 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 28 '15 at 19:40

5

 NSCalendar *calendar = [[NSCalendar alloc] initWithCalendarIdentifier:NSCalendarIdentifierGregorian];
 [calendar setTimeZone:[NSTimeZone localTimeZone]];
 NSDateComponents *dateComponents = [calendar components:NSYearCalendarUnit|NSMonthCalendarUnit|NSDayCalendarUnit fromDate:[NSDate date]];
 NSDate *d = [calendar dateFromComponents:dateComponents];

edited Nov 28 '15 at 19:40

wrtsprt

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answered Mar 25 '13 at 13:14

ahwulf

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score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 25 '13 at 13:05

// get current date/time
NSDate *today = [NSDate date];
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init];
// display in 12HR/24HR (i.e. 11:25PM or 23:25) format according to User Settings
[dateFormatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterShortStyle];
NSString *currentTime = [dateFormatter stringFromDate:today];
[dateFormatter release];
NSLog(@"%@",currentTime);

How to get local time on iOS

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