The G-Shock is Casio’s most popular series of rugged and well-built wristwatches renowned for their toughness, durability, and longevity. Sold since the early ’80s, G-Shock watches are engineered to withstand mechanical stress, resist shocks, and vibrations.
Over the years, Casio has made hundreds of different G-Shock models available on the market. Nearly all of them are chronographs with either a digital face or a combination of analog and digital, which people would recognize almost instantly. The series has built up quite a reputation in the category of rugged yet affordable timepieces.
If you are an owner of a new G-Shock, chances are you haven’t figured out the proper way to set the time yet. We’ve also been there failing to follow Casio’s overly complicated user manual, so there’s really nothing to be ashamed of!
In this article, we will give you clear and comprehensive instructions on how to set time on a G Shock watch. Fortunately, the time setup process mostly remains the same across various G-Shock models despite the different button arrangements and other oddities.
Introduction to G-Shock’s Button Arrangement
Most G-Shock watches house either four or five control buttons for different functions. If you want to know how to set time on a G Shock watch, it’s crucial to understand all these different functions first.
- Adjust (A): The Adjust button is situated on the top-left corner of your G-Shock. As the function name suggests, it allows you to put your watch in an edit mode.
- Reverse (B): The Reverse button is located at the top-right corner of your watch. Pressing it moves back the watch by one value. If you ever need to change the timezone, this is the button you would press.
- Mode (C): On the bottom-left corner, you will find the Mode button. It lets you cycle through the different adjustable values on your watch.
- Forward (D): The button on the bottom-right corner is for the Forward function. As you may have guessed already, it’s basically the opposite of the Reverse button, moving the value forward instead of backward.
On a handful of Casio G-Shocks, you will also find a dedicated Light button. You can press it to change the auto-backlight settings on the watch.
How to Adjust Time on an Analog G Shock Watch
If you sport an analog G-Shock model on your wrist, here’s how you can set the time on it:
- First, press and hold the Adjust button down for a few seconds until you hear a beeping noise from your watch.
- Next, press the Mode button to cycle between the various adjustable values, including the HH, MM, and SS hands.
- Once you are highlighted on a particular hand, press the Forward or Reverse button to bring its position forward or backward.
- After you set the HH, MM, and SS hands to your desired values, press the Adjust button once again to set the time.
- If you would also like to change the time zone, keep pressing the Mode button until you see the “TPE” text appear on the watch face.
- Now press the Forward button to go through the different time zones until you find the one you want the watch to be in.
- Finally, press and hold the Adjust button down for several seconds for the watch to get fixated on the selected time zone.
That’s it! You have now successfully set the time on your analog G-Shock watch.
How to Adjust Time on a Digital G Shock watch
Digital G-Shock watches have the same functions like the analog models, but the time setup process is slightly different. Here’s what you need to do to set the time properly:
- Start with holding down the Adjust button for a couple of seconds.
- Once the digital watch face starts flashing, press the Mode button to cycle between the hour, minute, or second digits.
- When you have the particular digits highlighted, press the Forward or Reverse button on your watch to get the correct value you desire the digits to be at.
Note that you can press the Mode button to select between the 12-hour or 24-hour format, set the date, month, and day of the week, as well as change DST (Daylight Saving Time), time zone, and the LED backlight settings.
However, a handful of models separate the time setting and time zone selections into different sequences, with slight changes in screen messages. Refer to your watch’s user manual to get the idea.
Setting Time on a G Shock watch using Atomic Timekeeping
Some of Casio’s G-Shock watches have Multi-Band 6 support. It makes them capable of receiving terrestrial radio signals from one of the six atomic transmission stations around the world and updating the time automatically.
If you happen to have one of those G-Shocks with the atomic timekeeping feature, all you have to do is leave it outdoors or next to a porch with the window open. It should be able to sync the time in under 15 minutes or so, but we recommend leaving it overnight.
Setting Time on a G Shock watch using the Official Mobile App
If you own a Bluetooth-enabled G-Shock watch, you can pair it with your Android device or iPhone using the watch’s Mobile Link functionality. The G-Shock Connected app makes most watch operations simpler by allowing you to perform them on your phone.
All you need to do is download the following app on your Android (Play Store) or iOS (App Store) device and perform the below steps:
- Launch the G-Shock Connected app from your home screen or app drawer.
- Scroll through the list on the welcome screen to find and select your particular G-Shock watch model.
If you don’t know the model number, it should be written on the case back of your watch. - Next, press and hold the exact button the on-screen diagram tells you to for the allotted amount of time.
- Once the app discovers your watch, tap the “Register the watch to the app” button to finalize the pairing process.
You can now easily set the time on your G-Shock watch from the app’s “World Time” tab. The G-Shock Connected mobile app also lets you use the Mission Log / GPS, Step Tracker, and Time Swap features of your watch remotely.
Best G Shock Watches
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Conclusion
This comprehensive guide has shown you how to set time on a G Shock watch. The step-by-step instructions here will apply to most current models, but the time-setup process can vastly vary for older or limited-edition models.
If that happens to be true for you, check the module number on the case back of your G-Shock timepiece and search it on the web. Chances are one of the top results will lead to you Casio’s official support page, where you should find specific instructions to set the time.
