How to Fix the Incorrect Time in Galaxy S4 SMS

We received a new email in The Droid Guy Mailbag that reads, “My concern is about the time displayed in the received messages of my Samsung Galaxy S4. Whenever I send a text message, it stamps a time that indicates the period when it was sent. However, when the person I texted replies back, the time displayed in the received message is five minutes before the time stamped in the message I sent prior. As a result, the thread in my messaging app is pretty messed up, and the conversations are hard to keep up with. How can I solve this?”

Possible Causes of the Incorrect Time in Galaxy S4 SMS

One thing that might be causing the incorrect time stamp in your Galaxy S4 is the settings of your phone, particularly its Date and Time app configuration. Other issues may stem from third-party SMS apps (if you’re using any), a glitch in your device, or corrupted system files.

Likely Ways to Correct the Time in Galaxy S4 SMS

Here are the possible solutions to your problem:

1. Configure Date and Time

If the reply is five minutes earlier than the text message you earlier sent, it is possible that your clock may be running five minutes faster than normal. To solve this, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings.
• Select the More tab.
• Proceed to Date and Time.
• Check Automatic Date and Time to synchronize your clock with your network provider.

This will most probably solve the issue. However, when it fails, try the next steps.

2. Clear Cache and Date

Clear the cache of your messaging app to remove any temporary files causing the bug. If that fails, clear its data as well.

3. Use Only the Stock Messaging App

Try using only the stock messaging app of your device to test if the problem is only app specific or universal to your phone.

4. Reboot Your Device Under Safe Mode

See if third-party apps are the ones triggering the issue. Restart your Galaxy S4 under Safe Mode. Observe if the problem persists. If it does, then you may be facing an issue which is not only app-related. However, if the problem does not occur under that mode, there might be third-party apps causing the trouble. Simply remove the interfering app.

5. Perform a Factory Reset

If all else fails or you cannot specifically pinpoint the root of the problem, backup your device and perform a Factory Reset. This will restore your system files to their factory settings and remove any program that may be causing the glitches in your phone.

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