Open Radar

 
Summary:
If you try to turn on “Set Automatically” for your time zone in iOS’ Settings app but have not given permission to iOS to do so with Location services, the “Time Zone” row in the Settings App will have an activity indicator that animates forever without setting the time zone. Underneath the table section, it says “Setting the time zone automatically requires turning on Location Services,” but that message can be confusing if Location Services is on, but this specific service is turned off.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open the Settings app on iOS.
2. Navigate to General → Date & Time.
3. Turn off “Set Automatically” if it’s on.
4. Navigate to Privacy → Location Services → System Services.
5. Turn off “Setting Time Zone” if it is turned on.
6. Return to General → Date & Time.
7. Turn on “Set Automatically.”

Expected Results:
The activity indicator that appears will disappear after your time zone has been set, or you will see a message indicating that iOS cannot automatically set your time zone until you change the Location Services permissions.

Actual Results:
The activity indicator spins forever, and the time zone does not change as your location changes.

Version:
iOS 8.1.2 [12B440]

Notes:
This confused me, an experienced iOS developer, for months. I thought there was something wrong with my iOS installation. It is definitely not clear that there’s a separate system setting for this permission. In my opinion, the switch for “Set Automatically” should be disabled if the user has not granted the OS the appropriate permissions. Alternatively, a dialog could appear asking the user to turn that permission on when they try to enable it, thus saving them the trip to their privacy settings.

Configuration:
iPad (4th Generation) [MD510LL/A]