Just as everyone expected, Samsung Galaxy S8 took the market by storm. It’s extremely well designed and produced, with a plethora of amazing novelties and great software to complete the picture. But, as some would say, the devil is in details.
One detail that somewhat corrupted the overall experience is the positioning of the lock screen clock. Namely, it seems that, by default, the numbers layout is stacked up, minutes above hours. That layout isn’t what most users are used to and they want to change it to standard form. But, as the case has shown, that’s harder to do than we expected. Don’t mix up the Always On Display with the lock screen, though. In the “Always on Display” feature, you can customize the clock to your liking. The Lock screen is a completely different story.
Either way, we prepared some alternatives, or rather workarounds that should help you change the clock’s layout. At least, for the time being. If you’re not satisfied with the digital clock format on your Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus, make sure to check them out below.
Use different theme
Some users managed to get rid of the unusual clock by replacing the default theme with an alternative. This, of course, isn’t a solution but rather a workaround that might not be suiting everyone’s taste. However, for the time being, there are not so many things you can do, so it’s worth a try. There are some paid themes, but, since we can’t be sure that, after certain steps, the stack-up format won’t return, it’s not advised to spend your money on those.
On the other hand, you can use a free theme and make your clock take a normal position that way. Follow the instructions below to do so:
- Tap Settings.
- Open Wallpapers and themes.
- Tap Themes at the bottom.
- Search for the Simple Line Black theme.
- Install this theme and tap ”Apply”.
Moreover, if you’re not liking icons and background changes, you can always choose another wallpaper and restore icons to default. Make sure to check the steps below in order to change the wallpaper on both the Home and Lock Screen and restore default icons.
- Navigate to Gallery and choose the preferred photo individually for the Home or Lock screen.
- Tap on the 3-dot menu and choose Set as wallpaper.
- Now, navigate to Settings.
- Open Wallpapers and themes.
- Choose Icons.
- Tap Default and apply changes.
Try an app that sticks notifications the on lock screen
On the other hand, most of the users are already satisfied with the pre-installed theme and all they want to change is that silly annoyance of the lock screen clock. Or rather, make it vertical like on all Android-powered devices. But, until Samsung fixes this and provides users with an option to choose the clock looks (just like in Always on Display features), there’s one, so to say, loophole you can take advantage of. Namely, if Lock screen notifications are enabled, you can place something like a weather app stick on the screen.
Due to its position, the clock changes its format to standard vertical positioning. If that works for you, it’s quite easy to set it up. In the example below, we’ll be using a weather app, called 1Weather. It’s small and subtle but will change your clock to a vertical position.
- Download 1Weather from Play Store.
- Tap Settings.
- Open Lockscreen and security.
- Enable Notifications.
- Tap Notifications.
- Open All Apps.
- Enable 1Weather.
As long as the notification stays on the Lock Screen, the annoying row-like position should be out of the picture.
That’s it. Since there are so many users that are complaining about this, we can expect that Samsung will do something in the upcoming period. Some of the future updates should change the clock to a more natural state. Until then, you can use the above-mentioned workarounds.
In case you have questions or suggestions, make sure to post them in the comments section down below.
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worked perfectly for me. Thank you Kimberly!
Same problem here.. don’t know if this is a Samsung or Android problem but they need to fix it.. every time there’s an os update something gets screwed up
I just restarted my phone and when it booted up a message said IMS stopped. I tapped on it and the clock left the ‘stacked’ position and came up normal. Have no idea what that means.
Other solution is to use a lock screen app – I use the Microsoft Next lock screen which has a lot oc customisation and the more usual time fomat.
Other solution is to use a lock screen app – I use the Microsoft Next lock screen which has a lot oc customisation and the more usual time fomat.
None of these options works for me.
option 1 with theme Simple Line Black theme: it doesn’t show up in my search list
option 2 with setting a custom wallpaper and changing icons to default doesn’t change clock format, still the horrible one
option 3 keep notifications on: well, this is not a solution, I like to clean up the list
None of these options works for me.
option 1 with theme Simple Line Black theme: it doesn’t show up in my search list
option 2 with setting a custom wallpaper and changing icons to default doesn’t change clock format, still the horrible one
option 3 keep notifications on: well, this is not a solution, I like to clean up the list
this is for Always On Display (AOD) only. the article is talking the lock screen, since not all people use the AOD
this is for Always On Display (AOD) only. the article is talking the lock screen, since not all people use the AOD
To change the digital clock on the lock screen:
They have a couple of clock styles to choose from.
“Settings” > “Lock Screen and Security” > TAP the “Always On Display” (like the words, not the switch) > TAP “Digital Clock” (or the other clock styles if you want analog or something) > on the bottom left there’s “Clock Styles” which give 4 different digital clock styles to choose from.
Or you can choose the other clock styles outside of the digital clock section.
I just did this on my S8+ right now.
To change the digital clock on the lock screen:
They have a couple of clock styles to choose from.
“Settings” > “Lock Screen and Security” > TAP the “Always On Display” (like the words, not the switch) > TAP “Digital Clock” (or the other clock styles if you want analog or something) > on the bottom left there’s “Clock Styles” which give 4 different digital clock styles to choose from.
Or you can choose the other clock styles outside of the digital clock section.
I just did this on my S8+ right now.
Following the above steps for simple black line results in the message ‘Unable to download content in Show button shapes’ ! Also ironic that the default shown in My Themes shows the normal clock type but also l cannot apply this because of same error message , crap like this almost makes me want an iphone ! 😀
Following the above steps for simple black line results in the message ‘Unable to download content in Show button shapes’ ! Also ironic that the default shown in My Themes shows the normal clock type but also l cannot apply this because of same error message , crap like this almost makes me want an iphone ! 😀