ClockSync is the app for those who are neurotic about being perfectly on time
by Toni McQuilken
Jul 5, 2011 3:07 PM –
Install
ClockSync synchronizes device system clock with atomic time from Internet via NTP (Network Time Protocol). *ROOT is REQUIRED for automatic synchronization.
Price: Free
Tested on: MyTouch 3G Slide, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Extremely easy to use.
- While it is designed for root users, there is a non-root mode as well.
Cons
- You need root to really take advantage of the app.
Features:
ClockSync is a little utility app that checks your phone’s internal clock with the atomic clock time listed online, and then allows you to sync your system time to that clock. We’re talking miliseconds, in most cases, of difference, but it is a nice utility to use every now and then to combat the natural drift most clocks have.
The app was really designed for root users, since to really function, it needs to have access to the protected system sections where the time is stored and synced. If you have root, you can choose to have it sync the clock on boot, at select intervals, or only manually. For the rootless mode, the app can’t automatically adjust the time, but you can set it up to check the time against the atomic baseline, and notify you if it’s off by a certain threshold. The default is 60 seconds, but you can adjust that. Then, it will open up the Date & Time dialogue box and walk you through re-adjusting your time manually.
There are 2 modes: automatic for root users and assisted mode for users without root (rootless mode).
Rootless Mode Features:
- Automatic atomic time retrieval with configurable interval
- Notification when offset exceeds user set threshold
- Assisted manual synchronization with the hint what time/date to set
- Precision between 1 and 30 seconds (because Android doesn’t allow to set seconds)
Root Mode Features:
- Automatic sync with configurable interval
- Accuracy is ~1-20ms depending on your connection and NTP server
- Statistics (average drift per day, total time corrected)
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Clocksync Main
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ClockSync main tab
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ClockSync Settings
Usefulness:
This is a very useful utility to see how far off your system time is from atomic time, and easily re-adjust it. However, in the course of my testing, my phone was never off by more than about a half-second, so unless you’re really into having the exact time, down to the second, at all times, this app is more of a use it once and then probably only once in a while after that.
Ease of Use:
It couldn’t be easier to use this app. If you’re rooted, all you have to do is tap the atomic time to tell it to sync, then tap your system time to have it match them. For non-root users, it’s a bit more complicated, since you have to adjust the date and time yourself, but a dialogue is at the bottom of the screen showing you the exact time you need to use, which makes it very simple.
Frequently Used:
As I mentioned, after the first time you run the app, you can set it to run in the background if you’re rooted, meaning you probably won’t really ever need to open it again manually. For non-root users, the time it’s off by is only ever a few seconds, so I’d suggest using it once to get the time right, then, unless you really need to have the time exact to the second with atomic, you probably don’t need to use it again.
Interface:
The interface is very basic – just the time and date from the atomic clock next to the time and date of your system clock, making it easy to compare them.