Accidentally set the timezone to match incorrect WP timezone

[Ventrice]

I accidentally pressed the settings button that updated the event time zones to match the WP settings time zone without realizing that the WP time zone was incorrect (GMT instead of EST). Is there a way to set it back without redoing all my events?

[Ventrice]

For now I’ve switched it back to UTC+0 to ensure it shows properly for users over the holidays.

[Hunter]

Ventrice,

Thanks for choosing PRO! I believe you should be able to update the timezone settings as desired and save changes without losing any event data. I strongly recommend making a backup before doing so just to make sure you have it in case anything goes wrong. Let me know it goes!

[Ventrice]

Unfortunately, I’ve tried that to no avail. Changing the time zone on WP now changes the times of all the events. Any other suggestions?

[Hunter]

Ventrice,

Thanks for your patience. To help me better understand, can you please tell me which of the two options you have selected under Events > Settings > General > Timezone Settings > Timezone Mode and if you have the “Show Timezone” box checked?

Next, which timezone do you currently have selected under your WordPress Settings > General > Timezone? Lastly, which timezone did you have selected before you pressed the settings button that updated the event time zones to GMT instead of EST?

Let me know and I’ll continue troubleshooting the issue and we’ll get it resolved!

[Ventrice]

Hi!

My Events Settings follow:
‘Use the sitewide timezone everywhere’
‘Show Timezone’ = Y

My General Settings:
‘Timezone’ = UTC

To restate my problem: I’m trying to change the General Timezone to ‘New York’, but when I save the settings, the event that was previously showing as 9AM UTC now shows as 4AM EST. I would like it to show 9AM EST instead. Is it possible to set the Timezone to ‘New York’ while maintaining the time without recreating all the events?

[Hunter]

Thanks for getting back to me!

Timezones can get confusing quick, but if an event shows 9AM UTC, that is technically correct because New York is -5 hours behind UTC, which would display as 4AM.

To get your event times displaying correctly, you’ll need to change your general site timezone setting to “New York”. Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to edit the time for the events displaying incorrectly. You will not need to delete the events, simply adjust the existing events to the correct time.

Let me know if this helps and thanks again for being so patient while we get caught up from the holidays!

[Ventrice]

I have 1202 events that need updating… do you have a recommendation on how to best proceed without manually updating each one?

[Hunter]

Ventrice,

Unfortunately we don’t have a way to get the events back to your desired time settings, but one method I can think of is doing an SQL query. You can find the related meta_key in your post_meta table. Look for _EventTimezone – with this info you could do an SQL query to update the events to the correct timezone. As always, I recommend backing up your site before making any changes in case anything goes wrong.

Apologies for not having an out-of-the-box solution, but we’re always adding new features from our UserVoice Features Idea page. Thanks again for your patience while we work through your issue!

[Support Droid]

This topic has not been active for quite some time and will now be closed.

If you still need assistance please simply open a new topic (linking to this one if necessary)
and one of the team will be only too happy to help.

[Author]

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