Mobile Phones > Android How to Display a Clock on Your Android Lock Screen Show a clock when the screen is off on Android By Joshua Hawkins Joshua Hawkins Twitter Freelance Technology Reporter Full Sail University Josh Hawkins is a freelance writer for Lifewire who loves writing about the latest tech and gadgets that help make people’s lives easier. As an avid gamer and VR enthusiast, he also enjoys diving deep into the technology that helps bring those kinds of experiences to life. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 16, 2022 Reviewed by Jon Fisher Reviewed by Jon Fisher Wichita Technical Institute Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Android Switching from iOS What to Know Many devices running Android 12, like Google's Pixel phones, have the clock on by default, and you cannot customize it.Smartphones running Android 11 or older: Settings > Lock screen & security > Customize Lock screen > Clock.Samsung smartphones: Navigate to Settings > Lock screen > Clock style to set up a lock screen clock. This article explains how to add a clock to the lock screen on your Android phone. How Do I Put a Clock on My Lock Screen? Adding a clock to your Android phone's lock screen can be a great way to keep up with the time without having to unlock your device. Additionally, some phones can use an always-on display, which puts a clock on the screen even when the phone is in sleep mode. If you're looking to add a clock to your lock screen, you can do so by following a few simple steps. The exact names of the settings may change depending on your phone's manufacturer and the version of Android you are running. However, the basic settings navigation should be similar. Unfortunately, phones currently running Android 12 do not allow you to customize the clock in any way unless you happen to have a Pixel phone. Then on a Pixel running Android 12, you can open the clock app, tap the menu button and use the Screen saver option to display a digital or analog clock. Otherwise, the clock is on by default, and it only changes based on certain elements—like when you have unread notifications showing on your lock screen. Devices running Android 11 or older should still be able to turn the clock on, and in some cases, customize the style. If you're running a phone with Android 11 or older, open the Settings app. Next, navigate to the Lock screen & security section of your phone's settings. Depending on your phone model, it might also be called Lock screen or just Security. Tap on Customize Lock screen. Select Clock to customize or toggle the lock screen clock. You should now be able to turn on the lock screen's clock, as well as customize the styling of it. How Do I Get the Clock On My Lock Screen Android Samsung? If you're using a Samsung Android phone, then you can turn on a clock for the lock screen and the always-on-display feature on many Samsung phones. To add a clock to your lock screen on Samsung, open Settings > Lock Screen > Clock Style. How Do I Get the Clock to Show When My Phone is Off? Some smartphones also offer a way to enable a clock that's always on. Samsung phones, as well as Google Pixel phones, offer this option. Other manufacturers may offer it, too. Follow the steps below to turn on the always-on display for Pixel devices. Open the Settings app on Android smartphone Scroll down and select Display. Tap Lock Screen. Select Always show time and info to toggle always display on. To toggle always on display on your Samsung smartphone, open Settings > Lock Screen > Always on Display. FAQ How do I change the clock display lock screen on an Android phone? Open the lock screen clock settings on your device; look for something similar to Settings > Lock screen or Lock screen & Security > Clock style or Customize Lock Screen > Clock. You might be able to change the color, clock format, and design from here. If you're interested in adding a message to your lock screen or changing the way you unlock your device, read our tips on customizing your Android lock screen. How do I display a bigger lock screen clock on Android? On Android 12, the lock screen clock is large by default until you receive notifications. On Samsung phones, you may choose a more oversized lock screen clock style from Lock screen > Clock style > Lock screen > Type. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit