In other words, even while standing on Indian soil, the phone started showing Chinese time. This post received over 14,000 likes and 4,000 retweets.
चिंताजनक! लद्दाख घूमने गए पर्यटकों के स्मार्ट फोन पर दिखने लगा चीन का टाइम जोन, खड़े हुए कई सवाल
Ladakh—with its snow-capped mountains, open roads, and thrilling journeys—attracts hundreds of thousands of bikers and tourists every year. However, a surprising incident involving some Indian bikers recently caused a stir on social media.
A user named Einstein Yadav (@EinstYdv) shared a video on X showing an Indian biker riding in Ladakh when a notification suddenly popped up on his mobile: “Your time zone changed. You’re now in China Standard Time.” Even though he was standing on Indian soil, his phone began displaying China’s time. The post garnered over 14,000 likes and 4,000 retweets.
Why did the mobile’s time zone change?
The video clearly shows the biker’s phone displaying the time as 7:38 PM, whereas it was around 5:00 PM in India—a difference of more than two and a half hours. There is a technical reason for this. Smartphones have a setting called “Automatic Time Zone,” which adjusts the time by picking up signals from nearby mobile towers. Indian network coverage is quite weak along the Ladakh border, whereas China has installed powerful mobile towers near its own border. Signals from these Chinese towers reach deep into Indian territory. As the biker passed through that area, his phone switched from the Indian network to the Chinese network, automatically changing the time zone to China Standard Time.
A debate erupted as the video went viral
A heated debate broke out in the comments section as soon as the video went viral. One user, Mukesh Kumar Kaswan, commented, “Brother, CST only appears if you are standing on Chinese soil; you should check where you are standing.” This led some to question whether the bikers had inadvertently crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Meanwhile, a Chinese user (@yongshi) claimed that “Ladakh has been Chinese territory since ancient times”—a claim flatly rejected by Indian users. Einstein Yadav himself responded, stating that those preaching about education in the comments should understand that this issue is directly linked to India’s digital and network security.
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