Discord Reminder Bot Timezone Setup Complete Guide

Setting up a reminder bot in Discord seems simple—until daylight saving time kicks in and everyone's notifications start firing at the wrong hour.

This guide walks you through timezone setup for the two most popular reminder bots: Reminder Bot and Apollo. Both support timezone-aware scheduling, but the configuration details matter.

Before diving in, generate your target timestamps using the Discord Time Converter to verify your scheduled reminders will display correctly for all members.

Why timezone setup fails (and how to fix it)

Most timezone issues stem from three mistakes:

1. Setting bot to UTC instead of local server time — works until DST changes
2. Using "floating" time references — ambiguous during DST transitions
3. Not testing with a 24h advance reminder — real issues only appear when time actually passes

Fix these three and your reminders will be solid year-round.

Setting up Reminder Bot

Step 1: Authorize the bot with timezone permissions

Navigate to Reminder Bot's dashboard and authorize your server. Grant the following permissions:

• Manage Messages
• Manage Channels
• Read Message History

Step 2: Set server timezone

Run this command in your server:

/timezone set America/New_York

Replace America/New_York with your server's primary timezone. Get the full list with /timezone list.

Pro tip: Choose the timezone where most of your active members live—not necessarily where the server is hosted.

Step 3: Verify timezone is active

/timezone

The bot will reply with the current configured timezone and current time in that zone. If it matches your server's actual time, you're good.

Step 4: Test with a 5-minute reminder

Before scheduling real events, test the pipeline:

/remind create "Timezone test" in 5 minutes

Verify:

• The reminder fires after exactly 5 minutes
• The displayed time in the reminder matches your expectation
• The timestamp in the reminder shows the correct timezone

If all three check out, your timezone setup is working.

Step 5: Schedule your first event reminder

/remind create "Weekly standup" at 2026-03-01 10:00 America/New_York

The bot will confirm and show the scheduled time. Members will see this converted to their own local time when the reminder fires.

Setting up Apollo

Apollo is a more feature-rich option with calendar integration.

Step 1: Invite Apollo

Visit Apollo's website and add it to your server.

Step 2: Configure server timezone

/config timezone America/Los_Angeles

Step 3: Set user timezone preferences (optional)

Apollo can respect individual user timezones. Enable this with:

/config user_timezones on

When enabled, each user sets their own timezone with /timezone set Europe/London, and reminders convert to their personal preference.

Step 4: Create recurring reminders with timezone awareness

/event create "Game night" recurring weekly on Saturday 20:00 America/New_York

The recurring keyword tells Apollo to handle DST transitions automatically.

Handling Daylight Saving Time

Both bots handle DST, but only if you use named timezones (like America/New_York), not raw offsets (like UTC-5).

Good: America/New_York — automatically adjusts for EST/EDT Bad: UTC-5 — stays locked at -5 forever

If your reminders start drifting after a DST change, check your timezone setting and update it to the full IANA timezone name.

Troubleshooting common issues

Issue	Cause	Fix
Reminders firing 1 hour early/late	DST transition	Switch to IANA timezone name
Bot not responding to commands	Missing permissions	Re-authorize with all required permissions
Wrong time showing in reminder	Server timezone misconfigured	Run /timezone set again with correct zone
Recurring reminders stopped after DST	Using UTC offset	Change to Continent/City format

Quick validation checklist

[ ] Timezone set with IANA name (Continent/City)
[ ] Test reminder fired at correct time
[ ] Recurring events use DST-aware scheduling
[ ] Server has majority members' timezone configured
[ ] Backup reminder set for critical events

Once your reminder bot timezone setup is solid, your event attendance will improve because people will actually trust that your scheduled times are correct. No more "wait, is that my time or server time?" confusion.

Need to display multiple time zones in your announcements? Check the Discord Timezone Bot for Stream Schedule for advanced multi-zone setups.