You’re staring at your wrist. The numbers are blinking, or maybe the hands are stuck three hours behind because you just flew across the country, and for some reason, the buttons on your Armitron feel like they’re speaking a foreign language. It's frustrating. Honestly, Armitron makes some of the most durable, affordable watches out there—basically the underdog of the watch world—but their button configurations aren't always intuitive.
If you've ever felt like you needed a PhD just to update for Daylight Savings, you aren't alone. Most people just start mash-pitting the side buttons until something happens. Don't do that. You’ll end up accidentally setting an alarm for 3:00 AM or turning on a chime that’ll haunt your sleep. Changing the time on an Armitron watch is actually a logical process once you realize that almost every model, from the chunky digital sport versions to the sleek analog-digital hybrids, follows a specific "mode" cycle.
The Secret Language of the Four Buttons
Most digital Armitrons have four buttons. They aren't usually labeled "Change Time" and "Save." Instead, you’ve got Reset, Mode, Starlight (or Light), and Start/Stop (sometimes labeled ST/STP).
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Here is the thing: the Mode button is your steering wheel. On the vast majority of digital models, like the popular Pro Sport series, you have to cycle through the different functions—Alarm, Chronograph, Timer—until you hit the time-setting screen. You’ll know you’re there because the seconds will start flashing like they’re nervous.
If you have a vintage Armitron or one of the newer "All-Sport" models, the bottom-left button is almost always your Mode toggle. Press it three times. Usually, that’s the magic number. One press gets you to the stopwatch. Two gets you to the alarm. The third one? That’s where the magic happens.
Dealing with the Blinking Seconds
Once those seconds are flashing, you’re in the "edit" zone. But you don't want to change the seconds, right? You want the hour.
This is where people get tripped up. To jump from seconds to minutes, and then to hours, you usually need to hit the Reset button (top left). Think of Reset as your "Tab" key on a keyboard. Every time you hit it, the flashing highlight moves to the next unit of time.
- Hit Mode until seconds flash.
- Hit Reset once. Now the minutes should be flashing.
- Use the Start/Stop button (top right) to advance the numbers.
Pro tip: If you hold down the Start/Stop button, the numbers will usually zoom forward. If you tap it, they move one by one. If you go past your desired time, you usually have to go all the way around the clock again. Most Armitrons don’t have a "back" button for time setting. It’s a one-way street, unfortunately.
Digital vs. Analog: Two Different Worlds
Armitron isn't just a digital brand. They have a massive line of dress watches and "Anadigital" watches (the ones with both hands and a digital readout).
If you have a standard analog Armitron, it’s old school. You have a crown—that little knob on the right side. Pull it out. Most people don't realize there are often two "clicks." Pull it out halfway, and you might be changing the date. Pull it out all the way, and you’re changing the time.
Turn the crown clockwise. Why? Because turning it backward can sometimes put unnecessary stress on the movement of cheaper quartz watches over long periods. Is it going to break immediately if you go counter-clockwise? No. But it's better practice to mimic the natural flow of time.
The Anadigital Headache
These are the trickiest. You’ve got the digital display at the bottom and the physical hands spinning above it.
On many Armitron models, these two systems are completely separate. You might change the digital time using the buttons, but the hands won't budge. You have to sync them manually. Usually, there’s a small recessed button or the crown performs the analog adjustment, while the four side buttons handle the digital bits.
Wait. Some modern Armitrons actually sync them. If you hold the "Forward" button while in time-setting mode, the hands will whirl around to match the digital input. It’s pretty cool to watch, honestly. If yours doesn't do that, you're doing it the manual way.
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What Most People Get Wrong About AM/PM
This is the biggest "fail" point. You set your watch to 8:00, go to work, and then at noon, your date flips to the next day. Or your alarm goes off at 8:00 PM instead of 8:00 AM.
When you are changing the time on an Armitron watch, look for a tiny "PM" indicator or an "H" (for 24-hour time).
- If you see "PM" on the screen while setting the hour, you are in the afternoon.
- If there is no "PM" and no "A," you are likely in AM mode.
- If you see a little "24H" or the time says "13:00," you’ve accidentally toggled into military time.
To switch between 12-hour and 24-hour formats, you usually just tap the Start/Stop button while you are in the normal time-telling mode (not the setting mode). It’s a common mistake to think you’ve broken the watch when it suddenly says 14:30. You just bumped a button while reaching into your pocket.
Solving the "My Buttons Don't Work" Issue
Sometimes, you press the Mode button and nothing happens. Or the watch beeps but the numbers don't flash.
First, check if you’re in "Lock" mode. Some sportier models have a feature to prevent accidental presses during a run. Usually, holding the Mode button for three seconds unlocks it.
Second, consider the battery. A dying battery in an Armitron often manifests in weird ways before it actually dies. The light might work, but the "Mode" shift might freeze the watch. Or the display gets faint when you enter setting mode because the watch is using more power to blink those digits. If your watch is more than two or three years old, a fresh CR2016 or CR2025 battery might be the actual fix.
The "Wrinkles" in Specific Models
Armitron has been around since 1975. They’ve gone through a lot of internal movements (the "brains" of the watch).
If you have a WR330 or a WR165 (the water resistance ratings often printed on the face), these usually use the classic four-button layout. But if you have a "One-Touch" model, you're looking at a single button interface. You have to hold the button to enter the menu, tap to move the number, and then long-press again to "save" and move to the next setting. It’s tedious. It takes patience.
Real Expert Advice for Longevity
Don't change the time while the watch is wet. Even if it says it's water-resistant to 100 meters, pulling the crown or mashing buttons underwater can break the gasket seal.
Also, if you're setting a date on an analog Armitron, avoid doing it between 9:00 PM and 3:00 AM. That is when the gears are already engaged to flip the date automatically. Forcing it manually during those hours can actually snap a tiny plastic tooth inside the movement.
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Essential Steps for Success
- Identify your button layout: Top Left (Reset/Light), Bottom Left (Mode), Top Right (ST/STP), Bottom Right (Lap/Reset).
- Cycle through Mode until the "Seconds" are the only thing moving fast or blinking.
- Use Reset to move the cursor from seconds to minutes, then to hours, then to month, then to date.
- Use Start/Stop to change the actual value of the blinking number.
- Press Mode one last time to "lock in" the new time. If you just leave it, some models will time out and revert to the old time, which is incredibly annoying.
Most people give up on Armitrons because they think the interface is clunky. It’s not clunky; it’s just tactile. These watches are built to be set once and then beaten up for five years. Once you master the "Mode-Reset-Start" rhythm, you can set any Armitron in the dark in about thirty seconds.
If you're still stuck, look at the back of the watch case. There is usually a small four-digit number engraved there. That’s the module number. You can find the specific PDF for that exact movement on Armitron's official site, but 99% of the time, the steps above will get you exactly where you need to be.
Next Steps for Your Watch:
Check the "Day of the Week" setting immediately after setting the time. Many Armitron digital modules calculate the day based on the year and date you input. If your day is wrong (e.g., it says Tuesday when it's Wednesday), it usually means the year is set incorrectly in the background, even if the year isn't visible on the main screen. Go back into the setting mode, cycle past the time and date, and look for the year—it’s probably sitting on 2015 or something equally outdated. Fix that, and your calendar will align perfectly.