Cuba did not turn its clocks back on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The country is staying on Cuba Daylight Time (UTC−4) until November 7, 2027. Many phones, computers and search results still show Cuba at UTC−5, which is now one hour behind the real time in Havana.
If a clock tells you it's 1:00 PM in Cuba right now, it's actually 2:00 PM.
What Cuba announced
On October 24, 2026, Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines and Ministry of Labor and Social Security issued a joint note canceling the scheduled November 1 clock change. Daylight saving time will continue without a break until November 7, 2027.
The reason is the island's electricity crisis. Keeping later sunsets moves the evening peak in power demand into hours when solar panels are still producing. Schools and workplaces are also starting 30 minutes later, from November 1, 2026 to March 14, 2027, to account for darker mornings.
Normally Cuba alternates between standard time (UTC−5) in winter and daylight time (UTC−4) in summer. This is the first time since 2006 that Cuba has skipped a fall-back. It also stayed on daylight time year-round from 2004 to 2006.
The notice came about a week before the change was due. That short window is why so many systems missed it.
Who is still showing the wrong time
As of November 2, 2026, several widely used systems still show Cuba at UTC−5. We checked each one and recorded what it displayed.
| System | Shows | Correct? | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search ("cuba time") | UTC−5 | No | Nov 2, 2026, 1:11 PM CT |
| Microsoft Windows | UTC−5 until the November 10, 2026 update | No | Nov 2, 2026, 1:12 PM CT |
| World Time Server | UTC−4 | Yes | Nov 2, 2026, 1:10 PM CT |
Google Search. Searching "cuba time" returns a time card one hour behind, labeled GMT−5. At 1:11 PM Central Time the card read 2:11 PM. Havana was 3:11 PM.
Microsoft Windows. Microsoft has published interim guidance and says the Windows update for Cuba ships in its November 10, 2026 security update. Until then, Windows still offers Havana as (UTC−05:00). Microsoft's temporary fix is to turn off automatic time zone and choose (UTC−04:00) Georgetown, La Paz, Manaus, San Juan.
These companies rely on time zone data that has to be built, tested and shipped to billions of devices. A one-week notice is very hard to meet. We expect each to catch up; we'll update this table as they do.
What it means for you
From November 1, 2026 to March 14, 2027, Havana is one hour ahead of Miami and New York. When it's 8:00 PM in Miami, it's 9:00 PM in Havana. After the US springs forward on March 14, the two will match again.
- Families calling Cuba: a call scheduled for "7 PM Cuba time" from an outdated calendar will land an hour late.
- Travelers: flight times are published in local time. Trust your ticket, not your phone's world clock, until your device updates.
- Businesses and remittance services: check scheduled meetings, payment cutoffs and automated jobs that use the Havana time zone.
- Software teams: systems that use the IANA time zone database need the release that includes this change for America/Havana.
How to get the right time now
- Phones: install any pending system update. If none is available yet, add a world clock for a city that uses UTC−4 in winter, such as Santo Domingo or San Juan, as a stand-in for Havana.
- Windows: follow Microsoft's interim guidance until the November 10 update arrives. In Settings > Time & language > Date & time, turn off "Set time zone automatically" and choose (UTC−04:00) Georgetown, La Paz, Manaus, San Juan. Switch back to Havana after the update.
- Calendars: for events in Cuba, add a note with the UTC−4 time, or schedule in your own time zone.
- Quick check: World Time Server's Cuba page shows the correct time.
How we handled it
We updated our Cuba data on October 27, 2026 at 4:09 PM CT, about 75 hours after Granma published the joint note at 2:10 PM Cuba time on October 24, and before the November 1 changeover. Every clock, converter and meeting planner on World Time Server has shown UTC−4 for Cuba since then.
We watch government announcements for time zone changes and update our data as soon as they're confirmed. The subscriber change log for October 27, 2026 reads:
Cuba has elected to keep Daylight Saving Time throughout 2026 and into November 2027. After which, they will resume their previous DST schedule.
We have implemented a rule today to keep the -0400 offset until November 7th 2027. At that point, a new rule will be picked up to put Cuba back into their previous schedule. XML users will have both rules and CSV users will need to download the file today and again next year to pick up both rules.