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Can we Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12

In this guide, we will be checking out all the plausible methods to change the lock screen clock size in Android 12. The latest iteration of Android has bought in a plethora of new goodies, most of which revolve around the major UI changes. The incorporation of the Material UI design and the wallpaper-based theming managed to grab most of the limelight. Likewise, the Privacy Dashboard is also a welcome addition when it comes to enhancing the device’s protection.

However, there’s one major UI tweak that some of us aren’t a fan of- and it’s the unnecessary increment in the size of various OS elements. The digits in the calculator app, the large quick setting toggles,  the brightness sliders have all been given an undesirable increase in their breadth. However, they don’t cause any inconvenience as such and are still usable. But what really causes inconvenience is the large size of the lock screen clock in Android 12.

how to change lock screen clock size in android 12

we aren’t just discussing here the fact that it might not look aesthetically pleasing. It’s much more than that. To begin with, the time is now spread across two lines, with hours in the row and minutes in the bottom one. So you might have to spend some of your brain cells trying to get hold of the time in one go. Then the fact that there are no AM/PM tags only makes the matter worse. So all this brings up the all-important question- Can we Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12″? Let’s check it out.

Can we change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12?

Getting straight to the point- no you cannot change the lock screen clock size in Android 12, at least on your Pixel devices. Various other OEMs who tweak the underlying OS (such as Xiaomi’s MIUI, OnePlus’ OxygenOS/ColorOS, Samsung OneUI) might allow you to do so, but when it comes to the Google offering, then there’s no way to decrease the clock size.

how to change lock screen clock size in android 12

So be it on your lock screen or even the Always On Display, you’ll have to let the time take most of the display space. With that said, there do exist a few workarounds that might help you mitigate this issue up to a slight extent. So do try out these tweaks and then see if any one of those spells out any success for you or not.

how to change lock screen clock size in android 12

Use the Notification Tweak

Whenever you will receive a notification, the clock will be sent to the top left corner of your screen, occupying much less space than its original counterpart. Moroever, the time will now be shown in a single row, as opposed to two. The same stands true for AOD as well. However, one issue with this tweak is that you might unintentionally end up swiping away the notification.

how to change lock screen clock size in android 12
Persistent Notification Trick!

To prevent that from happening, you may try out the Persistent Notification app [Play Store]. As is evident from the app’s name, it allows you to create persistent notifications on the lock screen that wouldn’t disappear upon performing a right swipe. Furthermore, you could also customize the notification text and reduce their size so that they end up taking a minuscule amount of space.

[But still, who would have thought that we would have to take the help of a third-party app to escape from an OS-based issue!]

Disable AOD Clock

Well, this is a slightly aggressive approach but unfortunately, that’s the only way out to deal with the large-sized clocks on Android 12’s AOD. So if you wish to bid adieu to the Always-on Display in return for a minimalistic and clean AOD screen (which would also end up saving some battery juice), then here’s what you need to do:

How to Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12

  1. To begin with, head over to the Settings menu on your device.
  2. Then go to Display > Lock Screen.
  3. Now turn off the toggle next to Always show time and info.

Replace Lock Screen Clock with Screen Saver

Using this tweak, you could replace the large digital clock with an analog one. This might be a perfect fit for the large lock screen clock size issue in Android 12, however, Google is one step ahead of us. Unlike the Lock Screen Clock, the screensaver wouldn’t be active all the time. It’s only activated when you plug in your device for charging or you would have to manually invoke it. Since the former isn’t possible 24×7, let’s check out the steps to manually call upon the screensaver:

  1. Let’s start off with changing the screensaver’s clock style to Analog.
  2. So go to Settings > Display > Screensaver and tap on the Settings icon next to the Current Screen Saver.
    How to Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12
  3. Now go to Style and select Analog.  Once that is done, you may now implement it via two different approaches.
  4. The first one is by going to Settings > Display > Screensaver and then enabling the Use Screen Saver toggle.
    How to Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12
  5. The next approach involves opening the Clock app > tapping on the overflow icon situated at the top right > and selecting Screen Saver.
    How to Change the Lock Screen Clock Size in Android 12

Concluding Remarks

It’s quite remarkable to note that Google has baked in a plethora of options that would allow you to customize the look and feel of the clock in Android 12, but there’s no way to change this size. Look, it’s great that these clocks now adopt the wallpaper-based theming engine and allow us to set their color scheme based on the color of the current wallpaper.

android 12 clock styles

However, it would have been even better if the Silicon Valley giants had given us an option to change the lock screen clock size in Android 12. After all, that’s not much to ask from an end user’s point of view. However, since it isn’t a bug/issue, don’t keep your expectations high or expect any positive development. So on that note, we sign off this guide. All your queries are welcomed in the comments section below.


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  • Erick T Oshel

    Yes, you have hit many of my complaints with the new A12 update. The older UI was MUCH cleaner. The one feature I do like is that the screen brightness in A11 was hard to find when out in bright sunlight. It is now easier to set. But the clock and other setting changes? No thanks!