Why does my countdown show the wrong time?

A countdown is only as right as its time zone, and in the editor it doesn’t tick. Your email is untouched. Select the timer and look at its Countdown settings in the panel. This is for every email you create. For an email that opens in the earlier editor, see the last section.

The zone is wrong

Ends holds the date and time. Timezone under it says which zone that time is in. A time in the wrong zone can be hours earlier or later than you meant. Then the timer counts to the wrong moment.

Pick the zone your end time is in. See Add a countdown timer.

The editor is behind

The editor shows the timer as it stood when you opened it or last made a change. It doesn’t tick there; the sent timer does. Leave the editor open for an hour without editing, and the timer is an hour behind. Reload the editor to see where the timer really stands.

The end time was never set

A timer you add starts on a sample end time. Until you pick one under Ends, Before you send lists The countdown still needs its end time, and the email can’t be sent.

The seconds look stuck in the inbox

Only a timer that shows seconds ticks, for a few seconds from the moment the email opens, then repeats. A day count and a one-line timer never tick. Opening the email again redraws the true time left. See How a countdown works in the inbox.

Every reader counts to the same moment.

In an email that opens in the earlier editor

The zone is wrong

There, Ends and Timezone sit under Schedule, with Type on Fixed. Type in the Timezone list to search it.

The seconds look stuck in the inbox

In a sent email the seconds are exact at the moment it opens. The panel says so under Digits: Seconds are exact when the email opens — a short tick, not a live clock. If a reader leaves the email open, those seconds repeat. Opening it again redraws the true time left.

Two readers see two different times

With Type on Personalized, the timer counts from each reader’s first open. So two people see two different times, on purpose. If both should see the same moment, switch Type to Fixed.