When Does the NYT Spelling Bee Reset?
The definitive guide to the New York Times daily reset cycle, international timezone conversions, daylight saving shifts, and streak protection.
3:00 AM Eastern Time (ET)
The official New York Times Spelling Bee releases a brand new puzzle every single day of the year at exactly 3:00 AM Eastern Time (midnight 12:00 AM Pacific Time).
1. Why 3:00 AM Eastern Time?
Many players wonder why the New York Times—a newspaper headquartered in New York City—chooses 3:00 AM local time to refresh its daily digital games rather than midnight.
The 3:00 AM Eastern timing was deliberately selected to align with midnight (12:00 AM) Pacific Time on the West Coast of the United States. By refreshing at 3:00 AM ET / 12:00 AM PT, all players across the four contiguous United States time zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific) receive the new puzzle on the official calendar date, ensuring that nobody on the West Coast receives tomorrow's puzzle while it is still yesterday evening.
2. Worldwide Timezone Conversion Directory
Locate your local city or region to know the exact moment the new honeycomb unlocks:
| Region / City | Time Zone Code | Daily Reset Time | Relative Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York / Miami / Atlanta / Toronto | ET (UTC-5 / UTC-4) | 3:00 AM | Official reference time |
| Chicago / Dallas / Mexico City | CT (UTC-6 / UTC-5) | 2:00 AM | 1 hour before Eastern |
| Denver / Phoenix / Calgary | MT (UTC-7 / UTC-6) | 1:00 AM | 2 hours before Eastern |
| Los Angeles / San Francisco / Seattle | PT (UTC-8 / UTC-7) | 12:00 AM (Midnight) | Midnight launch |
| Anchorage / Alaska | AKST (UTC-9 / UTC-8) | 11:00 PM (Prev. Day) | Available night before |
| Honolulu / Hawaii | HST (UTC-10) | 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM | Available evening before |
| London / Dublin / Edinburgh | GMT / BST | 8:00 AM / 9:00 AM* | Morning routine |
| Paris / Berlin / Rome / Madrid | CET / CEST | 9:00 AM / 10:00 AM* | Morning coffee time |
| Dubai / United Arab Emirates | GST (UTC+4) | 11:00 AM or 12:00 PM | Midday release |
| New Delhi / Mumbai / India | IST (UTC+5:30) | 12:30 PM or 1:30 PM* | Lunchtime release |
| Singapore / Hong Kong / Perth | SGT / HKT / AWST | 3:00 PM or 4:00 PM | Afternoon release |
| Tokyo / Seoul | JST / KST | 4:00 PM or 5:00 PM | Late afternoon |
| Sydney / Melbourne | AEST / AEDT | 5:00 PM or 6:00 PM | Evening commute |
| Auckland / New Zealand | NZST / NZDT | 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM | Evening unwind |
* Note on Daylight Saving Time (DST): The United States shifts to Daylight Saving Time on the second Sunday of March and returns to Standard Time on the first Sunday of November. Countries that do not observe DST or shift on different dates may observe a 1-hour fluctuation during transition weeks.
3. What Happens to Your Streak at 3:00 AM ET?
Many solvers maintain hundreds of days of consecutive streaks. Here is how the system handles transition moments:
The NYT web app and mobile app will allow you to finish typing your current session as long as the page or screen is not refreshed. However, the instant the app reconnects or refreshes past 3:00 AM ET, the new puzzle will load, and your previous day's score will freeze at whatever rank you had achieved.
Did you fall asleep before finding that final pangram? You can visit our Yesterday's Answers or Yesterday's Pangram page to see the full solution list, score breakdown, and word definitions.
If it is past 3:00 AM ET and your NYT Games app still shows yesterday's hive, force-close the app from your phone's multitasking drawer and relaunch it, or do a hard refresh in your browser (Ctrl+F5 on Windows, Cmd+Shift+R on Mac).