How to Fix the Clock on Windows 11
Fixing the clock on Windows 11 might seem dead simple, but when it’s going all haywire, it can stuff up your meetings, deadlines, you name it. Luckily, sorting it out is usually quick as. Might take a bit longer if your PC’s throwing a tantrum or you’re caught up with a bunch of updates. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can do.
First up, hit that Start button or just press Windows + I on your keyboard to get into Settings. This is basically the control panel for everything Windows 11 — you’ll spot a little gear icon. Or if you’re feeling sharp, you can jump straight to the date and time settings by typing ms-settings:dateandtime
in the Run box (Windows + R) — quick as an Aussie.
Next, find the “Time & Language” section. This is where the magic happens. The icon usually looks like a clock — hard to miss unless your desktop’s a scatter of open windows. Inside, hit “Date & Time”. That’s where you can tweak your clock settings. It’s the main spot for syncing options, so don’t overthink it.
Now, turn on “Set time automatically”. Keeping this on means Windows tries to keep your clock up-to-date with internet time servers. Usually, it does a fair dinkum job, especially after daylight saving adjustments. But if things are still wonky, you might need to give the Windows Time service a kick by running these commands in PowerShell:
Restart-Service w32time
w32time /resync
If the clock’s decided to throw a wobbly, switch off “Set time automatically” and click “Change” to set the time manually. Heads up: check your timezone too — those can be a tricky bugger. Like, who knew “Pacific Standard Time” could cause so much confusion? You can also set it using the command line like so:
tzutil /s "Your Timezone" # Example: "Eastern Standard Time"
Getting your system clock right should be a walk in the park, but if it’s still giving you grief, a quick restart often sorts it. Windows can be a bit funny like that — a simple reboot clears up a lot of strife.
Keep a few things in mind for smoother sailing. A good internet connection is a must — auto sync won’t work without it. And double-check your timezone. If everything’s still nicked, try switching to a different time server. Here’s how:
net time /setsntp:"time.windows.com"
Then run these commands:
w32time /register
net start w32time
w32time /resync
If the clock still isn’t right, it might be time to look for Windows updates, especially if they’re related to time issues. Or, you could go down the rabbit hole of registry tweaks — but that’s a whole other story.
Once you’ve sorted it out, you’ll forget it was ever a problem — just a matter of making sure your digital clock keeps ticking in sync, and life’s a lot easier.
- Hit Windows + I to go to Settings.
- Find “Time & Language”.
- Make sure “Set time automatically” is turned on.
- If needed, set the time manually and check the timezone’s spot on.
Sometimes, a quick tweak like this is all it takes to get your clock ticking correctly. Fingers crossed this helps someone out there sort their time in a jiffy!