When we switched to Daylight Savings Time a few days ago, my computer got confused and is now an hour off. Wrong timezone? How can I figure out what’s wrong and fix it? Running Windows 11 on an ASUS notebook computer.
Daylight savings time is both confusing and controversial; it was originally created to conserve energy but at this point, do we really need to stick with this seemingly arbitrary shift of the clock every spring and fall? It’s also worth noting that daylight savings time is during the summer months: The first Sunday in November is when we change back from DST to Standard Time. Since I tend to get up early, I don’t mind the shift, but it is odd when sunset is suddenly so much earlier.
What’s rather amazing to consider is just how complex time is around the world. For example, did you know that there are actually 38 time zones around the world and that only 70 countries honor daylight savings time? Most of Africa and Asia scoff at this silly time shifting! Anyway, assuming you’re in a region that has DST/ST, it seems odd that your computer wouldn’t automatically shift, but it’s possible that the settings have gone wonky.
FINDING YOUR CURRENT TIME ZONE
The easiest place to start is on the Taskbar. You’ll see the current time (at least according to your PC) and date neatly displayed:
The rightmost icon is notifications, then you can see the time and date. Neat, easy, straightforward. But it’s wrong! It’s actually 8:48 AM as I type this article.
Right-click on the date and time display to pop up a useful mini-menu:
Choose “Adjust date and time” to see what your system has as its settings:
Yours might well be different, but the problem on my computer is obvious: It’s set to Pacific time rather than just picking up the timezone automatically from the Internet. I am, in fact, in the Mountain time zone, which is exactly one hour off from Pacific time. I can either change the timezone manually or just enable “Set time zone automatically”. The latter is better because as I travel it’ll automatically change too.
Notice that there’s also an option to “Adjust for daylight saving time automatically”. Enable that, though remember that we’re now not in daylight savings time, so this won’t be helpful until next spring.
CHANGING TIMEZONE ON YOUR PC
Since the current time is so important to operating systems, Windows is careful about ensuring you really want to make the change. When I clicked to switch back to automatic time zone, I immediately got this notification:
I do, so I clicked on “Accept“. Now the Settings window is a bit simpler:
It’s worth noting that you can add a seconds display to the time shown in the Taskbar (the System tray is the right side of the Taskbar. It’s confusing)…
If you don’t really need to see it increment once per second, I recommend against enabling this option. That should get you all fixed up with your time issues on your PC.
BONUS TIME TRICKS IN WINDOWS 11
While we’re looking at the Time & language > Date & Time settings, scroll down…
One of my favorite hidden features in Windows is the Additional clocks option. Click on it and an old-style Windows settings window will appear (you might need to click on the “Additional Clocks” tab along the top):
As I explored in more detail in my tutorial on Show Multiple Clocks in Windows you can enable this feature and pick other places around the world where you have friends, family, or do business. Or just dream of visiting. I have Seoul, Korea, and Hawaii. Click “OK” and… nothing happens.
Until you hover your cursor over that date and time display on the Taskbar:
Pretty cool, eh? Now you know, what cities or places are you going to add?
Pro tip: I’ve been writing about Microsoft Windows for many years. Please check out my extensive and well-documented Windows help area for over a thousand useful tutorials while you’re visiting the site!