How to Change the Time and Date on Windows 10/11

Eager to travel to the future faster or live a digital life in the past? Find out here how to change the date and time on Windows 10 and Windows 11 (as far back as January 1, 1980).

First, Smear Forward, Fall Back

The earth cannot keep up with our clocks. It rotates a wee bit slower than necessary to make a day 24 hours long.

So, every few years, a second or two have been inserted into human-kept time to get things back in sync. Where every millisecond and precision count (like in trading or security protocols), this sudden jump forward is a problem (and has led to leap seconds being put on hold).

One solution (employed by Amazon, Google and in slightly different form by Bloomberg, for instance) is to spread out the change over a a day starting 12 hours before the leap second is inserted in what is dubbed a… smear second.

How to Change the Time and Date on Windows 10 and Windows 11

Moving sideways around the world? You can also change the time zone in Windows to see time and date in a different location.

How to Change the Time and Date on Windows: FAQ

Can I temporarily change the date and time without disabling time synchronization?

Yes.

To change the time and date and have it tacitly (or, of course, explicitly) revert to the current time when Windows next synchronizes time:

1. On the Date & time settings page, click Add clocks for different time zones (Windows 10) or Additional clocks (Windows 11).
2. Go to the Date and Time tab.
3. Now click Change date and time.
4. Choose the desired time and date in the past, future or, of course, present.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK again.

What is the Windows schedule for synchronizing time?

By default, Windows synchronizes time around every 9 hours (32.768 seconds or 9 hours, 6 minutes and 8 seconds).

The value is a tad odd because it is stored in Windows using hexadecimal format, where those same 32.768 seconds are the round number 0x8000.

Can I change the time synchronization schedule in Windows 10?

Yes, you can alter the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient key in the Windows registry. Enter the value in seconds using hexadecimal or decimal notation.

Can I change the time server used?

Yes.

Windows synchronizes time with time.windows.com by default, but you can pick or supply your preferred (possibly internal) NTP server.

To change the Windows NTP server for time synchronization:

1. Click Additional clocks (or Add clocks for different time zones) on the Windows Date & time settings page.
2. Go to the Internet Time tab.
3. Click Change settings….
4. Choose or enter the time server under Server:.
   Which time server to use: Use pool.ntp.org for a good chance to reach a time server in your country, for instance, time.cloudflare.com for a secure, distributed solution or time.google.com for Google’s NTP service (providing smeared leap seconds).
5. Click OK.

Can I choose a time before January 1, 1990?

Yes.

To set the date of Windows 10 to a date before January 1, 1990 (as early as January 1, 1980):

1. On the Windows 10 Date & time settings page, click Additional clocks (or Add clocks for different time zones).
2. Go to the Date and Time tab.
3. Click Change date and time.
4. Choose the date in the past under Date:.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK again.

(How to change the date and time on tested with Windows 11 Version 22H2 and Windows 10 Version 21H1; updated December 2023)