How to Set a 24-Hour Clock on Windows 11 Lock Screen
- 4 ways to do it
- Needs administrator rights
- Includes a restart or sign-out
A 24-hour clock on Windows 11 changes the lock screen time format to run from 00:00 to 23:59 instead of using AM and PM. This is a system-wide time display setting that works on Windows 11 version 22H2 and later. It changes your regional preferences, and you set it in the Region settings.
The setting lives under Settings Time & language Language & region. This tutorial covers the Settings app, the classic Control Panel and the Registry Editor, and ends with a note for anyone changing many PCs.
Open Settings Time & language Language & region, click the Regional format tile, then Change formats. In the Long time dropdown, select a 24-hour entry like 09:40:07 with no AM or PM. Restart your PC and the lock screen clock switches to 24-hour format.
Why use a 24-hour clock?
This format removes the ambiguity between morning and afternoon hours, which helps prevent mistakes in time-sensitive schedules. Anyone who has booked a meeting for 6:00 and turned up twelve hours off will see the point.
The setting is available on both Windows 11 Home and Pro. It belongs to your user account, so it does not need a special edition of Windows.
What happens when done?
Once these steps finish and your PC restarts, the lock screen shows time in the 24-hour format (for example, 14:00 instead of 2:00 PM). The change applies to your user profile. To check it, press Win+L to lock the PC and look at the clock.
To go back, repeat the steps and pick a 12-hour format instead.
While you are on the lock screen, you may notice a different set of widgets. According to Microsoft’s release notes for update KB5120998, Weather is now the only widget shown on the lock screen by default. To add other widgets, open Settings Personalization Lock screen.
Microsoft is rolling this change out to existing users, so your PC may not show it yet. It does not affect the clock format.
Method 1Using the Settings App
The Settings app is the quickest way to set a 24-hour clock on Windows 11, and the simplest to undo. Changing the regional format updates how time appears on both your lock screen and your taskbar.
The steps below take you from the main Settings menu to the time format dropdowns.
- Open the Settings app by pressing Win+I, or go to Start Settings. The Settings window opens with a list of categories on the left.
- Click Time & language on the left side, then select Language & region. The page that opens lists your display language, preferred languages and region settings.
- Find the Region section and click the Regional format tile to open more options. The tile expands and shows the current regional format along with a few related buttons.
- Click the Change formats button. A page opens with a list of dropdown menus for calendar, date and time formats.
- Find the Long time option and open its dropdown menu. The times in the list are only samples, so your own entries will differ. Pick one of these:PowerShell
Set-Culture -CultureInfo en-GB
Summary
Most people switch the Windows 11 lock screen to a 24-hour clock in the Settings app by changing the regional formats. Advanced users can make the same change in the Control Panel or the Registry Editor.
If the lock screen still shows AM or PM afterwards, check that the Short time format is set to a 24-hour entry, then restart. Those two steps fix most cases.
The lock screen widgets are a separate matter. Since update KB5120998, Weather is the only widget shown by default, and you can add others in Settings Personalization Lock screen.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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