Why Does Settings Time and Language Date and Time Keep Losing Sync

Windows time drift is when your computer clock loses the correct time and runs minutes or even hours fast or slow. Your PC depends on two time sources. The first is a small CMOS battery on the motherboard, which keeps the hardware clock running while the PC is off. The second is the Windows Time service, which syncs with internet time servers using the Network Time Protocol (NTP).

When the clock keeps losing sync, one of those two sources has usually failed. The cause is almost always a dying CMOS battery, a broken Windows Time service, or an error reaching the internet time server.

• The Windows Time service: the background service has stopped running or is misconfigured, so nothing asks for the correct time.
• The network: your router, firewall or internet provider is blocking the NTP messages your PC sends to the time servers, or the default server is overloaded.
• The CMOS battery: the small coin cell on the motherboard is running out of power. The tell-tale sign is a clock that resets to an old date or a default time every time the PC is switched off or unplugged. On most desktops it is a CR2032 cell and is cheap to replace. On a laptop it can be harder to reach, so you may want a technician to do it.

Basic Fixes: Checking Your Date and Time Settings

Before you try anything advanced, check the basic Windows settings ⚙️. A manual refresh or a corrected setting is often all it takes. These steps are for Windows 11, and Windows 10 looks very similar.

How to Force a Manual Time Sync

A manual sync tells Windows to contact the time server right now instead of waiting for its normal schedule. It is also a quick test. If it works, your PC can reach a time server. If it fails, you know the problem is the service or the connection.

1. Click the Start button and open Settings, the app with the gear icon.
2. Click Time & language in the menu on the left.
3. Click Date & time on the right. You should see the current time, a switch for Set time automatically, and your time zone settings.
4. Scroll down to Additional settings and click Sync now.
5. Watch the clock and the text near the button. It should show a recent sync time and the clock should jump to the correct time.

If the sync succeeds, your computer can talk to the internet time server. If it fails with an error, the PC cannot reach the time server right now. Either the Windows Time service is not running or the connection is blocked. Both are covered later in this guide. If the clock is only wrong by a few seconds after a successful sync, that is normal.

If the Sync now button is missing, scroll down further, as it sits below the time zone options. It may also be greyed out if the service is stopped or if your PC is managed by an organization.

Checking Your Time Zone Settings

If your clock is off by whole hours, such as exactly one hour or several, the time zone is the likely cause. The minutes may be perfectly right while the hour is wrong.

1. Open the Settings app from the Start menu.

2. Click Time & language, then select Date & time.
3. Find the switch labeled Set time zone automatically. If it is off, click it to turn it on. Windows will now pick the zone from your location.
4. If the switch is greyed out or keeps turning itself off, location services may be disabled. Open Settings, go to Privacy & security, then Location, and make sure location services are on. Then return to Date & time.
5. If you live where daylight saving time is observed, check the switch labeled Adjust for daylight saving time automatically and turn it on. On some Windows 11 builds this switch only appears, or only works, when the time zone is set manually. If you can't see it while the automatic time zone is on, that is normal, because Windows handles the change itself.
6. Open the Time zone drop-down menu and check that it shows your correct region. If it is wrong, pick the right one from the list. The time should change straight away.

If you turn off the automatic time zone to set it by hand, remember to correct it when you travel. You can turn the automatic option back on at any time.

Restarting the Windows Time Service

Restarting the Windows Time service clears background glitches that stop the clock from staying accurate. If a manual sync fails, this is the next thing to try. It also lets you set the service to start automatically, so it is running after every boot.

📝NoteThese steps need administrator privileges.

On a work computer or a shared family PC without admin rights, you may need to ask whoever manages the computer for help.

Advertisement

1. Click the Start button, type Services in the search box, and click the Services app in the results. A window with a long list of services opens.

2. Scroll down the list until you find Windows Time. The list is in alphabetical order, so look near the bottom, under W.
3. Right-click Windows Time and select Properties. A properties window opens on the General tab.
4. Next to Startup type, open the drop-down menu and choose Automatic. If your Windows version offers Automatic (Delayed Start), that works too.
5. Look at Service status. If it says Stopped, click Start. If it says Running, click Stop first, wait a few seconds, and then click Start.
6. Click Apply, then click OK.

If you see an access error when you click Start, you are not running with administrator rights, or a policy on the PC is blocking the change. To undo this, return to the same window and set the Startup type back to what it was.

When you are done, go back to Date & time in Settings and click Sync now again. The clock should now update.

Fixing Internet Time Server Connection Problems

Your PC asks one public time server for the time. If that server is busy or blocked on your network, the sync fails. Switching to a different server often gets automatic updates working again.

📝NoteThese steps need administrator privileges.

Also, if your PC is joined to a work or school domain, the Internet Time tab may be missing. In that case the time comes from the domain, and your IT department manages it.

Advertisement

1. Click the Start button, type Control Panel in the search box, and open the Control Panel app.

2. In the top right corner of the window, find View by and change it to Large icons or Small icons. All the Control Panel items should now be listed.
3. Click Date and Time.
4. In the small window that opens, click the Internet Time tab at the top.
5. Click Change settings.... If you aren't an administrator, Windows will ask for permission here.
6. In the new window, make sure Synchronize with an Internet time server is checked.
7. Click the Server drop-down box. It shows the current default address. Click in the box and type a reliable public time server, such as time.google.com or pool.ntp.org.
8. Click Update now. If the window reports that the synchronization was successful, click OK.
9. Click OK on each remaining window to save your changes.

If Update now shows an error, try the other server address from the list above. If both fail, check that your firewall or router isn't blocking NTP traffic. You can also try a different network, such as a phone hotspot, to confirm that the network is the cause.

Advanced Troubleshooting: Resetting Windows Time Files

If the clock still loses sync after the simpler fixes, the Windows Time configuration may be damaged. Resetting it removes the service registration and builds a new one with default settings. You do this from an elevated Command Prompt.

Note: These steps need administrator privileges.

1. Click the Start button, type Command Prompt in the search box, right-click Command Prompt in the results, and select Run as administrator. If a User Account Control prompt appears, click Yes.

A black window opens. This is the command line. Type each command exactly as shown, and press Enter after each one. Wait for each command to finish before you type the next. Run them in this order.

Advertisement

First, stop the time service:

net stop w32time

Next, unregister the time service from the system:

w32tm /unregister

Then register the time service again so it starts with a fresh configuration:

w32tm /register

Finally, start the time service:

Advertisement

net start w32time

Each command should print a message saying that it succeeded. If one reports "Access is denied", the window was not opened as administrator. Close it and start again from the first step. If the stop command says the service isn't running, that is fine, so continue with the next command.

When all four have finished, close the window by clicking the X in the top right corner. Restart your computer so the changes take full effect. After it boots, open Settings, go to Time & language, then Date & time, and click Sync now to confirm the clock updates.

Summary

This guide explained why your Windows clock keeps losing accurate time and how to fix it. You learned how to force a manual time sync, check your time zone settings, restart the Windows Time service, change your internet time server address, and reset the Windows Time configuration. If the clock is correct while the PC is on but wrong every time you switch it off, none of these fixes will hold. In that case, replace the CMOS battery.