How to sync your clock

Windows 11 & 10

1. Right-click the clock in the taskbar and choose Adjust date and time. (Or open Settings › Time & language › Date & time.)
2. Turn on Set time automatically.
3. Click Sync now. The time next to it should update to “just now”.
4. Check that Time zone is correct — a wrong zone looks like a clock that is out by whole hours.

If “Sync now” fails

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator and run:

w32tm /resync

If that reports the service is not running, start it first:

net start w32time
w32tm /resync

Use a different time server

Control Panel › Clock and Region › Date and Time › Internet Time tab › Change settings. Set the server to time.windows.com or pool.ntp.org, then click Update now.

macOS

1. Open the Apple menu › System Settings.
2. Go to General › Date & Time.
3. Turn on Set time and date automatically. The source should read time.apple.com.
4. Confirm Set time zone automatically using your current location is on.

On macOS Monterey and earlier the path is System Preferences › Date & Time; click the padlock to unlock it first.

Force a resync from Terminal

sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com

iPhone & iPad

1. Open Settings › General › Date & Time.
2. Turn on Set Automatically.
3. If it is greyed out, check Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions — date & time changes can be blocked there.
4. Still wrong? Toggle Airplane Mode on and off, or restart the device, to force it to fetch the network time again.

iOS gets its time from the mobile network or Wi-Fi, so a device that has been offline for a long time may need a moment after reconnecting.

Android

1. Open Settings › System › Date & time. On Samsung devices it is Settings › General management › Date and time.
2. Turn on Set time automatically (some versions call this Use network-provided time).
3. Turn on Set time zone automatically as well.
4. If the option is already on but the clock is still wrong, switch it off and on again to force a refresh.

Linux

Most modern distributions use systemd-timesyncd. Enable network time and check the result:

sudo timedatectl set-ntp true
timedatectl status

Look for System clock synchronized: yes. To force it:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-timesyncd

If you use chrony

sudo chronyc makestep
chronyc tracking

If you use ntpd

sudo ntpd -gq

ChromeOS

1. ChromeOS sets the time automatically and cannot be set by hand, so a wrong clock is almost always a wrong time zone.
2. Open Settings › Advanced › Date and time.
3. Set Time zone to Choose from list and pick your region, or let it use your location.
4. If it is still wrong, sign out and back in, or restart the Chromebook.