Will my PC automatically update for daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time begins in the US at 2 am on Sunday, March 12, when those who observe the calendar ritual will “forward” to the updated time period. This means that areas that follow the practice will “lose” an hour of sleep that day and gain additional minutes of daylight each day as summer approaches.

Daylight saving time is practiced in most of Europe, most of North America, and parts of Asia, South America, and Oceania. For regions that observe daylight saving time, it means shifting clocks one hour during the warmer summer and fall months so people have more daylight hours. Clocks are set to “advance” one hour in the spring to establish daylight saving time and “back” one hour in the fall to restore standard time.

Many people are used to a series of electronic devices automatically updating at 2 am and they don’t have to do anything. However, products like Windows and Mac computers can experience some hiccups when trying to adjust to standard time.

If you find you’re having trouble with your computer automatically updating to standard time, consider some of these fixes.

Windows: Correct your time zone in Settings

A simple option to try to fix a Windows computer that doesn’t update automatically is to adjust your time to make sure your PC is set to the correct time zone. If you manually changed your time zone while traveling, for example, you might have accidentally turned off automatic updating for daylight saving time. Fortunately, there are several solutions that you can try. This, the simplest method, requires you to check your Settings.

It should be noted that the screenshot below is for Windows 10, but an almost identical menu exists in Windows 11 at time and language in it settings Alternatively, you can access this menu by right-clicking on the time displayed at the bottom right of the taskbar. From there, just click Set date and time.

Select windows + me This will bring up the settings window. then click Time and language > Date and time.
From here, if the Adjust for daylight saving time automatically feature is grayed out, you will need to change the time zone.
disable the Set time zone automatically option to open the Time zone drop down menu to edit.
Select your appropriate time zone.
then you should see the Adjust for daylight saving time automatically option activated.
Also, make sure Set time zone automatically and set time automatically they are activated again.

Windows: Correct your time zone in Control Panel

This time zone solution is pretty simple too, but it just requires a bit of digging into your device’s internal clock. It requires you to go through your Control Panel.

Make sure your Windows computer is in the correct time zone if it doesn't automatically update to daylight saving time.

Select Windows + R.
Guy Control and press Get into. This will open your computer control Panel.
Select Clock and region > Date and time. This will open the Date and time settings.
Select the change time zone button.
This will open a new popup window, from which you can select your appropriate time zone from the dropdown menu.
Select the Automatically adjust the clock for daylight saving time checkbox option below the dropdown dropdown.
Select OK to save the changes.

Windows: sync with Internet time

If your auto update problem isn’t as simple as correcting the time zone on your computer, you may find some help by trying to match your computer to Internet time. The two ways to do this are by synchronizing with the Windows time server or the NIST time server.

These servers function as general timekeepers, the first allowing you to sync your computer’s time with the time of neighboring computers on the web, and the second a public time server in Colorado that uses atomic clocks to provide accurate time for locations. Worldwide. , according to NewsTechToday.

To try to fix your DST update problems, you can try synchronizing your Windows computer with Internet time.

Select Windows + R.
Guy Control and press Get into. This will open your computer control Panel.
Select Clock and region > Date and time. He Date and time settings a popup window will appear.
Select the internet time tab > and the change settings option.
Select the Synchronize with an Internet time server check box and select the option time.windows.com server from the drop down menu.
Select Update now.
Select OK after the sync is complete.
If he Summer schedule the feature is still greyed out in Settings, try the second option by selecting time.nist.gov in it Server dropdown menu and update the settings again.

Mac: Fix for macOS High Sierra or later

Newer Mac computers have simpler mechanisms for automatic daylight saving time updates. However, if you run into any problems, Apple has some steps you can take to fix the problems. Please note that this solution is for Macs running macOS High Sierra for later. There is a solution for older Macs below.

The Mac solution to daylight saving time problems is much simpler and depends on the version of the macOS system you are running.

Make sure your Mac is connected to the Internet.
Select Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
If you see a message that says updated time zone information is availablerestart your Mac.
If that message does not appear, exit System preferences, wait several minutes and open Date and Time again.
You should see a time zone update message at the bottom of the Time zone setting in Date and Time preferences From here, you need to restart your Mac to get the update.

Mac: Fix for older versions of macOS

If you have an older Mac, updating your computer manually is probably your best bet.

Select Apple menu > System Preferences > Date & Time.
In it Time zone settingdeselect Set time zone automatically using current locationthen choose the desired time zone.
Depending on the system version, you may need to select the lock option to save these settings and set the changes.