On Windows 10, your time zone is automatically set based on the country selected during the setup process. Once the time zone is set, Windows 10 uses it to display the correct time and date. However, there might be situations where you need to change the time zone manually. For instance, the date or time may be incorrect due to a wrong initial country selection or because you recently moved to a different time zone. Whatever the reason, in this tutorial, I will show you four methods to change the time zone in Windows 10. Let’s get started.
Change Time Zone in Windows 10 Using Settings
- Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
- Click the Time & Language option.
- Go to the Date & time tab.
- Turn OFF the Set time zone automatically toggle.
- Select the time zone of your choice from the “Time zone” dropdown.
- You’ve changed the time zone in Windows 10.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First up, search for the Settings app in the Start menu and open it. You can also use the keyboard shortcut “Windows key + I” or click on the “All Settings” button in the notification center.
Once the settings app opens, click the Time and Language option. This is where you can change the system time and date, time zone, language, region, and speech.
In the “Time and Language” page, navigate to the Date and Time tab on the sidebar. Next, turn OFF the Set time zone automatically toggle. When this option is turned on, you cannot manually change the time zone.
Next, select a new time zone from the “Time zone” dropdown menu. In my case, I’m selecting the “Osaka, Tokyo” time zone.
That’s it. You’ve changed the time zone in Windows 10.
Change Time Zone Using Control Panel
You can also use the control panel to change the timezone in Windows 10. Since we are using the good old control panel, this method works in Windows 7 and 8 too.
- Open the Start menu.
- Search and open the Control Panel.
- Select Large Icons from the “View by” dropdown.
- Click the Date and Time option.
- Click the Change time zone button under the Date and Time tab.
- Select the time zone from the dropdown menu.
- Click the OK button to save changes.
- Click OK in the main window.
Just like with the Settings app, the changes are instant and the time zone is changed.
Change Time Zone Using Command Prompt
If you which to change the time zone using Command Prompt, you can use the “tzutil” tool. Here’s how.
- Open the Start menu.
- Search and open Command Prompt.
- Run the following command to see your current time zone.
tzutil /g
- Next, run the following command to list all the available time zones and their respective IDs.
tzutil /l
- Find the time zone you want to set, select its ID, and copy it (right-clicking copies selected to the clipboard).
- Run the following command while replacing TimeZoneID with the actual time zone ID.
tzutil /s "TimeZoneID"
That’s it. It is that simple to change the time zone in Command Prompt. To verify, run the tzutil /g
command to see your current time zone.
Change Time Zone Using PowerShell
If you are more of a PowerShell guy, you can change the Windows 10 time zone using PowerShell. Here’s how:
- Press Windows key + X to open the Power User menu
- Select the Windows PowerShell option.
- Run the following command and note down the ID of the time zone you want to set.
tzutil /l
- Next, run the following command to set the time zone. Don’t forget to replace TimeZoneID with the actual time zone ID you got with the earlier command.
tzutil /s "TimeZoneID"
- To verify the time zone, execute
tzutil /g
. You should see the changed time zone as the response.
Wrapping Up — Customizing Time Zone in Windows 10
No matter which method you follow—Settings, Control Panel, Command Prompt, or PowerShell—changing the time zone in Windows 10 is easier than you might think. Keep in mind that if you turn on the “Set time zone automatically” option in Settings, Windows 10 will automatically set the time zone based on your location data. If you want to use that option, make sure your country setting in Windows 10 is correct.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist. Windows 11 users can follow this guide to change the time zone in Windows 11.