Anyone notice Windows Time isn't updating (automatically)?

I changed the interval for testing purposes to 3600 seconds via the registry (every hour). I rebooted my PC and it still doesn't update automatically. It syncs without issue manally though. Changing Wintime within Services to automatic didn't make any difference either. Even unregistering see below doesn't fix the issue).

net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /register
net start w32time

I don’t have an answer, sorry. But I am curious as to why your time needs to be updated/synced? Does your PC lose time?
How did you notice that it wasn’t updating/syncing?

Sorry for the newbie questions, I don’t think I’ve ever looked at time syncing before. Possibly because my sync has always worked, would be the logical answer to myself.

I'm a bit anal when it comes to time, lol. I had a feeling the time was off so I went into my Settings and noticed the time hasn't been updated since I manually updated it last week. The "Set time automatically" feature is enabled. And only recently I noticed Windows wasn't updating automatically.

I did SFC (rarely if ever it does anything) and more but for whatever reason, it's not updating the time, automatically.

I've been saying for a while now I'm going to revert to Windows 10 (fresh clean install) or wait until Windows 12 (next year), depending on my level of patience, and perform a clean installation of Windows 12 then.

Time is kept by a digital clock chip on the motherboard. It will normally keep good time, as long as the voltage on the CMOS battery is up to par.
If time is NOT being kept, check the CMOS battery.
I'm a digital time guy.... I have 14 digital clocks, that I have to reset twice a year, and 12 computers that reset themselves for DST.
Every clock I own is set off of the PC I'm on now. So to assure that this PC is always displaying the correct time, I use a little (FREE) program called,
"Chronograph". It can reset my system clock to within 1/100 of a second.
The clock on my 15 yr old motherboard is pretty good, but not perfect, so I run Chronograph about once a week just to keep the clock on the correct time. My clock is never more than a few tenths of a second off.

I've never found Windows Time to work!

Good Luck,
TM

barreleye said:

Make Windows synchronize time more often

www.pretentiousname.com

Click to expand...

Thanks. But no. I tried that too.

I'm looking for a method to repair window time so that functions as intended.

Haven't noticed any issue on several computers, both Desktop and Notebook. As suggested by @TechnoMage2021, be sure the CMOS battery is good, they usually last more than a couple three years, I have a few computers that haven't needed it changed for longer than that. They are on the motherboard but do not recharge from it.

Sammy888 said:

Thanks. But no. I tried that too.

I'm looking for a method to repair window time so that functions as intended.

Click to expand...

I've been using the task presented in the article I linked since Windows 7, and it continues to work perfectly in Windows 11.

Berton said:

Haven't noticed any issue on several computers, both Desktop and Notebook. As suggested by @TechnoMage2021, be sure the CMOS battery is good, they usually last more than a couple three years, I have a few computers that haven't needed it changed for longer than that. They are on the motherboard but do not recharge from it.

Click to expand...

@TechnoMage2021 @Berton

While I appreciate the suggestions, I don't seem anyone (so far) understands the issue.

It’s crystal clear that the issue isn’t with the CMOS or the battery, but with Windows not synchronizing as it should.

If you check the Windows Settings, it shows when the last sync occurred and if there were any errors.

The crux of the matter is that Windows isn’t syncing automatically. This issue likely surfaced after I manually adjusted the Windows date/time feature.

There’s a possibility that the synchronization feature has been corrupted or a Windows update caused it. This needs to be addressed.

The only solution is to repair or rebuild Windows Time synch (without) reinstalling Windows.

Stigg said:

Windows Time Is Not Syncing Automatically

My Windows 11 laptop won't sync the time with any NTP time servers automatically. I've tried a few different NTP time servers, but with the same result. It syncs fine if I go into Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time and click "Sync Now". The "Set the time automatically" switch is on. If I...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

@Stigg

Thanks. One of the first things I tried

Sammy888 said:

The only solution is to repair or rebuild Windows Time synch (without) reinstalling Windows

Click to expand...

I'd first use Command Prompt as Administrator to run sfc /scannow to check for missing or corrupt files.

Berton said:

I'd first use Command Prompt as Administrator to run sfc /scannow to check for missing or corrupt files.

Click to expand...

I mentioned that in my initial post. With the exception of the run admin (I do this automatically).

Sammy888 said:

I mentioned that in my initial post.

Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't see that you ran it as Administrator. Even though the logged-on User has Administrator rights some things in Command Prompt still need it selected.

Another thought occurred, I've seen where running a VPN can cause issues with time sync, [only have one client using it now].
Taskbar, Search for Command:

No problem here on Windows 10 or 11 both fully updated, both seem to sync daily. Currently both using the default time server.

Some time ago on Wndows 10 I did have the not syncing problem and changed to one of the other time servers listed. Then changing it back after a couple of weeks or so. Since then, well over a year no problems.

No idea how it all works, maybe different time servers are used around the world or something and occasionally fail.

""Chronograph". It can reset my system clock to within 1/100 of a second."

In the Windows Event Viewer I can see time corrections of the order of 2/1,000 Sec, that surprised me.

As I suspected, there's a [new] bug in Windows 11.

Despite changing the time update interval via the registry edit (which I did before I made my initial post in this thread on the subject), Windows 11 Settings isn't showing any updated time interval. It remains stuck at the last (random) interval.

However, if I go into Control Panel > Date and Time > Internet Time the last updated interval shows which is based on the registry edit. Currently, it's set to update every hour.

The other thing too, I must set the Services for Windows Time to (Automatic) from Manual—the default . Otherwise, it won't update at all.

There's also time.cloudflare.com, if you're already using their DNS servers.

Windows Time issue as old as the time itself. I switched to this:

antspants said:

But I am curious as to why your time needs to be updated/synced?

Click to expand...

TOTP authenticators are based on the system time, if it is off even by a few seconds, the code will be invalid.

TairikuOkami said:

Windows Time issue as old as the time itself. I switched to this:

Update Time v1.3

When your Windows time is wrong or keeps changing there is an easy way to fix it "Update Time" is a Portable freeware by Sordum which is the best solution.

www.sordum.org

TOTP authenticators are based on the system time, if it is off even by a few seconds, the code will be invalid.

Click to expand...

There's no need to use an app, freeware or otherwise. I posted a link earlier to a page that defines a Windows task that actually works, and I've been using it since Windows 7. I don't know if all the shortcomings that motivated the author still exist in Windows 11, but I do know I've posted the link at least a couple times in recent weeks in threads just like this one.

I had an interesting problem yesterday. I was trying to login into a banking site and immediately got a countdown window giving me only 10 seconds to login then it dropped back to the top level login screen. The problem was the time on my Windows 11 PC was wrong. I forced a manual time synch and all is now OK. I suspect a Windows 11 bug as above.