Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Most Popular
  • Top Categories
  • Books
  • About Dave
  • Ask Me
  • > Donate <
  • Home
  • Linux Help
  • Best Way to Fix Wrong Timezone in Ubuntu Linux?

Best Way to Fix Wrong Timezone in Ubuntu Linux?

April 16, 2020 / Dave Taylor / Linux Help / No Comments

I’m not sure what changed, but my Ubuntu Linux system is now showing the wrong time! For some reason it thinks I’m on Eastern time, but I live in San Francisco! What’s the best way to fix the wrong timezone in Linux?

Having the correct time and date on your computer turns out to be a lot more important than you may realize. And that’s even more true if you’re online and visiting other sites too. In the old days, you were left trying to figure out how to make sure it was correct and compensating for clocks that were really, really close, but didn’t quite keep your computer on time, all the time. It’s like a bad clock where you notice it’s gained or lost a minute and have to reset it. With computers this was solved with something called the Network Time Protocol (NTP), first introduced in the mid 1980’s. Before that, one can only assume that the IT operators were using sundials, right? 🙂

NTP means that your computer time should always be exactly correct down to the second, and it’s frequently recalibrated so even if your computer clock wasn’t precise, the net effect would be that your computer is still always on time. Unless it thinks you’re in a different timezone or you have it set to only manually calibrate time, not do it automatically. My guess is that’s where your Ubuntu Linux system got tripped up, though it’s hard to imagine why someone would disable time NTP sync.

The easy way to realize something’s wrong is to see that the minutes past the hour are consistent with your phone or watch, but the hour’s wrong. DClock makes it easy to see the time – and see when it’s wrong too:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - dclock

This would be fine, except it’s actually 6:35am in my office locale. So how do you fix that timezone problem?

The easiest way is to jump into Settings. You can get there by clicking on the tiny downward triangle on the very top right of your screen (you can see it in the image above). That pops up this menu:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - admin shortcut menu

Settings can be accessed by clicking on the lower left button, the screwdriver & wrench icon (yes, you have to look pretty closely to realize that’s what it is). That brings up an app that I hope you’ve used before:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - settings preferences

If you want to navigate to the correct spot to change time and timezone, go into “Details” on the lower left. But the cool kids use the search feature. Click on the magnifying lens icon on the top left of this window, then type in ‘timezone’:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - settings search

Instead of hunting, you can now jump directly to Date & Time by clicking on the result shown in this search.

The result Settings then reveal the problem:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - date and time

The date and time are both being synchronized from a network time protocol server on the Internet, so those are good, but the timezone is not being updated automatically. There are a couple of logical reasons to turn off timezone updates, including if you use a VPN that can possibly confused your computer about where it’s actually located or because you travel and want your Linux system to stay on “home time”.

In any case, I’m based in Denver, Colorado and it’s showing a timezone for Los Angeles. Well, that would explain the error with what time it is currently! The fix is easy: Click on the current displayed timezone and it’ll bring up a world map and let you change it to the one you prefer:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - world map timezones

I really like this window and think it’s pretty interesting and cool both to type in a city (in the search box on the top) and see the vertical bar of where in the world that particular timezone applies. Or you can just type in a big city in your timezone:

ubuntu linux - wrong time timezone - denver

That’s it. Fixed. Now Dclock is showing 6:38 rather than 5:38 and all is good in my digital Linux world. Easily done.

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Linux since the beginning of the operating system. Please check out my extensive Linux help library with hundreds of useful tutorials while you’re here!

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
fix linux timezone, fix time, linux timezone, network time protocol, wrong time, wrong timezone

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • Can I Have Microsoft Edge Suggest Strong Passwords?
  • How Can I Password Protect Tax Forms Sent Via Email?
  • Easy Way to Add Emoji to Tweets from a Web Browser?
  • How Do You Post Multiple Photos in Instagram?
  • How Can I Change the Default Search Engine in Google Chrome to Microsoft Bing?

On Our YouTube Channel

DIGDIY BUDGET ANC TWS Earbuds [D10WH] -- REVIEW

Rush Charge Hinged Smartphone Battery Stand -- UNBOXING & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon Echo & Kindle Help (79)
  • Amazon, eBay and Online Shopping Help (157)
  • Android Help (158)
  • Apple Watch Help (49)
  • Articles, Tutorials and Reviews (326)
  • Business Advice (191)
  • Computer and Internet Basics (714)
  • d) None of the Above (160)
  • Facebook Help (364)
  • Google & Gmail Help (154)
  • HTML and Web Design (243)
  • Instagram Help (43)
  • iPad Help (136)
  • iPhone Help (570)
  • LinkedIn Help (79)
  • Linux Help (147)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (86)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (830)
  • Most Popular (10)
  • MP3 Player Help (181)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (9)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (11)
  • SEO & Marketing (80)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (82)
  • Trade Show Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (212)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows 10 Help (825)
  • Wordpress Help (201)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (43)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (40)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2020 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy