Time Synchronization - Turn On or Off in Windows 8

How to Turn On or Off Internet Time Synchronization in Windows 8 and 8.1​

   Information

When you synchronize the system clock in Windows with an internet time server, your PC's time is automatically updated to match the clock on the time server to help ensure that it is accurate. Your system clock is automatically updated every 7 days by default, and needs to be connected to the Internet for the synchronization to occur.

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off to synchronize your PC with an Internet time server to set the time automatically in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

   Note

Internet time synchronization uses the Windows Time (W32Time) service.

OPTION ONE

Turn On or Off Time Synchronization in PC settings

NOTE: This option is only available in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1.

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1. Open PC settings, and click/tap on Time and language on the left side. (see screenshot below)​

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2. Click/tap on Date and time on the left side of "Time and language", and do step 3 or 4 below for what you would like to do. (see screenshot below)​

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3. To Turn On Internet Time Synchronization​

NOTE: This is the default setting.​

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A) On the right side under Date and time, move the Set time automatically slider to the right to turn it on, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below step 2)​

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4. To Turn Off Internet Time Synchronization​

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A) On the right side under Date and time, move the Set time automatically slider to the left to turn it off, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below step 2)​

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5. When finished, you can close PC settings if you like.​

OPTION TWO

Turn On or Off Time Synchronization in Date and Time CP

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1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Date and Time icon, and close Control Panel.​

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2. Click/tap on the Internet Time tab, and click/tap on the Change settings button. (see screenshot below)​

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3. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.​

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4. Do step 5 or 6 below for what you would like to do.​

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5. To Turn On Internet Time Synchronization​

NOTE: This is the default setting.​

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A) Check the Synchronize with an Internet time server box, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshots below step 6)​

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6. To Turn Off Internet Time Synchronization​

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A) Uncheck the Synchronize with an Internet time server box, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshots below)​

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7. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below step 2)​

OPTION THREE

Turn On or Off Time Synchronization using a REG File

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1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.​

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2. To Turn On Internet Time Synchronization​

NOTE: This is the default setting.​

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A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

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Turn_On_Time_Synchronization.reg​

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3. To Turn Off Internet Time Synchronization​

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A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.​

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Turn_Off_Time_Synchronization.reg​

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4. Save the .reg file to your Desktop.​

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5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.​

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6. If prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.​

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7. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.​

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Use Internet Time Synchronization Windows
• How to Change Internet Time Synchronization Update Interval in Windows
• How to Change Date and Time in Windows 8 and 8.1

 

[johnpombrio]

Brink, some folks need more time syncs to keep the clock as accurate as possible. Amateur astronomers for instance need at least 1/10 sec accuracy to catch a fast moving object. Here is tutorial on how to do that:

Setting Internet Time Synchonize on WIN 7 and additional note on WIN 8.1

See also: Internet Time Synchronization Update Interval

Hints and Gotchas for the instructions on the following web site:

Web Instructions: Make Windows synchronize time more often
Titled: Make Windows synchronize time more often - Tested on WIN 7
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting Internet Time Synchonize on WIN 7/8/8.1

The web instructions work, but it is a bit tricky.

First and Foremost - Be careful about clicking OK. The entire Create Task
procedure is one window with several tabs. You are going to use almost all
tabs. If you click OK at the bottom of the Create Task window too soon you
will create an unfinished Task. I have never found a task edit so I've had
to Delete the task and start over more than once!

That said, there are sub windows when you need to click OK. Just be sure
you have edited each tab and perhaps gone back and reviewed them before
the final OK at the bottom of the window.

On the General Tab:

To get account LOCAL SERVICE Click Change, search for LOCAL SERVICE, and
accept what you get. It will have extra words, but they will vanish later.
Select WIN 7, WIN Server 2008 as the OS no matter if you are on WIN 7/8/8.1.
Do not select WIN 8.1 as some config options won't be available later.

On the Actions Tab: Exact spelling is critical, I cut and pasted
%windir%\system32\sc.exe, start w32time task_started, and %windir%\system32\w32tm.exe
from the browser text. If you type them in, you will want to proofread
before the final OK.

Remaining Tabs are easy. When you have checked all tabs for typos then hit
the OK on the bottom.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Used for Win 7 (2011?), WIN 8 (Oct 2012), and WIN 8.1 (Nov 2013)

Leo Taylor

 

[jee1804]

jee1804... Have tried all this stuff none of it helps my condition .. I get error after the "update now " step saying the process timed out .. what is my problem ... ?// TNX John

 

[Brink]

Hello John, and welcome to Eight Forums.

See if this tutorial may help for using time synchronization. You may need to try a different time server to see if it may work instead.

Internet Time Synchronization

If not, then please post a screenshot showing what you see.

 

[jee1804]

time sync problem

I think I have tried all the suggestions .. firewall battery windows time sevice on cmd w32time.exe I still get the error message after ,,,, internet time/change settings/ updatenow sometimes .. most times I get a note that the time has been updated as of the present windows tiome .. but I t hasn't because I set the time wrong and it is still wrong .. . I never had a problem with this before .. what has changed and what can I do to fix it .. firewall has the 123 port open thanks for you rinterest ,,, john

I have win 7 on another drive and the problem is the same ..

 

[Brink]

Is the time set correctly in Windows and BIOS?

 

[jee1804]

w 8.1 time will not sync with the internet ..

in your example from setting win 8 time and language/date and time ... clicking on change does not work .. similarly if I approach from the desk top clock // change date and time / internet time / change settings /update now ... yields error ... time out for all the available sites /servers... sometimes it will say below the error message that the time has been synchronized as of the current desk top clock reading but I know it hasn't because it is 5 minutes differwent than the wall .. could there be another program on board that could be interfering with this activity .. im have mcafee and have searched it for an avenue or a block .. the 123 port is available .. I have tried all the suggestions from the seven forum , toms , this forum and a few other sources .. I must be the only machine in the universe with this problem .. would love some help . thanks a bunch ... John

 

[Brink]

John,

Have you already checked to see if your BIOS/UEFI time is also correct?

What happens when you click on "Change Date and Time" in step 4 of Option Two below, to manually set the correct time to see if it may sync afterwards?

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/28674-date-time-change-windows-8-8-1-a.html

 

[jee1804]

time sync prob ..

In answer to your Q I csn change the time ok and in the bios and they are the same no matter which one I do the changing with .. Does this tell us that internally we are OK? some more info .. I have 2 installs of win 7 also on the machine and they perform identically .. no facility to sync.. I intentionally leave the time 5 min wrong so I can detect when and if it does sync ..

I am using a sb 9600 surfboard usb/wireless router modem on broadband cable and all my needs for internet service are satisfied ... except the sync poop .. I will look into it and see if there is an ability to block port 123 ..
In my mind the evidence says that the problem is at the door to my computer ,, not inside it ..
w23time.exe .. what if that was corrupted // but each of my 3 win installs have separate w32time.exe 's sop that is unlikey the cause of the problem .. I have not found anymother control panel function problems .. the time thing seems to be a single ill .. thasnks a gain john
I checked the Motorola and I think I specifically openrd the 123 port , but , not sure if I did it correctly .. at any rate the there was no improvement in the sync behavior ..
I there was problemin the registry it would have to be duplicated in all three systemjs individual software wouldn't it ?? tnx J

 

[Brink]

When the time is off by much, it could cause the time synchronization to fail a few times before it finally does sync. That's the main reason why to manually make the time correct to see if it syncs properly afterwards.

Since you have McAfee, then you might uninstall it as a test to see how the time sync works afterwards. McAfee has been known to sometimes cause issues.

How to uninstall or reinstall supported McAfee products using the Consumer Products Removal tool (MCPR)

 

[jee1804]

time sync prob

time is set to the wall .. still no sync ... mcafee removed and time tested ... no help ... mcafee reinstalled all conditions unchanged ,,,,, not good .... is there a program out there that imports the correct time to the computer independent of the services I have windows pro 8.1 with media center ... do I have the group policy thingey ?/ is there anything in that could help ... tnx JJ J

 

[Brink]

You might see if running a SFC /SCANNOW command may help if it's a corrupted system file at fault. Otherwise, I'm not certain what else it could be either.

 

[jee1804]

time sync prob ..

since internet time settings efforts yields a note that the synchronize effoet was blocked on the way to asking for an update or the return of an update .. it looks to me like the request is not getting out of my biox to the query point .. is that logical ? .. if so we should be looking for the closed door .. I will mess some more with the router/modem and see if the problem is there .. tnx again J
is there a way6 to test this by doing the ping thing .. ??/

 

[Brink]

What note about it being blocked?

Please post a screenshot showing this.

 

[jee1804]

time sync

I ran scannow and it said there were corrupt files that it could not fix ..... it is about 15 mb .. I doubt that I am capable of sorting out what is meaning full . but , I see nothing which appears to relate to the time service or in fact anything that looks specific to any program, service or device familiar to me .. .. can you suggest what to look for . or are you willing to look at it . // the blocked term I used was meant o relate to the fact that the attempt to connect times out .. I assume it never gets to its desired destination , which I take as meaning it is blocked in some way .. also when I run some of the servers for time I get the add on message to the error sentence statin "the peer is unresolved" which is greek to me .. again thanks ..I tried to cut and paste the notepad log to this message but the action would not work .. tnx J

 

[Brink]

Please go ahead and post the full "the peer is unresolved" error message you get. A screenshot would work as well.

For SFC, you could do what's in the blue note box at the bottom of OPTION TWO to see if that may help allow SFC to repair the files afterwards.

 

[David Bailey]

I had to click the update button twice to get a successful time sync---
{ On the first click I got an error message }



Hope this helps.

 

[jee1804]

timesync



If you can't blow this up and read it . I can blow it up and send it again .. the last sentence aftert eh error message just says ,,, "The peer is unresolved" the server directed was ... tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi ...this server url was given to me by a guy that sid it was foolproof ... so much for foolproof ..

ispent hours getting this little pee pee oix to the form .. I have 3 screens and when I do the screen shot I get them all and have to go to graphics ecitor to turn it to jpg and crop it to the meat ... and that is a nnother once a year process for me ...


you know that when you do thios kind of stuuf once a year it isn't burned very deep into your memory .. I mostly do the stock market and I do my own . IT but that doesn't come up often enuf that I am very good at it ,, I built a heathki5t cp/m machine in 83 and have been assembling ever since .. am much more interestered in hardware than software ... Ireally appreciate you holding my hand on this .. I really don't see a solution .... I can get awrist watch at big lots for 5 bucks ..the scannow thing is another thing that seems to be a long shot . but I will keep working on it by your instructions .. . Thanks a gain ,,, John



I see that the insert is quite readable .. I am a dunce..

 

[Brink]

Yep, it looks like the time server is being blocked. McAfee has been shown to do this a lot from what I've seen as well.

You already made sure to open up the Network Time Protocol Port 123 by checking it in McAfee, and it didn't help.

Personally, I would recommend to reset Windows being sure to not install McAfee.

 

[jee1804]

time sync

Remember I have multi boot .. 2 win 7 and an 8.1... I logic that is more probable that the three are confusing the bios .. altho I know the 2 installs should be in bed that are not awakwake...so this is a valid Q.. until we peove a point in that realm .. what I will do here is log onto all 3 installs and turn off the auto sync request check .. and then try the win 9.1 or one of the other installs to see if it works .. in the process I will check again that the bios and the desk top are sporting the same time ..;;
I think I locked out another uncertainty ... I cranked up my old v92 dial up modem and disconnected the cable modem and tested the sybc thingey .. no soap still the same .. this kind of directs me to the grand coincidence that all the individual w32time.exe or other responsible control programs in the 3 installs are coincidentally screwed up .... that sounds much like the jackpot odds in vegas .. Until I check this out I hesitate to screw with the reinstall of win 8.1..
Microsoft is so paranoid that I am stealing their software that I generally end up in having significant difficulty in doing the job also I have a bout 4 pounds of software that I guess will have to get loaded unless there is a repair feature that avoids the reinstall bit .. but the 8 to 8.1 thing is probab;ly a black hole .. I will read your reinstall process and hopefully reduce my impression of the impending difficulty .. Wish we could do a beer ... I am In dallas ... where are you ??? J thanks a bunch .. John