It happens to the best of us. You flip open your MacBook Pro, ready to dive into a Zoom call or finish a report, and you realize the clock is exactly three hours off. Or maybe you're a digital nomad hopping across time zones and your Mac is stubbornly clinging to London time while you're sitting in a cafe in Lisbon. Honestly, it’s annoying. It messes with your calendar invites, your browser security certificates might start throwing errors, and it just feels wrong.
If you're wondering how do I change the time on my MacBook, the good news is that Apple has made it relatively straightforward, though they did move things around a bit when they transitioned from the old System Preferences to the new System Settings layout.
Most people assume the Mac just "knows" where it is. Usually, it does. Apple uses location services and NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers to keep your device synced to the millisecond. But things break. A glitchy VPN, a dying CMOS battery (on older models), or a simple software hiccup in macOS Sonoma or Ventura can leave your clock stranded in the past.
Let's fix it.
The Quick Way to Adjust Your Time Settings
First off, click that clock in the top right corner of your screen. If you click it and nothing happens other than the calendar popping up, you’re in the wrong spot. You need to head to the Apple Menu—that little logo in the far top-left—and hit System Settings. If you’re on an older Mac running Monterey or earlier, this will still be called System Preferences.
Once you’re in there, look for General in the sidebar. It’s got a little gear icon. Inside General, you’ll find Date & Time.
This is the nerve center for your MacBook’s internal clock. You’ll probably see a toggle that says Set time and date automatically. If that’s on and your time is still wrong, toggle it off. Then toggle it back on. It sounds like the "turn it off and on again" cliché because it is, but forcing the Mac to reach out to Apple's time servers (time.apple.com) often clears the jam.
Why Your Mac Might Be Stuck in the Wrong Time Zone
Sometimes the time is "correct" for a different part of the world. This usually happens because Location Services are disabled or being blocked. If your Mac doesn't know where it is, it can't choose the right time zone.
To fix this:
Go to Privacy & Security in your System Settings. Scroll down to Location Services. Make sure the main toggle is on, but then—and this is the part everyone misses—scroll all the way to the bottom of the app list and click System Services. Hit the Details button. You need to make sure Setting Time Zone is checked. If it isn't, your MacBook is essentially flying blind.
I've seen this happen a lot with corporate laptops where IT departments over-harden the security settings. They lock down location data to "protect privacy," but then the user travels for a business trip and the laptop thinks it’s still at headquarters. It's a classic case of security features breaking basic usability.
Manual Overrides: When You Just Want to Set it Yourself
Sometimes, you don't want the Mac to be smart. Maybe you're testing software that's time-sensitive, or you're playing a game that uses real-world time and you want to "time travel." Or maybe you're just in a dead zone with no internet and the automatic sync isn't working.
To set the time manually:
- Go back to System Settings > General > Date & Time.
- Turn off the Set time and date automatically switch.
- Look for the Set... button next to the date and time display.
- Click it, type in the actual time, and hit Set.
Keep in mind that doing this can break things. Modern web browsing relies heavily on SSL/TLS certificates. These certificates have a "valid from" and "valid to" timestamp. If your MacBook's clock is significantly off—say, by a year or even a few months—your browser will think the certificate is expired or not yet valid. You’ll get those scary "Your connection is not private" warnings on almost every website.
Dealing with the "Greyed Out" Settings
You might go into your settings and find that the toggles are greyed out. You can't click them. You're stuck.
This usually happens for one of two reasons. On older versions of macOS, there was a literal yellow padlock icon in the bottom left of the window. You had to click that and enter your admin password to make changes. In newer versions like macOS Sequoia or Sonoma, it usually asks for your Touch ID or password when you try to change the toggle.
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If it’s still locked and you’re on a work computer, you likely have a Configuration Profile installed. Companies use these to prevent employees from messing with system-critical settings. You can check this by going to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles. If there's something there from your "Information Technology Department," you might have to call the help desk.
The Nuclear Option: Terminal
If the GUI (the buttons and menus) fails you, there is always the command line. The Terminal is where the real power lies. You can force a time update by using the sntp command.
Open Terminal (Command + Space, type "Terminal") and type:sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com
You’ll have to type your password. It won't show characters while you type, which is normal. Hit Enter. This command tells your Mac to instantly synchronize its clock with Apple's official server, bypassing whatever hang-up the System Settings menu might be having.
Hardware Issues and the PRAM/NVRAM
If your MacBook is an older model—specifically one with an Intel processor—and it loses the time every single time you shut the lid or the battery dies, you might be looking at a hardware issue. Intel Macs use a small amount of memory called NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory) to store things like speaker volume, screen resolution, and, you guessed it, time zone information.
If this data gets corrupted, the clock goes wonky.
To reset it:
Shut down your Mac. Turn it back on and immediately hold down Option + Command + P + R. Keep holding them for about 20 seconds. Your Mac might look like it's restarting. Once you let go, your settings will be reset to defaults.
Note: You don't do this on M1, M2, or M3 Apple Silicon Macs. They handle these resets automatically during a standard restart.
A Note on VPNs and Time Sync
One weird thing I’ve noticed is that certain VPNs can mess with how your Mac perceives its location. If you’re tunneled into a server in Chicago but you’re physically in New York, and your "Set time zone automatically using your current location" is turned on, the Mac might get confused. It’s seeing a New York Wi-Fi signal but a Chicago IP address. Usually, Wi-Fi triangulation wins, but not always.
If you notice your clock jumping back and forth, check if your VPN is running. You might need to set your time zone manually to "New York" instead of letting the Mac "detect" it while the VPN is active.
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Summary of Actionable Steps
Changing the time on your MacBook shouldn't feel like a chore. If you're struggling, follow this workflow:
- The Soft Reset: Toggle "Set time and date automatically" off and on in System Settings > General > Date & Time.
- The Location Check: Ensure Location Services and System Services > Setting Time Zone are both enabled under Privacy settings.
- The Manual Path: If the internet is the problem, turn off automatic syncing and punch in the time yourself, but stay within a few minutes of the real time to avoid browser errors.
- The Deep Fix: Use the Terminal command
sudo sntp -sS time.apple.comif the menu is unresponsive. - The Hardware Check: For Intel Macs, reset the NVRAM if the time refuses to stick after a reboot.
Most of the time, the fix is just a single toggle. If your MacBook is still showing the wrong time after all this, check for macOS updates. Apple occasionally releases patches for "CoreTime" bugs that affect how the system talks to GPS and network towers. Keep that software current, and your clock should stay right on the beat.