Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. How to change your time zone in Windows 8 from the Windows Start Screen
3. How to change your time zone in Windows 8 from the Windows Desktop

Introduction

Unlike previous version of Windows, when you install Windows 8 it does not prompt you to select the time zone that your computer resides in. Having the wrong time zone will not only affect what time is displayed, but it could also affect how certain programs operate or even cause errors when visiting web sites. Therefore, it is important that once you install Windows 8, you then go and configure your time zone so that it uses the correct setting.

How to change your Windows 8 time zone from the Windows Start Screen

To change your time zone from the Windows Start Screen you need to open up the Charms panel. To do so, you can hold down the Windows () and the C key on your keyboard to make the panel appear. You can also open up the Charm panel by moving your mouse to the upper right or lower right corners of your Start screen. This will open the Charm panel on the right side of the Start Screen as shown below.

When the Charms panel is open, click on the Settings charm. This will open the Settings panel and you should now click on the Change PC Settings option in the bottom right-hand corner. You will now see the PC Setting as shown below

Left click on the General option to open the General options screen as shown below.

On this screen, under the Time category, change your time zone to the one that your computer is currently located in.

When you are done selecting your time zone, you can click on the Windows key on your keyboard to go back to your Windows 8 Start Screen.

Your selected time zone will now be saved and used by Windows 8. Windows 8 will also update your time to correct one for that time zone.

How to change your time zone in Windows 8 from the Windows Desktop

To change the time zone from the Windows 8 desktop, click on the time that is displayed in your Windows taskbar. Once you click on the time, a small box will open up showing a calendar and the current time as shown in the image below.

When you see this screen, click on the Change date and time settings... as indicated by the red arrow in the image above. This will open the Date and Time control panel as shown below.

To change your time zone, click on the Change time zone... button. This will open a dialog box where you can select your current time zone. Once you select your time zone, click on the OK button to close the dialog box. Then click on the OK button again to close the Date and Time control panel window.

Your Windows 8 time zone will now have been changed and Windows will automatically update the time.