On Ubuntu Desktop, open Settings ▸ System ▸ Date & Time, switch off Automatic Time Zone, select Time Zone, and search for your city. On a Server or headless installation, use timedatectl list-timezones to find the exact identifier, then run sudo timedatectl set-timezone Region/City and verify with timedatectl. Ubuntu Core uses its snap system setting instead.
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Choose the method that matches your Ubuntu installation
Ubuntu has three practical timezone workflows. The graphical method is intended for Ubuntu Desktop. The timedatectl method works on ordinary Desktop installations, Ubuntu Server, and headless machines managed over SSH. Ubuntu Core stores the value through the system snap rather than assuming that a desktop settings panel is available.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems| Installation | Interface | Privilege | How you find a valid zone | How you verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Desktop | Settings ▸ System ▸ Date & Time | Ubuntu may request authentication for system changes | Search by city in the Time Zone picker | Reopen Date & Time or check with timedatectl |
| Ubuntu Server or headless Ubuntu | Terminal | sudo permission |
timedatectl list-timezones |
timedatectl |
| Ubuntu Core | Snap configuration | sudo permission |
Use an identifier from the system timezone database | timedatectl | grep zone |
A timezone identifier is normally written in the IANA form Area/Location, such as America/Chicago. Use an identifier accepted by the system rather than an informal label such as “CST” or a guessed city spelling.
Change the timezone in Ubuntu Desktop
1. Open Date & Time
- Open the Activities overview.
- Start typing System and select Settings.
- In Settings, open System, then Date & Time.
The exact appearance can differ slightly between Ubuntu releases, but the relevant page is the System section’s Date & Time panel.
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2. Turn off automatic timezone selection
Find Automatic Time Zone. Leave it enabled if Ubuntu should determine the zone from the network or location services. To choose a location yourself, switch it off. The manual Time Zone control becomes available for selection.
3. Select your city
- Click Time Zone.
- Search for the city that represents your current location.
- Select the matching result.
Ubuntu applies the new zone as soon as you select a different location. The displayed local time and the timezone label should change without requiring a reboot.
4. Confirm the result
Return to the Date & Time panel and confirm that the selected city is shown. For an independent check, open Terminal and run timedatectl; inspect the Time zone line. This is especially useful when the panel appears correct but another application still displays an unexpected local time.
Change the timezone with timedatectl
timedatectl is the systemd command-line interface for viewing and changing the system clock and timezone. It is the most useful approach on servers, remote machines, and installations without a graphical session.
1. Inspect the current state
timedatectlRead the output before making a change. It shows the local time, the universal (UTC) time, the configured timezone, and clock-synchronization status. Recording the current value makes it easier to spot whether a later problem is a timezone issue or a clock-synchronization issue.
2. Find the exact identifier
timedatectl list-timezonesThis prints the timezone identifiers installed on the machine. The list is authoritative for that system’s timezone data. To narrow a long list, pipe it to grep; for example:
timedatectl list-timezones | grep ChicagoUse the complete result, including its capitalization and slash, in the next command. Do not substitute an abbreviation or a label copied from a wall clock, calendar, or web page.
3. Set the new zone
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/ChicagoReplace America/Chicago with the identifier you found. Enter your account password when sudo asks for it. The command sets the system timezone; it does not require you to calculate a numeric offset for daylight-saving changes.
4. Verify immediately
timedatectlCheck the Time zone field and confirm that it contains the requested identifier. Also compare the local and universal times shown in the output. If the timezone field is correct but the clock itself is wrong, investigate time synchronization rather than changing the timezone again.
What the command changes
The timedatectl manpage states that set-timezone sets the system timezone. On a standard system, the operation updates the /etc/localtime symbolic link so that it points to the selected timezone data. Programs that use the system’s local timezone then use that link when converting UTC to local civil time.
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Ubuntu Core uses a snap-based configuration model. If the machine is running Ubuntu Core, configure the system.timezone value instead of looking for a desktop panel.
Apply the setting
sudo snap set system system.timezone="America/Chicago"Replace the example with the appropriate IANA identifier. The quotation marks keep the value together as one snap setting.
Verify the Core setting
timedatectl | grep zoneThe output should show the configured timezone. If it does not, check the spelling against the machine’s available timezone data and run the snap command again with the corrected identifier.
Automatic timezone versus a fixed manual timezone
When automatic selection is useful
Automatic selection is convenient for a laptop that moves between regions. Ubuntu can update the selected zone when its location information changes, so you do not have to edit the setting after every trip.
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A manual timezone is usually better for a server, a desktop that stays in one place, or a system whose network location is unreliable. It also prevents an unexpected location change from altering timestamps shown to operators.
Why abbreviations are a poor substitute
Abbreviations such as “CST” can represent different regions and can be ambiguous about daylight-saving rules. A named IANA zone records the region’s historical and seasonal rules. Select the full identifier returned by timedatectl list-timezones.
Timezone, system clock, and the hardware clock are different things
Changing the timezone changes how software presents the same underlying instant in local time. It is not the same operation as manually setting the clock, and it does not replace clock synchronization.
Keep the real-time clock in UTC when possible
The timedatectl documentation warns that maintaining the hardware real-time clock (RTC) in local time is not fully supported and can cause problems when the timezone changes or daylight-saving adjustments occur. Keeping the RTC in UTC gives the operating system one stable reference while the configured timezone controls local display.
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Check the RTC mode before troubleshooting
timedatectlInspect the output for the RTC-in-local-TZ status. If a dual-boot arrangement or legacy configuration requires a local-time RTC, document that choice and expect additional care when crossing daylight-saving boundaries. Do not switch RTC mode merely to fix a wrong displayed timezone; first confirm the timezone identifier itself.
Timezone changes do not replace synchronization
A correct zone cannot repair a clock that is several minutes or hours slow. Ubuntu’s synchronization service and the timezone setting solve different problems: synchronization keeps the underlying clock accurate, while the timezone determines the local representation. The Ubuntu Server documentation notes that systemd-timesyncd is replaced by chrony beginning with Ubuntu 25.10; that change does not alter the timedatectl set-timezone workflow.
Troubleshoot a wrong time after moving or changing the setting
The city is not listed or the command rejects the value
- Run
timedatectl list-timezonesand search the resulting list instead of guessing. - Use the exact capitalization and slash-separated form returned by the command.
- Choose the region’s canonical city entry when several nearby places appear; do not type a UTC offset as a city name.
The graphical control is disabled
- Return to Settings ▸ System ▸ Date & Time.
- Turn off Automatic Time Zone before trying to select a city manually.
- If the machine has no desktop session, use the terminal procedure instead.
The timezone is correct but the clock is still wrong
- Run
timedatectland compare the reported local time, universal time, and synchronization status. - Check whether the RTC is configured as local time; local-RTC mode is a known source of trouble during timezone and daylight-saving changes.
- Investigate the system’s time-synchronization service rather than repeatedly changing the timezone.
The setting reverts after a reboot
- Verify the change as root with
timedatectlimmediately after setting it. - Confirm that you changed the host system, not a temporary shell, container, or remote machine reached through SSH.
- On Ubuntu Core, use
sudo snap set system system.timezone="Region/City"; changing a desktop preference is not the Core configuration method.
You do not have permission
Changing the system timezone requires administrative access. On a server, run the setter with sudo and use an account authorized for it. If sudo is unavailable, ask the system administrator; do not try to edit /etc/localtime manually as a workaround.
A safe repeatable procedure for servers
For production systems, use this short sequence so the selected value and the resulting state are both recorded:
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- Run
timedatectland save the current timezone and synchronization status in your change notes. - Run
timedatectl list-timezones; narrow it withgrepif necessary. - Apply the exact identifier with
sudo timedatectl set-timezone Region/City. - Run
timedatectlagain and confirm the Time zone line. - Check one application or log that reports local time, particularly if scheduled jobs or human-readable logs depend on it.
Use UTC for services and logs when your operational policy allows it, and reserve a local zone for interfaces or schedules that explicitly require local civil time. The timezone setting affects programs that consult the host’s local timezone; applications that set their own timezone can behave differently.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changes—and what does not
- Changes: the system’s local timezone identifier, the
/etc/localtimelink on standard systemd installations, and the local-time conversion used by timezone-aware software. - Does not change: the UTC instant already represented by the system clock, your files’ contents, or an application’s separately configured timezone.
- May change after a zone switch: the wall-clock values shown in logs, calendars, shells, and scheduled-task interfaces that use local time.
Because local timestamps can move forward or backward at daylight-saving transitions, review schedules that were created in local time after changing regions. A named region is preferable to a fixed offset because it carries the rules for future seasonal changes.
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Quick command reference
| Purpose | Command or path | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| Show current state | timedatectl |
Displays local time, UTC, timezone, RTC mode, and synchronization information |
| List valid identifiers | timedatectl list-timezones |
Prints the installed timezone database entries |
| Search the list | timedatectl list-timezones | grep City |
Filters entries containing the search text |
| Set a standard Ubuntu timezone | sudo timedatectl set-timezone Region/City |
Updates the system timezone and its /etc/localtime link |
| Set Ubuntu Core timezone | sudo snap set system system.timezone="Region/City" |
Stores the value in the Core system snap |
| Verify Ubuntu Core | timedatectl | grep zone |
Prints the configured zone line |
Frequently asked questions
Will changing the timezone change the actual moment recorded by a timestamp?
No. The setting changes the local representation used for display and conversion. The underlying UTC instant remains the same; applications that store UTC continue to refer to that same moment.
Should a server use its users’ local timezone?
Usually not for infrastructure logs and machine-to-machine operations. Keep operational data in UTC when possible, and configure a local timezone only where a human-facing schedule or interface requires it. Make that choice per service, because software can override the host setting.
Why does Ubuntu Core use a different command?
Ubuntu Core configures system behavior through snaps. Its documented setting is system.timezone on the system snap, so the snap command is the supported way to persist the value on Core.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a numeric UTC offset instead of a city identifier?
Use a named identifier from timedatectl list-timezones. Numeric offsets do not capture a region’s daylight-saving and historical rules, and they are not the recommended value for Ubuntu’s system timezone.
Do I need to reboot after changing the timezone?
No reboot is normally required. The new value is applied immediately; run timedatectl or reopen Date & Time to confirm it.
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