HomeTechnologyLinux

How to Change the Timezone in Linux

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the time zone on a Linux computer. You can change the timezone on every Linux distribution by using the command line, or you can use the selection menu in the command line for different Linux...
Method 1 of 4:

Using the Command Line

  1. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 1How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 1
    Open Terminal. Select the Terminal program from your Linux programs, or press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard.
  2. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 2How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 2
    Check your current time zone. Type date into Terminal and press ↵ Enter. The terminal will display the date in Weekday Month Day Time TimeZone Year format.
    1. For example, you might see something like Wed Mar 7 07:38:23 EDT 2017 wherein "EDT" refers to the current time zone (Eastern Daylight Time).
  3. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 3How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 3
    Check available time zones. Type in cd /usr/share/zoneinfo and press ↵ Enter, then type in tzselect and press ↵ Enter to display a list of locations.
    1. The /usr/share/zoneinfo directory may vary depending on your Linux distribution.
  4. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 4How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 4
    Select a continent or ocean. Type in a selection number that pertains to your general location, then press ↵ Enter.
  5. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 5How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 5
    Select a country. Type in a selection number from the on-screen list and press ↵ Enter.
  6. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 6How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 6
    Select a time zone. Type in a selection number to select the preferred time zone region and press ↵ Enter.
    1. If your city is not listed in the time zone list, pick a different city from your same time zone.
  7. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 7How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 7
    Confirm the local time. In the following prompt, confirm that the local time is correct by typing 1 and then pressing ↵ Enter.
    1. If the time isn't correct, type in 2 and press ↵ Enter, then select a new continent and repeat the process.
  8. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 8How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 8
    Verify that your time zone has been set. Run the date command again and check that the time zone corresponds to the one you just changed to. If you see you new time zone listed, you have successfully changed your computer's time zone.
  9. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 9How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 9
    Set your clock to stay synced with internet time servers if you like. Most modern distributions have NTP already installed. If your Linux distribution does not, you will need to install the NTP server package. Use the following commands to install it, depending on your Linux distribution:
    1. Ubuntu/Mint/Debian: sudo apt install ntpdate
    2. CentOS: sudo yum install ntpdate
      sudo /sbin/chkconfig ntpd on
    3. Fedora/RedHat: sudo yum install ntpdate
      sudo chkconfig ntpd on
    4. Enter ntpdate server link && hwclock –w after the installation command, making sure to enter the link to the website in place of server link.
Method 2 of 4:

Using the Timezone Selection Menu

  1. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 10How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 10
    Open Terminal. Select the Terminal program from your Linux programs, or press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard.
  2. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 11How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 11
    Enter the time zone menu command. Depending on your Linux distribution, this command will vary:
    1. Ubuntu and Mint - sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata followed by the admin/user password.
    2. Redhat - redhat-config-date
    3. CentOS and Fedora - system-config-date
    4. 'FreeBSD and Slackware - tzselect
  3. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 12How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 12
    Select your geographic area. Use the arrow keys to select the geographic area the country is found in, then press ↵ Enter.
  4. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 13How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 13
    Select your city/region. Select the city or region corresponding to your time zone, then press ↵ Enter. This will change the time zone on your system. [1]
Method 3 of 4:

Using the Graphical User Interface in Ubuntu

  1. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 14How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 14
    Click the "System Menu" icon
    How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 15How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 15
    . It's a downward-facing triangle in the upper-right corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.[2]
  2. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 16How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 16
    Click the "Settings" icon. This wrench-and-screwdriver-shaped icon is in the lower-left corner of the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Ubuntu Control Center.
  3. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 17How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 17
    Scroll down and click Details. It's at the bottom of the sidebar that's on the left side of the window.
    1. Make sure that your mouse is over the left-hand sidebar when scrolling.
  4. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 18How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 18
    Click Date & Time. You'll find this tab on the left side of the window.
  5. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 19How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 19
    Turn off Automatic Time Zone. Click the blue "Automatic Time Zone" switch in the middle of the page to do so.
    1. If the "Automatic Time Zone" switch is grey, skip this step.
  6. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 20How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 20
    Click Time Zone. It's near the bottom of the window. Doing so opens the Time Zone menu.
  7. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 21How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 21
    Select a time zone. Click your approximate location on the world map to do so. You should see the time change to match the selected area's time zone.
  8. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 22How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 22
    Close the window. This will save your settings and update your time zone accordingly.
Method 4 of 4:

Using the Graphical User Interface in Mint

  1. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 23How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 23
    Open the Menu. Click Menu in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  2. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 24How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 24
    Click the System Settings icon. It's made of two grey cogs. You'll find it on the left side of the Menu window.
  3. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 25How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 25
    Click Date & Time. It's in the "Preferences" group of options.
  4. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 26How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 26
    Click Unlock. You'll find this on the right side of the window.
  5. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 27How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 27
    Enter your user password when prompted. Type in the password that you use to log into your computer.
  6. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 28How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 28
    Click Authenticate. It's at the bottom of the prompt. Doing so unlocks the Date & Time menu.
  7. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 29How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 29
    Select a time zone. Click a vertical slice of the map to pick that time zone. You should see the clock on the right side of the page immediately change to reflect the selected time zone's time.
  8. How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 30How to Change the Timezone in Linux Picture 30
    Click Lock. It's on the right side of the window. Doing so saves your time zone preferences and locks the Date & Time menu.
4 ★ | 2 Vote
timezoneenterclick

You should read it

Maybe you are interested

Linux