How to force time synchronization in Windows with command

Occasionally, Windows may behave strangely and display the wrong time. This is especially true when you dual boot or some programs get into trouble with the time setting. If that ever happens to you, you can force Windows time synchronization with a single command.

Windows time synchronization command

To force time synchronization in Windows with the Command Prompt, all you have to do is execute a single command line.

First, open Command Prompt as admin.

In the Command Prompt window , execute the command:

w32tm /resync

As soon as you execute the command, Windows will synchronize the time based on your current time zone. In case you are wondering, the time zone is set automatically depending on your location. Additionally, time details are updated from the default time.windows.com server (Windows Internet Time Server).

Windows time synchronization command

If your Windows system is on a domain, the above command may not work. In those situations, use the command:

w32tm /domain

Note : Sometimes you may see the error "The computer did not resync because no time data was available ' . This is quite common. Especially in Windows 7 and 8. Just try to execute the command multiple times and eventually it will work.

Use custom time server

As mentioned before, Windows uses time.windows.com as the default time server. If that time server doesn't work in your case or if you want to use some other custom time server, you can do that too.

Open the Command Prompt with admin rights and execute the following command. Don't forget to replace time.server.url.com with the actual time server URL. You can use the NTP Pool Project (https://www.ntppool.org/zone/@) to find the time server addresses of different countries and locations.

w32tm /config /update /manualpeerlist:time.server.url.com

As soon as you execute the command, Windows will access that time server, get the time and sync with your system.

Another way to synchronize time in Windows 10

Alternatively, you can also synchronize the time through the Windows 10 Settings app . In fact, compared to the Command Prompt or Control Panel, the new options in the Settings app are much easier to access and use. .

To synchronize the time via the Settings application , first open the Settings application by pressing the shortcut key Win+ I.

In the Settings app , go to Time & Language> Date & Time . On the right, click the Sync button in the Synchronize your clock section .

Click the Sync button in the Synchronize your clock section

As soon as you click this button, Windows will synchronize the time. Again, as mentioned before, Windows uses the default time server to synchronize the time. If you want to synchronize time via a custom time server, use the above command to synchronize Windows time. At the time of this writing, the Settings app has no option to change the default server time.