Fix Windows Time Service not working

Fix Windows Time Service not working: If you’re facing issues with your clock then it’s possible that Windows Time service might not be working correctly which is why you’re facing this issue but don’t worry as today we are going to discuss how to fix this issue. The main cause seems to be Windows time service which doesn’t start automatically which is causing the delay in date and time. This issue can be fixed by enabling Time Synchronization in Task Scheduler but this fix may or may not work for everyone as every user have different system configuration.

Fix Windows Time Service not working

Users have also reported that while manually synchronizing time they face the error message “An error occurred while windows was synchronizing with time.windows.com” but don’t worry as we have got this covered. So without wasting any time let’s see how to Fix Windows Time Service not working with the help of below-listed troubleshooting guide.

Fix Windows Time Service not working

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Start Windows Time service

1.Press Windows Key + R then type services.msc and hit Enter.

services windows

2.Find Windows Time Service in the list then right-click and select Properties.

Right-click on Windows Time Service and select Properties

3.Make sure the Startup type is set to Automatic (Delayed Start) and the service is running, if not then click on start.

Make sure Startup type of Windows Time Service is Automatic and click Start if service is not running

4.Click Apply followed by OK.

Method 2: Run SFC and DISM

1.Press Windows Key + X then click on Command Prompt(Admin).

command prompt with admin rights

2.Now type the following in the cmd and hit enter:

Sfc /scannow
sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows (If above fails then try this one)

SFC scan now command prompt

3.Wait for the above process to finish and once done restart your PC.

4.Again open cmd and type the following command and hit enter after each one:

a) Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
b) Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
c) Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

DISM restore health system

5.Let the DISM command run and wait for it to finish.

6. If the above command doesn’t work then try on the below:

Dism /Image:C:\offline /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows /LimitAccess

Note: Replace the C:\RepairSource\Windows with the location of your repair source (Windows Installation or Recovery Disc).

7.Reboot your PC to save changes and see if you’re able to Fix Windows Time Service not working issue.

Method 3: Use a different synchronization server

1.Press Windows Key + Q to bring up Windows Search then type control and click on Control Panel.

Type control panel in the search

2.Now type date in the Control Panel search and click on Date and Time.

3. On the next window switch to Internet Time tab and click on “Change settings“.

select Internet Time and then click on Change settings

4.Make sure to checkmarkSynchronize with an Internet time server” then from the server dropdown select time.nist.gov.

Make sure Synchronize with an Internet time server is checked and select time.nist.gov

5.Click Update now button then click OK and see if you’re able to Fix Windows Time Service not working issue.

Method 4: Unregister and then again Register Time Service

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Command Prompt (Admin).

command prompt admin

2.Type the following command into cmd and hit Enter after each one:

net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /register
net start w32time
w32tm /resync

Fix Corrupted Windows Time service

3.Wait for the above commands to finish then again follow the method 3.

4.Restart your PC and see if you’re able Fix Windows Time Service not working issue.

Method 5: Temporarily Disable Firewall

1.Type control in Windows Search then click on Control Panel from the search result.

Type control panel in the search

2.Next, click on System and Security and then click on Windows Firewall.

click on Windows Firewall

3.Now from the left window pane click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

click Turn Windows Firewall on or off

4.Select Turn off Windows Firewall and restart your PC. 

If the above method doesn’t work make sure to follow the exact same steps to turn on your Firewall again.

Method 6: Enable Time Synchronization in Task Scheduler

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Control Panel.

control panel

2.Click System and Security and then click Administrative Tools.

Type Administrative in the Control Panel search and select Administrative Tools.

3.Double click on Task Scheduler and navigate to the following path:

Task Scheduler Library / Microsoft / Windows / Time Synchronization

4.Under Time Synchronization, right-click on Synchronize Time and select Enable.

Under Time Synchronization, right-click on Synchronize Time and select Enable

5.Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 7: Change the default update interval

1.Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.

Run command regedit

2.Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

3.Select NtpClient then in the right window pane double-click on SpecialPollInterval key.

Select NtpClient then in the right window pane double-click on SpecialPollInterval key

4.Select Decimal from the Base section then in the value data field type 604800 and click OK.

Select Decimal from the Base section then in the value data field type 604800 and click OK

5.Reboot your PC to save your changes and see if you’re able to Fix Windows Time Service not working issue.

Method 8: Add more Time servers

1.Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.

Run command regedit

2.Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DateTime\Servers

3.Right-click on Servers then select New > String value than name this string as 3.

Right-click on Servers then select New and click String value

Note: Check if you already have 3 keys then you need to name this key as 4. Similarly, if you have already have 4 keys then you need to start from 5.

4.Double-click this newly created key then type tick.usno.navy.mil in the value data field and click OK.

Double-click this newly created key then type tick.usno.navy.mil in the value data field and click OK

5.Now you could add more servers by following the above steps, just use the following in value data field:

time-a.nist.gov
time-b.nist.gov
clock.isc.org
pool.ntp.org

6.Reboot your PC to save changes then again follow the method 2 to change to these time servers.

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That’s it you have successfully Fix Windows Time Service not working in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this post then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.

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