System Tray Clock - option missing

Question

ISSUE: show long date format in system tray clock (instead of default short date)

PUBLISHED FIX: uncheck the "Show abbreviated time and date" box in /Settings/Date & Time/ and click the down arrow displayed to the right of "Show time and date in the system tray"

PROBLEM: regardless of how I reach that specific page (after clicking the down arrow), the "Show abbreviated time and date" option is never displayed. Of note, the "Show seconds in system tray clock" option does display

SYSTEM: Windows 11 Pro, 25H2, 24-Dec-25, 26200.7462

Answer 1

This cannot be done from inside the Settings app.

Open the old Control Panel.

Set View at the top to large icons.

Open the Region Applet.

Click the Additional Settings button.

Select the Date tab on the next dialog.

On that tab you can manually type your preferred Date format for the Short Date.

If you want to see 13/January/2026 on the taskbar, type this format: dd/MMMM/yyyy

If you want to see Monday 13/January/2026 on the taskbar, type this format: dd/MMMM/yyyy ddd dd/MMMM/yyyy

Then, apply that setting