Windows 10/11 Laptops Switching Regions and Time Zones

Question

Dear Microsoft Friends,

We are experiencing an issue with our laptops running Windows 10 and 11. These laptops are unexpectedly switching to a different region, which in turn changes the time settings. We have configured the profile via Intune to use the W. Europe Standard Time. This problem has arisen spontaneously and only occurs on certain networks; on other networks, the laptops switch to the correct time zone.

All our network settings are correctly configured. All access points and the NTP server settings are correct. Despite manually setting the time zone to the correct region, the laptops still revert to Central Time (US and Canada) UTC-6. It seems that the region change is causing the time to adjust accordingly.

We have thoroughly checked all aspects of our network and NTP servers. Our switches, APs, and firewalls are correctly set to the proper time, and the NTP servers are accurately provided.

With both config profiles:

https://deploywindows.com/2019/08/12/timezone-config-with-intune/

Intune setting with static location config: https://vmlabblog.com/2022/11/configure-time-zone-with-intune/

Answer 1

It sounds like you've done a good job troubleshooting the network and NTP side of things.

Disable Automatic Time Zone:

Go to Settings > Time & Language > Date & time.

Ensure Set time zone automatically is turned off.

Manually set the correct time zone to W. Europe Standard Time.

Go to Settings > Privacy > Location.

Disable Location services to prevent Windows from changing the region based on the location.

===============

In Start Search type Gpedit.msc and hit the Enter key:

Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Time Zone.

Enable Set the time zone and set it to W. Europe Standard Time.

===================

Look for any events related to time changes in the System logs under Event Viewer.

===========

Reconfigure NTP:

Open Command Prompt as Admin and type the following commands. Replace NTP_server1 and NTP_server2 with your actual NTP server addresses.

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"NTP_server1 NTP_server2" /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:YES /update
net stop w32time
net start w32time
w32tm /resync

Answer 2

Hi M Attary,

Thanks for your post. Before moving on, it is recommended to verify if the device configuration policy has been applied or not in Intune. 

1. In the Microsoft Intune admin center, select Troubleshooting + support > Troubleshoot.
2. Choose Select user > select the user having an issue > Select.
3. Confirm that Intune license shows the green check.
4. Under Devices, find the device having an issue. Review the different columns:

4.1. Managed: For a device to receive compliance or configuration policies, this property must show MDM or EAS/MDM.

Reference: Troubleshoot policies and configuration profiles in Microsoft Intune - Intune | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,

Ian Xue

---

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.