Windows 11 Pro Automatically Changes Time Zone to UTC+08:00 After Restart

Question

I recently installed Windows 11 Pro, and my region is set to Pakistan. My time zone should be (UTC+05:00) Islamabad, Karachi. However, the time zone keeps changing to (UTC+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi after restarting my computer.

I've manually corrected the time zone multiple times and even used the Command Prompt in admin mode to set it correctly. Despite these efforts, the system reverts to UTC+08:00 and shows a message stating, "Due to location change, your time zone has been switched to (UTC+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi."

Could you please assist in resolving this issue? I need my time zone to remain consistent as it’s impacting my schedule and work. Thank you

Answer 1

Hello,

Sorry, I experience the same issue, but your descriptions are just workarounds not really a fix / solution.

For a person traveling across timezones, I don't want to disable the automatic switch, just to do it manually all the time.
What's the use of the feature then? If it doesn't work as expected and you recommend disabeling it.

Related question how can I check that my traffic is not redirected via servers in China or other UTC+8 servers on my device?
Probably the issue is somewhere in a proxy making the device think I'm in the wrong country?

Thanks for your assistance

Answer 2

Hello Muhammad Afnan Akram,

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

It sounds frustrating to have your time zone constantly changing. Here are a few steps to help you try to troubleshoot this issue:

1.Check Location Settings:

Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location.

Ensure that location services are turned on if you want to use them, but also check which apps have permission to access your location.

2.Check Group Policy Editor (for Pro versions):

If your machine is in one domain, please check if there is any domain settings control this time zones.

3.Check for Software Conflicts:

Some third-party software, especially security or location-based apps, can override time settings.

Disable or uninstall software that might be conflicting with time settings and see if the issue persists.

4.Synchronize Time:

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

Click on Synchronize your clock.

5.Registry Editor (Advanced):

Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.

Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\TimeZoneInformation.

Verify the time zone settings here.

Be cautious when modifying the registry. You can also add a TimeZoneKeyName string value and set it to your desired time zone, such as "Pakistan Standard Time".

6.Device Drivers:

Ensure your system drivers, especially chipset and system drivers, are updated. Sometimes outdated drivers can cause such issues.

If all the suggestions above do not work, the last option may be reinstalling the OS with an internet connection.

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Daisy Zhou

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Answer 3

Hello,

Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

This issue may be caused by Windows' automatic time zone setting feature or some location services. Here are a few things you can try to fix the problem:

1. Disable the "Set Time Zone Automatically" feature

Open Settings > Time & Language > Date & Time.

On the Date & Time page, find the "Set time zone automatically" option and turn it off.

2. Check the location services settings

Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location.

Turn off location services or set the Default Location to your desired time zone (for example, Islamabad or Karachi).

3. Disable time zone switching via Group Policy

Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.

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

On the right side, find Prevent automatic time zone switching, double-click and set it to "Enabled".

Apply and confirm.

4. Disable automatic time zone adjustment via the Registry Editor

Press Windows + R, type regedit and press Enter to open the registry editor.

Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicestzautoupdate

Find the DWORD value named Start, double-click on it and change the value data to 4 (disable auto-update).

Close the registry editor and restart your computer

I hope the information above is helpful.

Best Regards,

Yanhong Liu

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Answer 4

Just restarted my PC. Having similar issues. Region is correct (UK) But Time zone has changed to Bangkok, Hanoi Jakarta. Could this be linked to the thousands of login attempts from unknown sources in that region? Which has been happening to many people recently with microsoft emails and not just myself? I'm guessing moving that information to 365 after it being breached has also lead to this?
Would also like to point out that I reset Win Defender Firewall to factory default before restarting the PC and this is when it happened.