Create a Sync Clock Time Shortcut in Windows 10

How to Create a Sync Clock Time Shortcut in Windows 10

Internet Time (NTP) is a very useful way to keep your PC's time accurate automatically. Once configured, Windows will request time data periodically from time servers, so you can be sure that time and date on your device are set properly. If this feature is disabled, the computer's clock might be out of sync. It is possible to create a special shortcut to sync clock manually.

Note: Starting in Windows 10 Build 18290, there is a new option in Date & Time Settings to manually synchronize your clock with the time server. This will help in scenarios where you think the clock might be out of sync, or if the time service has been disabled. The user interface shows the last time that time was successfully synced, and the address of your current time server.

Tip: See How to find the Windows 10 version you are running and How to find the Windows 10 build number you are running.

If you are running an older Windows 10 version, or just want to be able to sync your clock with one click on demand, you can create or download a Sync Clock Time shortcut for your Windows 10 to make it easy to manually synchronize the clock with an Internet server or Active Directory domain.

To Create a Sync Clock Time Shortcut in Windows 10

1. Right click the empty space on your Desktop. Select New - Shortcut from the context menu (see the screenshot).
2. In the shortcut target box, type or copy-paste the following:
   powershell.exe -command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/s,/c,C:\Windows\System32\net.exe start w32time & w32tm /resync"' -Verb runAs".
3. To sync your clock time on a domain, use this command instead: powershell.exe -command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/s,/c,C:\Windows\System32\net.exe start w32time & net time /domain"' -Verb runAs"
4. Type Sync Clock Time in the shortcut name text field. You can actually use any name for your shortcut.
5. Now, right click the shortcut you created and select Properties. Tip: See How to open file or folder properties quickly in Windows File Explorer.
6. On the Shortcut tab, you can specify a new icon if you wish. A suitable icon can be loaded the C:\Windows\system32\timedate.cpl file.
7. Click OK to apply the icon, then click OK to close the shortcut properties dialog window.

Now, you can move this shortcut to any convenient location, pin it to taskbar or to Start, add to All apps or add to Quick Launch (see how to enable Quick Launch). You can also assign a global hotkey to your shortcut.

To save your time, you can download the following shortcuts.

Download Ready-to-Use Shortcuts

1. Download the one of the following files depending on if you are joined to a domain or not.
   • Download Sync Clock Time Shortcut
   • Download Sync Clock Time on Domain Shortcut
2. Save the ZIP file to any folder, e.g. to your Desktop.
3. Unblock the ZIP file.
4. Extract the shortcut to your Desktop folder.
5. Now, you can move this shortcut to any convenient location, pin it to taskbar or to Start, add to All apps or add to Quick Launch (see how to enable Quick Launch). You can also assign a global hotkey to your shortcut.

That's it!

Related articles

• Sync Time With Internet Server Manually in Windows 10
• Configure Internet Time (NTP) options in Windows 10
• Change Date and Time Formats in Windows 10
• Create Date and Time Shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Change Date and Time in Windows 10
• How to Set Time Zone in Windows 10
• Customize the taskbar date and time formats in Windows 10
• Add Clocks for Additional Time Zones in Windows 10