How to fix time.windows.com sync error?

• Making sure your PC’s clock is in sync with Internet time means you won’t have a problem accessing content as long as you are in your local time zone.
• Sometimes syncing the clock with time.windows.com can lead to errors, and that’s when you need to apply the steps written in the guide below.
• This is just one of the many articles included in our dedicated hub built to troubleshoot Windows 10, so check it out, as you never know when you’ll need it again.
• Visit our dedicated page dedicated to Fix Guides for more troubleshooting articles.

Automatic clock synchronization has been a part of Windows for years, and this feature is also present in Windows 10. Unfortunately few users have some issues with clock synchronization and are reporting an error occurred while Windows was syncing with time.windows .com error message.

Contents index

• How can I fix the time.windows.com sync error?
  • Check if the Windows Time Service is running
  • Use a different server
  • Restart the Windows time service
  • Use the command prompt
  • Disable your third-party firewall

How can I fix the time.windows.com sync error?

Table of Contents:

1. Check if the Windows Time Service is running
2. Use a different server
3. Restart Windows Time Service
4. Use command prompt
5. Disable your third-party firewall
6. Change the default update interval
7. Add more servers to the registry
8. Change registry values

1. Check if the Windows Time Service is running

1. Press Windows Key + R and enter services.msc . press
2. Enter or right – click on OK .
3. When the Services window opens , find the Windows Time service and double-click to open its properties.
4. Set the Startup type to Automatic and click the button Start to start the service time of Windows .
5. After doing that, click Apply and OK to save the changes.

The time synchronization feature is highly dependent on the Windows time service, and if the Windows time service is not running, you may encounter this error.

Do you need additional information on how to repair Windows Time Service on your PC? Take a look at this dedicated guide.

2. Use a different server

1. Press Windows Key + S and enter the date.
2. Select Date and time from the menu.
3. When the Date and Time window opens , go to Internet Time and click the Change Settings button .
4. Select time.nist.gov as the Server and click the Update Now button .
   • Some users also reported that using pool.ntp.org as a server fixes this problem, so you can try using that as well.
5. Right – click on OK to save the changes.

Users reported that they managed to fix this problem simply by using a different server. There are different time servers that you can use, and some of them are time-a.nist.gov, time-b.nist.gov, time-a.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov, and time-b.timefreq.bldrdoc. gov .

Before trying this solution, make sure the Windows Time service is set to Automatic and running. For detailed instructions on how to do this, be sure to take a look at our solution above.

3. Restart the Windows time service

1. Go to Services and open the properties of the Windows Time service .
2. Go to the Login tab and select the Local System account option . Check Allow service to interact with desktop option .
3. After that, click Apply and OK and restart your PC.

To fix this problem, you may need to restart the Windows Time service. To do this, open the Services window and double-click the Windows Time service to open its properties.

If the service is running, stop it. Set the Startup type to Automatic and start the service again. Click Apply and OK to save the changes and restart your computer.

Some users also suggest changing the Windows Time Service login settings before applying the changes and restarting your PC. Note that you must perform this step immediately after restarting the Windows Time service.

4. Use the command prompt

According to users, you can fix this problem simply by using the command prompt and running some commands. To do that, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows key + X to open Win + X menu and choose Command Prompt (Administrator) .
2. When the command prompt starts , enter the following commands:
   • w32tm / debug / disable
   • w32tm / cancel registration
   • w32tm / register
   • net start w32time
3. If everything was successful, you should see “Windows Time Service is starting. Windows time service started successfully ‘. message.
4. Close the command prompt and try syncing your clock.

If you’re having trouble accessing the Command Prompt as an administrator, you’d better take a closer look at this guide.

5. Disable your third-party firewall

Firewall tools are always useful because they prevent potentially dangerous applications from accessing the Internet. Unfortunately, sometimes these tools can interfere with your watch and cause this error to appear.

To correct this error, make sure to temporarily disable your firewall and check if that fixes the problem. If the problem persists, you may want to uninstall your firewall completely.

Users reported that after switching to Standard mode on their firewall or after disabling it completely, they were able to sync their clock without any issue.

Also, you may want to configure your firewall to unblock NPT access on UDP port 123. If you changed your router’s firewall settings, you may also need to unblock UDP port 123 on your router.