# How to change the time zone in Windows Server 2019
Source: https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/windows-vps/change-time-zone-server-2019
Last reviewed: 2026-07-02
Summary: On Windows Server 2019 the regular Settings methods fail to change the time zone, run timedate.cpl as Administrator instead and set it from the classic Date and Time applet.

## What this is

Due to how **Windows Server 2019** is set up, changing the time zone through the regular Settings interface fails. The fix is to use the classic **Date and Time** applet, run as Administrator.

## Steps

![Running timedate.cpl as Administrator from the search results](https://vpsdime.com/knowledgebase/windows-vps/images/change-time-zone-2019.png)

1. Click the **Search** icon and search for `timedate.cpl`.
2. **Right-click** the result and choose **Run as administrator**, and approve the prompt with **Yes**.
3. The **Date and Time** applet opens. Click **"Change time zone..."**.
4. Pick your time zone and click **OK**.

The change applies immediately, no reboot needed. (Server times default to UTC, which is a perfectly good choice for servers, change it only if your applications genuinely need local time.)

## Still need help?

You can [open a support ticket](https://vpsdime.com/open-ticket/). So we can help on the first reply, it's worth mentioning:

- the VPS hostname or IP,
- which method you tried (Settings or timedate.cpl) and what happened.

## Related questions

- "How do I change the time zone on my Windows VPS?"
- "Why can't I change the time zone in Windows Server 2019 settings?"
- "What is timedate.cpl?"