How To Set or Change Timezone on Ubuntu

Using the correct timezone is essential for many system-related tasks and processes. For example, the cron daemon uses the system’s timezone for executing cron jobs, and the timestamps in the log files are based on the same system’s timezone.

On Ubuntu, the timezone is set during the install, but it can be changed at any time. This guide shows how to change it using the timedatectl command on servers and the Date & Time settings on desktop systems. The steps apply to current supported Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 24.04 and Ubuntu 26.04.

Prerequisites #

Only the root or user with sudo privileges can set or change the system’s timezone.

Checking the Current Timezone #

timedatectl is a command-line utility that allows you to view and change the system’s time and date. It is available on all modern systemd-based Linux systems, including Ubuntu.

To print the current system’s timezone invoke the timedatectl without any arguments:

timedatectl

The output below shows that the system’s timezone is set to “UTC”:

               Local time: Mon 2026-04-27 08:33:20 UTC
           Universal time: Mon 2026-04-27 08:33:20 UTC
                 RTC time: Mon 2026-04-27 08:33:22    
                Time zone: UTC (UTC, +0000)           
System clock synchronized: yes                         
              NTP service: active                      
          RTC in local TZ: no   

The system timezone is configured by symlinking /etc/localtime to a binary timezone identifier in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory.

Another option to view the current system’s timezone is to find the file to which the symlink points:

ls -l /etc/localtime

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 27 Dec 10 12:59 /etc/localtime -> /usr/share/zoneinfo/Etc/UTC

The system’s timezone is also written to the /etc/timezone file:

cat /etc/timezone

UTC

Changing the Timezone Using the timedatectl Command #

Before changing the timezone, you need to find out the long name for the timezone you want to use. Timezones use the “Region/City” format.

To list all available time zones, you can either list the files in the /usr/share/zoneinfo directory or invoke the timedatectl command with the list-timezones option:

timedatectl list-timezones

...
America/Montevideo
America/Nassau
America/New_York
America/Nipigon
America/Nome
America/Noronha
...

Once you identify which time zone is accurate to your location, run the following command as sudo user:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone your_time_zone

For instance, to change the system’s timezone to America/New_York:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

Invoke the timedatectl command to verify the changes:

timedatectl

               Local time: Mon 2026-04-27 04:41:42 EDT  
           Universal time: Mon 2026-04-27 08:41:42 UTC  
                 RTC time: Mon 2026-04-27 08:41:48      
                Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400)
System clock synchronized: yes                         
              NTP service: active                      
          RTC in local TZ: no   

Changing the Timezone Using the GUI #

If you are running Ubuntu Desktop, you can change the current system’s timezone through the GUI.

Open the system menu in the top-right corner and click the Settings icon:

In the Settings window, select “System” from the sidebar and open “Date & Time”:

If “Automatic Time Zone” is enabled and location services are available, Ubuntu can set the timezone according to your location. To set it manually, turn off the automatic timezone option and choose the timezone from the Date & Time settings.

Close the window when you are done.

Troubleshooting #

The timezone name is invalid
Run timedatectl list-timezones and copy the timezone name exactly as shown. Timezone names are case-sensitive.

Automatic timezone does not update in the GUI
Make sure location services are enabled and the system has an Internet connection. You can still set the timezone manually with timedatectl.

The clock is correct but logs use a different timezone
Restart the affected service after changing the timezone. Long-running services may keep the old timezone until they are restarted.

Conclusion #

You can change the Ubuntu timezone with timedatectl set-timezone or through the Date & Time settings on desktop systems. The command-line method is the most reliable option for servers and remote machines.

About the authors

Dejan Panovski

Dejan Panovski is the founder of Linuxize, an RHCSA-certified Linux system administrator and DevOps engineer based in Skopje, Macedonia. Author of 800+ Linux tutorials with 20+ years of experience turning complex Linux tasks into clear, reliable guides.

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