Automatic Date & Time always changing

I'm encountering a persistent issue with the Clock and Date on my MacBook Pro 2019, which don't stay correct despite being set to "Automatic." After shutdown, sleep, or disconnecting from power, the date and time revert to a day back and a different hour.


Two changes occurred on the same day, and I'm wondering if they might be related:

  1. I upgraded to Sonoma.
  2. I replaced my MacBook charger.


Despite trying solutions like the "sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com" command in the terminal (which worked for a while!) the problem persists. Some sources suggest a dead backup battery, but my MacBook is fully functional, so I'm unsure about that. Is it time to consider an upgrade?


Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 14.1

Posted on Nov 13, 2023 5:35 AM

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4 replies

Nov 13, 2023 2:30 PM in response to yuval293

I know that the Weather app requires Wi-Fi to be enabled in order to show location info. Perhaps the time keeping does too. Do you have Wi-Fi enabled on your Mac? Even if you are using Ethernet, enable it as well. Lastly, your post indicates you are on macOS 14.1. But the most recent version is now 14.1.1. I'd recommend updating to that. If you already have, try booting into safemode then after that reboot again to normal and test it out.


Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support (English)


Nov 13, 2023 8:31 AM in response to yuval293

yuval293 wrote:

1. I'm encountering a persistent issue with the Clock and Date on my MacBook Pro 2019, which don't stay correct despite being set to "Automatic." After shutdown, sleep, or disconnecting from power, the date and time revert to a day back and a different hour.

Two changes occurred on the same day, and I'm wondering if they might be related:
I upgraded to Sonoma.
2̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶M̶a̶c̶B̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶g̶e̶r̶.̶

Despite trying solutions like the "sudo sntp -sS time.apple.com" command in the terminal (which worked for a while!) the problem persists.



There are 2 user Setting to change from automatic to "manual" — compare your results.


It is an option for a reason, do what works.



>System Settings>Date & Time







you can file submit your Apple Feedback here: Feedback - macOS - Apple



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Automatic Date & Time always changing

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