The time zone on Ubuntu 24.04 is a system-wide setting that controls timestamps in log files, cron job schedules, and the system clock display.
This guide covers three methods to set or change the time zone on Ubuntu 24.04, plus a shell script approach for interactive selection.
Quick Answer
Run sudo timedatectl set-timezone Region/City to change the time zone. Find the right value with timedatectl list-timezones | grep CityName before applying it.
Method 1: Set or Change Time Zone on Ubuntu 24.04 Using System Settings
Step 1: Open Date and Time Settings
Open the Activities overview, go to Settings, then navigate to System and click Date and Time to open the time zone configuration panel.
Step 2: Select a New Time Zone
Click the Time Zone field to open the Select Time Zone dialog. Type a city name in the search box and select the matching result from the list.
The Select Time Zone dialog opens and lets you search by city name. Type the city whose local time you want to sync and choose it from the results.
Toggle on Automatic Time Zone in the Date and Time panel to let Ubuntu set it based on your current location automatically.
This uses the geoclue service and requires internet or location access to determine and apply the correct time zone for your region.
Method 2: Set or Change Time Zone on Ubuntu 24.04 Using timedatectl
The timedatectl command is part of systemd and provides a quick way to view and change the time zone from the terminal without opening any GUI.
Step 1: View the Current Time Zone
Check the current system time zone before making changes. Running timedatectl without arguments displays the current date, time, and time zone.
timedatectl
Step 2: List Available Time Zones
List all available time zones, or narrow the results by piping the output through grep with a city or region name as shown below.
timedatectl list-timezones
To find the exact identifier for a specific city, pipe the output through grep followed by the city name. Replace Chicago with your target city.
timedatectl list-timezones | grep -i chicago
Step 3: Set the New Time Zone
Apply the new time zone with sudo timedatectl set-timezone followed by the exact identifier. Run timedatectl again to verify the change took effect.
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Chicago
timedatectl
If your city is not listed, choose the nearest city in the same time zone. Time zones span broad geographic regions and a nearby city will work correctly.
Method 3: Set or Change Time Zone on Ubuntu 24.04 Using tzdata
The tzdata package provides an interactive terminal menu for selecting a time zone. Run the command below and follow the prompts to pick a geographic area and city.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
Select your geographic area such as America or Europe from the numbered list. Use arrow keys or type a number to navigate and press Enter to confirm.
Choose your city or the nearest city in your region from the second menu. The terminal confirms the new time zone once the selection is complete.
Bonus Tip: Use a Shell Script to Set the Time Zone Interactively
You can create a simple shell script that uses the tzselect command to walk you through selecting a time zone and then applies it automatically.
Save the following content to a file named script.sh, then run it with bash script.sh to start the interactive time zone selection process.
#!/bin/sh
sudo timedatectl set-timezone $(tzselect)
echo
echo timedatectl says:
timedatectlbash script.sh
After selecting a region, choose the country whose time zone you want to apply. The script narrows the list to cities in your selected country.
Confirm by entering Yes when prompted, then type 1 and press Enter when asked for a number in range. The script applies the time zone and displays the result.
