Starting from Windows 95, Microsoft has added a clock on the system tray. But this system tray clock displays only hours and minutes. We can change its format between AM/PM and 24-hours, but we have not been able to display the seconds in this system clock. But starting with the latest update for Windows 11 everything has been changed. Now we have an option to make Windows 11 display the seconds in the system clock.
Here is how it can be done on a Windows 11 PC:
- Right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings from the right-click menu that appears.
- When the Windows settings app opens up, scroll down and expand Taskbar behaviors.
- Select the checkbox labeled Show seconds in system tray clock (uses more power) and close the system settings window.
- If you do not see the seconds in the system tray clock, then you might have to sign out from Windows and sign back in. If the seconds still do not appear then you can restart Windows and this time you should be able to see the seconds.
As you can see in the settings, enabling the seconds to appear in the system clock Power consumption. This won’t make much of a difference if you are using a Windows PC which is always connected to an AC outlet. But it might end up consuming a lot of your battery power in the case of a Windows laptop not attached to a wall power socket.
If you have a laptop with a small battery capacity then you should avoid using this setting. It is better to check your own wrist watch to find the time to the accuracy of seconds. In addition, we can always click on the system tray clock itself to see the full clock that displays the seconds among other things.