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How to Show Seconds in the Windows Taskbar Clock

By default the Windows taskbar clock only shows hours and minutes, but a single setting under Taskbar behaviors adds a live seconds display.

  1. Go to Settings → Personalization → Taskbar

    Open the Settings app and navigate to Personalization, then Taskbar.

  2. Expand "Taskbar behaviors"

    Click to expand the "Taskbar behaviors" section near the bottom of the list.

  3. Turn on "Show seconds in system tray clock"

    Enable the checkbox to add seconds to the taskbar clock display.

  4. Confirm it on the taskbar

    Check the clock in the bottom-right corner to confirm it now updates live down to the second.

A setting easy to miss

This option lives inside a collapsed "Taskbar behaviors" section rather than as a top-level Taskbar setting, which is likely why many users assume Windows simply does not support a seconds display at all.

Where a seconds display is actually useful

Anyone timing something precisely — livestreaming, coordinating a countdown, or syncing a task to the minute and second — can rely on the taskbar clock alone instead of opening a separate stopwatch or timer app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does showing seconds affect battery life on a laptop?

Microsoft has noted it can cause a very slight increase in background CPU activity since the clock now redraws every second instead of every minute, though the practical impact on battery life is minor for most users.

Is this setting available on Windows 10?

Yes, though the exact menu path differs slightly — it is generally found under Settings → Personalization → Taskbar as well, without needing a registry edit on either current version.