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MikroTik RouterOS Docs

Clock

Clock

Section titled “Clock”

The Clock feature in RouterOS manages the router’s system time, date, and time zone configuration. Accurate time is essential for timestamping logs, certificates, scheduling, and time-dependent features like firewall rules and QoS.

RouterOS uses data from the TZ database (IANA Time Zone Database). Most time zones are included with names matching the database. Since local time is primarily used for timestamping and time-dependent configuration rather than historical calculations, only information starting from 2005 is included.

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

The router’s internal clock maintains the current date and time, which is used throughout the system for:

  • Log timestamps
  • Certificate validation and expiration checks
  • Scheduled tasks and scripts
  • Firewall rule time-based filters
  • NTP synchronization
  • System uptime tracking

The default startup date is January 2, 1970 00:00:00 with a GMT offset based on the configured time zone.

Time Zone Detection

Section titled “Time Zone Detection”

RouterOS can automatically detect the time zone based on the router’s public IP address. This feature:

  • Is enabled by default on new RouterOS installations
  • Uses MikroTik’s Cloud servers (RouterOS v6.43+: cloud2.mikrotik.com, older versions: cloud.mikrotik.com)
  • Can be enabled or disabled via the time-zone-autodetect property

To disable automatic time zone detection:

/system clock set time-zone-autodetect=no

CPU Clock Limitations

Section titled “CPU Clock Limitations”

The router’s internal CPU clock is not a reliable time source for precise timing operations. Clock frequency may vary due to:

  • Power management features
  • Thermal conditions
  • Hardware differences between identical models

This variation is expected and does not affect normal router performance. For accurate timekeeping, use NTP (Network Time Protocol) synchronization.

Section titled “Sub-menu”
/system clock
/system clock manual

Properties

Section titled “Properties”

Main Clock Settings

Section titled “Main Clock Settings”
PropertyDescription
timeCurrent time in HH:MM:SS format (hour 00-24, minutes 00-59, seconds 00-59)
dateCurrent date in mmm/DD/YYYY format (month: jan-dec, date: 01-31, year: 1970-2037)
time-zone-nameTime zone name from TZ database, or “manual” for custom offset. Default: manual
time-zone-autodetectEnable automatic time zone detection via public IP (yes/no, default: yes)

Read-only Properties

Section titled “Read-only Properties”
PropertyDescription
dst-activeShows “yes” when daylight saving time is active for the current time zone
gmt-offsetCurrent GMT offset after applying base time zone and DST adjustments (+/-HH:MM)

Manual Time Zone Settings

Section titled “Manual Time Zone Settings”

These settings are in /system clock manual and only apply when time-zone-name=manual:

PropertyDescription
time-zoneGMT offset when DST is not active (format: +/-HH:MM, default: +00:00)
dst-deltaAdditional offset applied during DST (format: +/-HH:MM, default: +00:00)
dst-startDate/time when DST starts (format: mmm/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS)
dst-endDate/time when DST ends (format: mmm/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS)

Configuration

Section titled “Configuration”

Viewing Current Clock Settings

Section titled “Viewing Current Clock Settings”

Display the current date, time, and time zone configuration:

/system clock print

Expected output:

        time: 14:30:45
        date: feb/13/2026
  time-zone-name: America/New_York
time-zone-autodetect: yes
     gmt-offset: -05:00
      dst-active: no

Setting Time Zone

Section titled “Setting Time Zone”

Set the router’s time zone to a specific region:

/system clock set time-zone-name=Europe/London

Common time zone examples:

  • America/New_York - US Eastern Time
  • America/Los_Angeles - US Pacific Time
  • Europe/London - UK Time
  • Europe/Berlin - Central European Time
  • Asia/Tokyo - Japan Standard Time
  • UTC - Coordinated Universal Time

Disabling Automatic Time Zone

Section titled “Disabling Automatic Time Zone”

For manual control over time zone:

/system clock set time-zone-autodetect=no

Manual Time Zone Configuration

Section titled “Manual Time Zone Configuration”

When time-zone-name is set to manual, you can configure a custom offset:

/system clock set time-zone-name=manual
/system clock manual set time-zone=-05:00

Configuring Daylight Saving Time (Manual)

Section titled “Configuring Daylight Saving Time (Manual)”

Set up a custom DST period when using manual time zone:

/system clock set time-zone-name=manual
/system clock manual set time-zone=-05:00 dst-delta=+01:00
/system clock manual set dst-start=mar/10/2025 02:00:00
/system clock manual set dst-end=nov/03/2025 02:00:00

This configures:

  • Base offset: UTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time)
  • DST offset: +1 hour (making it UTC-4 during DST)
  • DST starts: Second Sunday in March at 2:00 AM
  • DST ends: First Sunday in November at 2:00 AM

Setting Date and Time Manually

Section titled “Setting Date and Time Manually”

Set the system clock manually:

/system clock set time=10:30:00 date=dec/25/2025

NTP Configuration

Section titled “NTP Configuration”

For accurate time synchronization, configure NTP client:

Enabling NTP Client

Section titled “Enabling NTP Client”
/system ntp client set enabled=yes
/system ntp client servers add address=pool.ntp.org

Using MikroTik’s NTP Servers

Section titled “Using MikroTik’s NTP Servers”
/system ntp client set enabled=yes
/system ntp client servers add address=0.routeros.pool.ntp.org
/system ntp client servers add address=1.routeros.pool.ntp.org

NTP Server Mode

Section titled “NTP Server Mode”

To make the router act as an NTP server:

/system ntp server set enabled=yes

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

Complete Time Zone Setup with NTP

Section titled “Complete Time Zone Setup with NTP”

This example sets up automatic time zone detection with NTP synchronization as a reliable time source:

# Enable NTP client for accurate time
/system ntp client set enabled=yes
/system ntp client servers add address=time.google.com
/system ntp client servers add address=pool.ntp.org


# Enable automatic time zone detection (optional)
/system clock set time-zone-autodetect=yes


# Or manually set your time zone
/system clock set time-zone-name=America/New_York

Manual DST Configuration for US Eastern Time

Section titled “Manual DST Configuration for US Eastern Time”
# Set to manual time zone
/system clock set time-zone-name=manual


# Configure EST (UTC-5) with DST (UTC-4 during DST)
/system clock manual set time-zone=-05:00 dst-delta=+01:00


# DST starts: Second Sunday in March at 2:00 AM
/system clock manual set dst-start=mar/09/2025 02:00:00


# DST ends: First Sunday in November at 2:00 AM
/system clock manual set dst-end=nov/02/2025 02:00:00

Verify DST Status

Section titled “Verify DST Status”
/system clock print

Look for dst-active property - it shows whether DST is currently in effect.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Clock Not Updating

Section titled “Clock Not Updating”

  1. Verify NTP client is enabled:

    /system ntp client print

  2. Check NTP server reachability:

    /ping pool.ntp.org

  3. Ensure firewall allows NTP (UDP port 123):

    /ip firewall filter add action=accept chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=123

Incorrect Time Zone

Section titled “Incorrect Time Zone”

  1. Check current time zone settings:

    /system clock print

  2. Verify time zone name is correct:

    /system clock set time-zone-name=America/New_York

  3. Disable auto-detection if causing issues:

    /system clock set time-zone-autodetect=no

Time Drift Issues

Section titled “Time Drift Issues”

If the system clock drifts significantly:

  1. Use NTP for continuous synchronization
  2. Check for hardware issues on older devices
  3. Consider external time sources like GPS or hardware RTC modules

See Also

Section titled “See Also”