Change how your Mac shows dates, numbers and currency

Why it happens

Your Mac decides how to write dates, numbers and money from the Region setting, not from the language you read menus in. So a Mac in English with the Region set to United States shows 12/31 and dollars, while the United Kingdom shows 31/12 and pounds. If the Region is wrong, everything follows it.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings, click General, then Language & Region.

2. Click the Region menu and choose where you are, or the style you want. Dates, numbers and the currency symbol switch to that region's style.

   General›Language & Region›Region

3. If one part still isn't how you like it, use the menus below Region. Date format lets you pick the order of day, month and year, and Number format sets the separators for thousands and decimals.

4. Other settings in the same place cover First day of week, Temperature and Measurement system, if those look wrong too.

   General›Language & Region›First day of week

5. Quit and reopen any app that still shows the old format. Apps read these settings when they start.

Still not fixed?

1. Only one app shows the wrong format? Some apps, such as spreadsheets, can set a format for each document or cell. Check that app's own format options.

2. Want menus in one language and formats from another country? That's fine: keep your language under Preferred Languages and set Region separately.

   General›Language & Region›Preferred Languages

3. If the settings are grey, your Mac may be managed by a school or company that locks them. Ask whoever manages it.

4. If the formats go back to the old style after a restart, contact Apple Support.