Change how the clock looks in your Mac's menu bar

Why it happens

Out of the box the menu bar clock shows the basics, and the extra choices sit in a small panel you only find through Menu Bar settings. Almost everything about how the clock looks is in that one panel. The one exception is 12-hour or 24-hour time, which lives in Date & Time.

How to fix it

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings and click Menu Bar in the sidebar.

2. Under Menu Bar Controls, find Clock and click Clock Options… to open a small panel.

   Menu Bar›Menu Bar Controls›Clock›Clock Options…

3. Choose a Style. Digital shows numbers, Analog shows a tiny clock face.

4. With Digital, decide what goes next to the time. Show date can be Always, When Space Allows or Never. You can also turn on Show the day of the week, Show AM/PM and Display the time with seconds.

5. Like a gentle tick? Flash the time separators makes the colon blink. Announce the time has your Mac say the time out loud every hour, half hour or quarter hour.

6. Click Done and check the top-right corner of your screen.

Still not fixed?

1. Want 17:00 instead of 5:00 PM, or the reverse? That switch is 24-hour time in Date & Time settings.

   General›Date & Time›24-hour time

2. If the date keeps vanishing on a MacBook, set Show date to Always. When Space Allows hides it when the menu bar is crowded, especially next to the camera notch.

3. Date in the wrong order or language? That comes from your region. Check Date format in Language & Region settings.

   General›Language & Region

4. If the clock options are greyed out, your Mac may be managed by a school or company. Ask whoever looks after it.

5. If your clock choices keep resetting after every restart, contact Apple Support.