Editor’s note 4.9.2024: Microsoft has released all Windows updates necessary to address these changes. We have updated the table below and published a new post: Samoa 2021 time zone update now available
Samoa observes West Samoa Time (WST), 13 hours ahead of UTC (UTC+13). The government of Samoa implemented support for Daylight Savings Time (DST) in 2010
Eleven years later, on September 15, 2021, the Samoa government cabinet announced its intent to stop observing Daylight Saving Time on September 20, 2021.
The impact of this change is as follows:
Samoa observes the UTC+13 time zone throughout the year, and the DST is completely abolished for the country.
The following platforms will receive an update to support this time zone change as part of the March 2024 non-security preview update or the April 2024 security update:
- Windows Server 23H2
- Windows 11, version 22H2 and version 23H2
- Windows 11, version 21H2
- Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10, version 21H2
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows Server 2019
- Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016; Windows Server 2016
- Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2008 SP2
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 7.0 SP1
Interim guidance
We recommend that affected organizations with devices in Samoa use the following workarounds till April 9, 2024: temporarily disable automatic DST adjustments in Windows and/or set a different time zone to reflect the correct local time.
Temporarily disable automatic DST adjustments in Windows
Temporarily disable automatic DST adjustments in Windows to reflect the correct local time, until April 9, 2024.
This can be done in one of the two ways:
- Select the Windows logo key, type "Date and time," and select Date and time settings. From the Date & time settings page, toggle Adjust for daylight saving time automatically to Off.
- Go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Date and Time > Change time zone and uncheck the option for “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time.”
Re-enable automatic DST adjustments in Windows
After 10:00 A.M. on April 9, 2024, re-enable automatic DST adjustments and ensure accurate time switching with future DST transitions.
This can be done in one of the two ways:
- Select the Windows logo key, type "Date and time," and select Date and time settings. From the Date & time settings page, toggle Adjust for daylight saving time automatically to On.
- Go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Date and Time > Change time zone and check the option for “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time.”
Temporarily set a different time zone on the devices
Microsoft recommends that users temporarily set the time zone on their devices to (UTC+13) Samoa. Selecting this time zone will ensure that devices reflect the correct local time. (Note: events that have occurred in the past, before the update, will not show correctly.)
This can be done in one of the two ways:
- Select the Windows logo key, type "time zone," and select Change the time zone. From the time zone dropdown, select (UTC+13) Samoa.
- Navigate to Control Panel > Date and Time > Change time zone. From the time zone dropdown, select (UTC+13) Samoa. Select OK to apply the change.
For additional information, please review our official policy page and How Windows manages time zone changes.
