How long is it taking you to read this sentence? Seconds, obviously, but how many? If you’re reading this on a Windows 10 machine, it’s not that easy to know but don’t worry, it’s about to get simpler again.
In April, Microsoft removed the clock displaying seconds from the Calendar flyout in Windows 10. It doesn’t sound like much of a downgrade until you need it. Maybe daylight savings time has just ended and you want to try to synchronize the new time on your microwave — to the second. Or is that just me? Or perhaps you wanted to time how long it took to read a sentence, for instance.
Whatever your personal use, the precise time was no longer easily viewed, even though PCs require exact timekeeping to work well, so the system know the time to the second or part thereof, but Microsoft wasn’t making it easy for you.
If you’ve wanted to see the seconds, then you’ve had a bit of a saga on your hands. After users noticed it had gone, Microsoft didn’t comment directly but instead (rubbing salt on the wound, it seemed) added it to Windows 11. This move even led some to wonder if it was a deliberate move to hasten users to switch from Windows 10, which as you know ceases to receive support from October this year.
Whatever the thinking, breathe easy, Microsoft has confirmed the seconds are coming back, as spotted by Windows Latest. And to confirm its return, Microsoft had to admit it had gone before. This was mentioned in the release notes of Windows 10 Build 19045.5912, which read, “Brings back the clock view that displays seconds onto the calendar that was once removed,” Microsoft said.
The same report also handily showed what the different views had been like in the last few months.
It seems the omission was first spotted by Mayank Parmar at Windows Latest, so perhaps that’s who we should thank for its return. It vanished for different users at different times, so it’s hard to time how long it was gone — and definitely not down to the second! — but it’s back now.
