Windows 11 23H2 and 24H2 are testing a feature that allows users to add a clock with seconds in Notification Center. Click on the notification icon or the time and date displayed in the system tray, and you'll see a fully functional clock. You can pass"set up">"Date and time">"Show time in notification center"to turn this feature on or off.
But why has something as basic as a "stopwatch" been missing for the past four years? This goes back to the 2021 Windows 11 launch. The reason why Windows 11 was released during the epidemic is because Microsoft hopes to seize the "remote working" trend. Windows 11 is not a major upgrade from Windows 10. In fact, Windows 11 didn't even exist until Microsoft leadership decided to roll out the Windows 10 upgrade as a new version. Windows 11 is finally officially released, complete with a redesigned Start menu and taskbar.
While the taskbar isn't all that different from the one in Windows 10 or earlier, Microsoft rebuilt it from the ground up to make the code "modern" and efficient.
There is currently no notification center with a clock in Windows 11
As a result, the Windows 11 taskbar is missing some features, such as drag-and-drop file transfer functionality. Microsoft also removed the ability to view the time in seconds in the system tray, but the feature is back in Windows 11 23H2.
What's still missing is a full clock functionality in calendar/notifications. The good news is that the clock feature is coming to Windows 11, too.
As noted by Phantom on X and tested on the latest version of Windows, Windows 11’s newShow clock in notificationsThe feature is already available in Windows 11 23H2 Preview (22635.5240+).
As you can see in the screenshot, the clock has seconds (HH:MM:SS) and clearly displays the date and day of the week.
It's rolling out to everyone on Windows 11 24H2 and 23H2 in the coming months, but if you don't want to see the clock in Notification Center, you can always choose toset up>date and time>Show time in notification centerTurn it off.
Such functionality is necessary when you do something related to seconds, such as calibrating a watch.
However, you may want to turn it off as it can also display the seconds directly through the system tray when you turn the toggle on, which is said to affect system performance.
The clock on the Windows 11 taskbar is very similar to the existing clock in the Windows 10 calendar popup.
Microsoft has removed the clock from the calendar popup as part of some A/B testing after installing the April 2025 Update for Windows 10.