How to Change the OneDrive Recycle Bin to a 24-Hour Time Format
Question details
The user wants to configure the OneDrive for Business Recycle Bin to display time using a 24-hour clock format instead of the default 12-hour AM/PM format.
- Product
- OneDrive for Business
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Reviewing deleted files and managing the OneDrive Recycle Bin where a consistent 24-hour time format is preferred for organizational purposes.
- Observed behavior
- The Recycle Bin displays file deletion times in a 12-hour AM/PM format, even when other OneDrive and Microsoft 365 regional settings are configured to use a 24-hour clock.
Make sure you have your Microsoft 365 account credentials ready, and note that administrative privileges may be required if your organization enforces specific regional formatting policies.
Verify and Update Microsoft 365 Regional Settings
Force a global update of your language, region, and time zone settings within your Microsoft 365 account to synchronize the Recycle Bin's display format.
The OneDrive for Business Recycle Bin often relies on a separate underlying service interface (SharePoint). Because of this, it may not immediately inherit the time format settings applied to your primary OneDrive view. Re-applying your Microsoft 365 regional settings can sometimes trigger the sync.
Log in to your OneDrive online portal. Click on the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner of the screen and select 'Microsoft 365 settings' or 'OneDrive settings'.
Locate the 'Settings' tab on the left-hand menu and click on 'Language and region' to view your current display preferences.
Under the 'Time format' dropdown, explicitly select a 24-hour format (such as HH:mm or 23:59). Even if it appears correctly set, change it to a different format, save it, and then change it back to the 24-hour format.
Sign out of your Microsoft 365 account completely. Wait a few minutes, then sign back in to see if the Recycle Bin time format has updated.
Test with an Alternate Browser or Clear Cache
Rule out localized browser caching issues that might be forcing the old 12-hour AM/PM format to persist on your display.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does only the OneDrive Recycle Bin show a 12-hour AM/PM format?
The OneDrive for Business Recycle Bin operates on a separate SharePoint backend service. Because of this architectural difference, it sometimes fails to inherit the regional 24-hour time format settings applied to your primary OneDrive interface.
How long does it take for Microsoft 365 regional settings to update?
While some settings update immediately, changes to language, region, and time formats across Microsoft 365 can take anywhere from a few hours up to 24 hours to fully propagate across all service modules.
What if changing the settings and clearing the cache doesn't fix the AM/PM issue?
If the issue persists across different browsers and after 24 hours, it is likely a known interface limitation or bug within the Microsoft 365 environment. You will need to reach out to your organization's IT administrator or open a ticket with Microsoft Support for further investigation.
