diff --git a/desktop/package.json b/desktop/package.json
index 357621859..269a4cff9 100644
--- a/desktop/package.json
+++ b/desktop/package.json
@@ -250,13 +250,13 @@
     "start": "yarn dev-server --inspect=9229",
     "start:break": "yarn dev-server --inspect-brk=9229",
     "start:no-embedded-plugins": "yarn start --no-embedded-plugins",
-    "test": "jest",
+    "test": "cross-env TZ=Pacific/Pohnpei jest",
     "test-e2e": "cd e2e && yarn test",
-    "test-electron": "yarn build:tsc && jest --testMatch=\"**/**.electron\\.(js|jsx|ts|tsx)\" --testEnvironment=@jest-runner/electron/environment --runner=@jest-runner/electron",
-    "test-with-device": "yarn build:tsc && USE_ELECTRON_STUBS=1 jest --testMatch=\"**/**.device\\.(js|jsx|ts|tsx)\" --detectOpenHandles",
-    "test:debug": "yarn build:tsc && node --inspect node_modules/.bin/jest --runInBand",
+    "test-electron": "yarn build:tsc && cross-env TZ=Pacific/Pohnpei jest --testMatch=\"**/**.electron\\.(js|jsx|ts|tsx)\" --testEnvironment=@jest-runner/electron/environment --runner=@jest-runner/electron",
+    "test-with-device": "yarn build:tsc && cross-env TZ=Pacific/Pohnpei USE_ELECTRON_STUBS=1 jest --testMatch=\"**/**.device\\.(js|jsx|ts|tsx)\" --detectOpenHandles",
+    "test:debug": "yarn build:tsc && cross-env TZ=Pacific/Pohnpei node --inspect node_modules/.bin/jest --runInBand",
     "tsc-plugins": "./ts-node scripts/tsc-plugins.ts",
-    "watch": "node --expose-gc --stack-trace-limit=40 ./node_modules/.bin/jest --watch"
+    "watch": "cross-env TZ=Pacific/Pohnpei node --expose-gc --stack-trace-limit=40 ./node_modules/.bin/jest --watch"
   },
   "version": "0.93.0",
   "workspaces": {
diff --git a/desktop/scripts/jest-setup.js b/desktop/scripts/jest-setup.js
index 5cca3996c..7d8ff848f 100644
--- a/desktop/scripts/jest-setup.js
+++ b/desktop/scripts/jest-setup.js
@@ -11,6 +11,22 @@
 // eslint-disable-next-line
 global.fetch = require('jest-fetch-mock');
 
+// make sure test run everywhere in the same timezone!
+// +11, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, so this deviates for everyone and will fail early :)
+const timezone = 'Pacific/Pohnpei';
+if (process.env.TZ !== timezone) {
+  throw new Error(
+    `Test started in the wrong timezone, got ${process.env.TZ}, but expected ${timezone}. Please use the package.json commands to start Jest, or prefix the command with TZ=${timezone}`,
+  );
+}
+
+// Make sure we have identical formatting of Dates everywhere
+const toLocaleString = Date.prototype.toLocaleString;
+// eslint-disable-next-line no-extend-native
+Date.prototype.toLocaleString = function (_locale, ...args) {
+  return toLocaleString.call(this, 'en-US', ...args);
+};
+
 require('immer').enableMapSet();
 
 require('../app/src/fb-stubs/Logger').init(undefined, {isTest: true});