diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1709.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1709.xml
index 10a365496698..a32f9963d1c5 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1709.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-1709.xml
@@ -190,12 +190,10 @@ rmdir /var/lib/ipfs/.ipfs
   <listitem>
     <para>
       The <option>time.timeZone</option> option now allows the value
-      <literal>null</literal> in addition to timezone strings, which sets the
-      timezone to UTC by default and allows changing it imperatively using
-      <command>timedatectl set-timezone</command>. This is additionally now the
-      default value for the option, which means that systems where the option
-      has not been set explicitly will continue to use UTC but allow imperative
-      timezone adjustments now.
+      <literal>null</literal> in addition to timezone strings. This value
+      allows changing the timezone of a system imperatively using
+      <command>timedatectl set-timezone</command>. The default timezone
+      is still UTC.
     </para>
   </listitem>