Guide: Configuring NTP on Debian 12 with systemd-timesyncd

In this example, we’ll use Debian’s built-in NTP client to set up your preferred time servers.

Enable systemd-timesyncd

Check current status:

timedatectl status

Look for: NTP service: active. If inactive, enable it:

sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-timesyncd

Verify synchronization:

timedatectl timesync-status

Set NTP Servers

Edit the configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf

In the [Time] section, add or uncomment and modify next lines:

[Time]
NTP=0.fi.pool.ntp.org 1.fi.pool.ntp.org
FallbackNTP=0.debian.pool.ntp.org 1.debian.pool.ntp.org

• NTP → your primary servers (Replace with your preferred NTP sources).
• FallbackNTP → backup servers if primaries fail.

Apply Changes

Restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-timesyncd

Check status:

timedatectl status

Verify synchronization:

timedatectl timesync-status

Set Time Zone

List available time zones

timedatectl list-timezones

You can scroll or grep through the list, for example:

timedatectl list-timezones | grep Europe

Set your desired time zone

sudo timedatectl set-timezone <TIME ZONE>

Verify the change

timedatectl status

Now your Debian 12 uses your selected NTP servers for time synchronization.