Skip to content

Configure Time and Timezone on Azure VM

This guide explains how to configure correct time synchronization and timezone settings on Azure virtual machines running Windows Server.

Configure Time Synchronization

To set up correct time synchronization using NTP servers:

  1. Stop the Windows Time service: 

    net stop w32time

  2. Configure NTP peer list (using Swedish NTP pool servers): 

    w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"0.se.pool.ntp.org 1.se.pool.ntp.org 2.se.pool.ntp.org 3.se.pool.ntp.org",0x8

  3. Set the time service as reliable: 

    w32tm /config /reliable:yes

  4. Start the Windows Time service: 

    net start w32time

  5. Force immediate time synchronization: 

    w32tm /resync

NTP Server Selection

This example uses Swedish NTP pool servers (se.pool.ntp.org). Replace with your preferred regional NTP servers:

  • Global: pool.ntp.org
  • Europe: europe.pool.ntp.org
  • North America: north-america.pool.ntp.org

See NTP Pool Project for more regional options.

Change Timezone

To set the timezone to Western Europe Standard Time:

Tzutil /s "W. Europe Standard Time"

List Available Timezones

To see all available timezone identifiers:

Tzutil /l

Common Timezone Identifiers

Timezone Identifier
Western Europe W. Europe Standard Time
Central Europe Central Europe Standard Time
UTC UTC
Eastern US Eastern Standard Time
Pacific US Pacific Standard Time

Verification

Verify the time and timezone settings:

# Check current time and timezone
w32tm /query /status

# Display current timezone
Tzutil /g