Windows 10 as NTP Server: The Best Way to Synchronize Time on Your Network

Alright, guys, so today I wanted to share how I set up my Windows 10 machine to act as an NTP server. You know, sometimes you need to sync time across devices, especially in a local network, and that’s where this comes in handy. It wasn’t too hard, but there were a few steps involved, so let me walk you through what I did.

First off, I needed to mess around with the Windows Time service. This is the thing that keeps your computer’s clock in check. I hit the Windows key + R, typed in , and pressed Enter. This opened up the Services window where I could see all the background stuff running on my PC.

I scrolled down until I found Windows Time. Right-clicked on it and selected Properties. I wanted to make sure the service was running, so I checked the Service status. If it wasn’t running, I would have clicked Start.

Next, I opened up the Control Panel. Just clicked on the Start menu and typed Control Panel. I went for the icons view cause it’s easier for me to find stuff that way. Then I clicked on Date and Time.

In the Date and Time window, there’s a tab called Internet Time. Clicked on that, then on Change settings. This is where the magic happens. I checked the box that says Synchronize with an Internet time server. By default, it’s usually set to “*,” which is fine, but here you could change it if you had another favorite server.

Now, here is the important thing. I had to enable the NTP server in the registry. I opened the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Run dialog (Windows key + R again). Navigated to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesW32TimeTimeProvidersNtpServer. I found the Enabled entry and changed its value to 1. This basically tells Windows, “Hey, act like a time server, will ya?”

Then I moved to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesW32TimeConfig and found AnnounceFlags. Changed its value to 5. This is kind of like telling your computer to shout out to the network, “I’m a time server! Sync with me!”

After all that registry editing, I went back to the Services window, found Windows Time again, right-clicked, and chose Restart. This makes sure all the changes take effect. It felt good to see it running smoothly after that.

And that’s basically it! I had my Windows 10 machine acting as an NTP server. Now, whenever I need to make sure my other devices are on the same time, I can point them to this PC. It’s pretty cool, and honestly, not as complicated as I initially thought. You can also do a quick check by opening Command Prompt and typing w32tm /query /source to see if your PC is now the time source.

Hope this little walkthrough helps someone out there! Setting up an NTP server on Windows 10 might seem a bit techy, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a piece of cake.