HowTo: ESPEasy – Activate NTP time retrieval from the Internet

Thanks to WiFi and thus (often) also Internet connection, an ESP8266 or ESP32 programmed with ESPEasy also has the possibility to display the time.

For this to work, the retrieval of the time via an NTP server must first be activated in ESPEasy and a correct server must also be configured.

What you have to do to make ESPEasy automatically get the Current Time from an NTP time server is described in the following article.

Safety instructions

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Requirements

Helpful articles:
Additional tips on ESPEasy can be found in the following articles.

• ESPEasy - Execute commands and actions via HTTP, MQTT, UDP and directly
• ESPEasy - Compile firmware, flash and configure WLAN access data

Required tool:
- none-

Required material:

Find out the address of a time server

There are many time servers on the Internet where you can get the time for free. You can find a quite extensive list for example also on https://www.ntp-server.de/ntp-server-deutschland/

It is advisable to choose NTP servers that are not far away. Therefore I would recommend to choose a time server from a German provider. In the following you can find for example a list of time servers which are offered by the PTB (Physikalisch-technische Bundesanstalt).

German NTP server of the PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt)

PTB time server 1: ptbtime1.ptb.de
PTB time server 2: ptbtime2.ptb.de
PTB time server 3: ptbtime3.ptb.de

https://www.ntp-server.de/ntp-server-deutschland/

As an alternative, you can also use an even more "local" NTP server. Many home routers offer the same possibility. So instead of using an external time server, you simply use your router as a time server.

Tips on how to configure your FritzBox, for example, can also be found at the following link: https://avm.de/service/fritzbox/fritzbox-7590/wissensdatenbank/publication/show/336_Zeitsynchronisation-NTP-fur-FRITZ-Box-und-Netzwerkgerate-einrichten/

Configure time server in ESPEasy

Once you have found a time server that you want to use as a source for the time, all you have to do is enter it into your ESPEasy configuration.

To do this, go to the web interface of your ESPEasy device. To do this, enter the IP address of the device in the address line of your browser.

How to find out the IP address of devices in your network is also described in the article Display/find out the IP address of the devices in the network described.

Then switch to the "Tools" area

Once you are in the "Tools" section, click on the "Advanced" button.

There you have the possibility to configure the NTP time server in the section "NTP Settings".

Check the "Use NTP" checkbox and enter the desired time server in the "NTP Hostname" field.

If you prefer to use your router or, as in this example, your FritzBox as a time server, you can also enter the address of your router or FritzBox here. In the case of the FritzBox this is

fritz.box

As soon as you have entered the settings you have to save them.

To do this, scroll to the bottom of the configuration page and confirm the settings by clicking "Submit".

If you now switch back to the "Main" page, you should see the current date and time in the overview in the "Local Time" section.

Set time zone

After you have set the correct time server, you may also need to configure the appropriate time zone. To do this, go back to the same page where you previously configured the NTP data. So Tools->Advanced.

There you have the possibility to make the necessary settings in the section "DST Settings". In addition to the exact dates when you want to change from winter to summer time, you can also specify the time zone in which you are located under "Timezone Offset (UTC +)".

Enter there the deviation to your time zone (in minutes) and activate the checkbox in the section "DST".

Once you have configured everything, you need to submit the data again by clicking on the "Submit" button.

What's the point?

A typical use case where you need the correct time is if you have built a pxlBlck for example. This can (if you wish) also show the current time on its LED display. You can find more information about this in the following articles.

• pxlBlck - An IOT/SmartHome Information System
• pxlBlck - Install and configure the pxlBlck plugin
• pxlBlck - configure clock faces and screensavers

Have fun with the project

I hope everything worked as described for you. If not or you have questions or suggestions please let me know in the comments. I will then add this to the article if necessary.
Ideas for new projects are always welcome. 🙂

PS Many of these projects - especially the hardware projects - cost a lot of time and money. Of course I do this because I enjoy it, but if you think it's cool that I share the information with you, I would be happy about a small donation to the coffee fund. 🙂