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We have a group of enrolled iPads where the time is not consistent. A few devices are around 2 minutes ahead, while others are behind. Is there a way to sync the time across managed iPads from Hexnode?
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Replies (3)
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Hexnode Expert
3 weeks ago
Sep 16, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review
Hello @timo-liam ,
Yes, you can enforce automatic time synchronization on managed iPads using a Hexnode policy.
Go to Policies and either create a new policy or edit an existing one. Then navigate to iOS > Restrictions > Advanced Restrictions > Allow Security and Privacy Settings and enable Force Automatic Date and Time option. Save the policy and associate it with the required iPad devices or device groups.
Once the policy is applied, the iPad will be forced to use automatic date and time settings, and users will not be able to manually change the device time. This is the recommended MDM-side configuration for keeping iOS/iPadOS device time consistent.
Regards,
Simon Scott
Hexnode UEM
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Participant
3 weeks ago
Sep 16, 2026
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Does this option let us enter our own Network Time Protocol server? We were hoping to point all iPads to an internal time source.
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Hexnode Expert
3 weeks ago
Sep 16, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review
iOS/iPadOS does not expose a standard MDM setting for configuring a custom NTP server on managed iPads. The available Hexnode control is to enforce Apple’s automatic date and time behavior using the Force Automatic Date and Time restriction.
If devices still show time differences after the policy is applied, verify that the devices can access the required network services for automatic time sync and that the correct time zone is being applied. Also confirm that the policy has successfully reached the devices.
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