In this article, we will show you how to change the time zone on your Klipper or Octoprint install using the Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool or timedatectl command via an SSH connection. This guide is intended for users who are comfortable using the command line interface. 


Before we begin, ensure that you have an SSH client like PuTTY installed on your system. Also, make sure that you have network access to the system. Your IP address will be the same one used to connect to Mainsail or Octoprint Dashboards.

Changing Time Zone on a Raspberry Pi Using sudo raspi-config 

This method should be tried first. If any errors occur, try the next method, Changing Time Zone using timedatectl via SSH


Step 1: Connect to your System via SSH

First, connect to your system via SSH. To do this, launch your SSH client, enter the IP address of your system, and click "Open". If this is the first time you're connecting this particular system, you may have click through some prompts, agreeing to connection


You will be prompted for your username and password. Enter your login credentials and press Enter to connect. For systems from Tiny Machines 3D, the default password is below. 


user: pi

password: tm3d


Step 2: Check Current Time Zone

The date command in the terminal will display the current date and time on your Raspberry Pi.  If it is showing the correct information, no further steps are needed. If the information is wrong, continue to Step 3.


date

For example, if the time zone is set to to America/Los_Angeles and the system date and time is February 14, 2023 at 12:34:56 PM, the output of the date command will be:


Tue Feb 14 12:34:56 PST 2023


Step 3: Run sudo raspi-config

After opening the terminal, execute the following command to run sudo raspi-config:


sudo raspi-config


After running sudo raspi-config, you should see the Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool, which has a menu-based interface for configuring various system settings. To navigate to the Change Timezone option, follow these steps:


  1. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate to the Localisation Options menu and press Enter.
  2. Next, navigate to the Change Timezone option and press Enter.
  3. You will see a list of geographic areas. Use the arrow keys to select your geographic area and press Enter.
  4. Next, you will see a list of time zones within your selected geographic area. Use the arrow keys to select your time zone and press Enter.
  5. You will be returned to the Localisation Options menu. Navigate to the Finish option and press Enter.


Step 4: Verify Time Zone

Use the date command to check that your desired changes are there. If any errors occur, continue to Step 5.

Changing Time Zone using timedatectl via SSH


The steps below are necessary when the Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool is not available or errors occur when running the Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool. 


Step 5: List the available time zones

After connecting to your system via SSH, execute the following command to list all available time zones:


timedatectl list-timezones

This will display a list of time zones available on your Debian 10 system. Scroll through the list and note the time zone that you want to set. Spacebar will page down. 


Step 6: Set the new time zone

Once you have found the time zone that you want to set, execute the following command to update the system time zone:


sudo timedatectl set-timezone [Time Zone]

Replace "[Time Zone]" with the time zone that you want to set. For example, if you want to set the time zone to "America/New_York", the command should be:


sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

After executing the command, you should see the following output:


$ sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

$ sudo timedatectl

               Local time: Mon 2023-02-13 22:50:24 EST

           Universal time: Tue 2023-02-14 03:50:24 UTC

                 RTC time: Mon 2023-02-13 22:50:24

                Time zone: America/New_York (EST, -0500)

System clock synchronized: yes

              NTP service: active

          RTC in local TZ: no

The "Time zone" section should reflect the time zone that you just set.


Conclusion

In this guide, we have shown you how to change the time zone in via an SSH connection using the Raspberry Pi Software Configuration Tool and timedatectl command.