Feedback i've found into dconf that 'geolocalisation' had been switched to 'off' by some past package(s) upgrade. Setting it back to 'on' then ntpdate works again as expected.
** Changed in: ntp (Ubuntu) Status: Triaged => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Server Team, which is subscribed to ntp in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1325175 Title: [systemd] "ntpdate: Can't find host ntp.ubuntu.com" when bringing up loopback To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ntp/+bug/1325175/+subscriptions -- Ubuntu-server-bugs mailing list Ubuntu-server-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-server-bugs