Microsoft’s activation servers now require encryption. Windows Server 2008 R2 (without updates) enables TLS 1.0 by default. When your server attempts to reach activation-v2.sls.microsoft.com , it offers TLS 1.0. Microsoft rejects the handshake, and the server misinterprets the rejection as a time sync error (0x80072f8f).
Before diving deeper, ensure the basics are perfect: windows server 2008 r2 activation error 0x80072f8f work