Clocks keep going out of synch

[Android Central Question]

Hi i've experienced this problem for a long time now with Android 7 across FOUR different phones. My clock on the lock screen always seems to be accurate however my widget clock and the clock in the top right corner and the clock in the top left corner of the menu bar display different/incorrect times. I have searched and searched for a fix but cannot seem to find one. I thought I had found the fix when I uninstalled the google calendar app, as all the times corrected and it was fine for months however the issue has recurred, I have tried wiping the clock cache, setting it to manual, restarting the phone. All of these work for a time but then the issue comes back. Like I have mentioned I have had the issue across 4 android 7 phones, so I do not think the phone is the issue however Android 7 itself could be.

I would be really grateful for any help.

Thanks in advance.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which clock widget are you using -- the stock one, or a 3rd party one?

I'm also not sure why you have a clock in both the left and right of the status bar. I'm guessing the clock on the left side of the status bar is from a 3rd party clock app, since a preinstalled system clock app wouldn't show on both sides of the status bar. So my suspicion is that the problem lies with that 3rd party clock app.

 

[albion1991]

Thanks for your reply.

I have never used a 3rd party app for my clock. I use the pre installed clock app for the widget. The time is shown on the lock screen, on the widget, in the top right corner and when you pull the top menu down - in the top left corner. I don't think this is unusual and doesn't point to a 3rd party clock app. I have looked at any apps that could interfere with the time and uninstalled them, however this has not fixed the issue.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh, I see -- I didn't realize you meant the top left when you pulled down the notification panel.

Which phone or phones do you have?

 

[albion1991]

My current phone is DOOGEE S60.

I've had a HOMTOM HT50, CUBOT Note Plus, Wileyfox Spark X.

I think it's highly unlikely it's a phone issue that impacted all of them. They all run on Android 7 and I used the same clock app on all of them.

 

[Dano1200r]

How far off is the time?
Since it resolved for months when you uninstalled your calendar, I would check that and the time date manual entry option.

 

[albion1991]

This is the issue. It can be ok for a few days (all correct) then it goes out of synch. It can vary greatly how out of synch it goes, sometimes a few minutes, other times greater than an hour. The last two days since I cleared the clock the cache it has been fine. It may be ok tomorrow, it may not be. It's so unpredictable and so frustrating for this reason. Makes it very difficult to troubleshoot and fix.

 

[Dano1200r]

Are you in the USA? Carrier? If you look at the clock icon, it should show the correct time (yes, it is a built-in feature you might not be aware of), is it? If so, you most likely have an app you installed which is allowed to do it. Not by design, per se, but have you booted to safe mode with any difference? How many alarm apps do you have? Any timer apps? Are you hacked and someone is going into your manual time settings to gaslight you?

 

[albion1991]

I am in the UK. Which clock icon are you referring to. The widget? If I boot into safe mode even if there was no issue I don't think it would pinpoint an issue. I have no alarms apps or timer apps. If someone has done that then they are doing a fantastic job

 

[B. Diddy]

I think Safe Mode would still be worth trying. It's possible that some app you routinely install on all of your devices could be causing the issue. Safe Mode would temporarily disable it, so the issue would go away in Safe Mode.

I've never had this happen when my devices were on Nougat, and it's certainly not a commonly mentioned Nougat issue on the forums, which is why I'm focusing on either 3rd party apps or the individual device.

 

[Dano1200r]

I am in the UK. Which clock icon are you referring to. The widget? If I boot into safe mode even if there was no issue I don't think it would pinpoint an issue. I have no alarms apps or timer apps. If someone has done that then they are doing a fantastic job

Hi, no, not the widget, if you look closely at the icon, you'll see that it is a running clock. Your carrier in the UK transmits the info that sets the system time.
Go to Settings, turn off Automatic time date. This will isolate whether it's your cell tower or a rouge app.

 

[albion1991]

I think Safe Mode would still be worth trying. It's possible that some app you routinely install on all of your devices could be causing the issue. Safe Mode would temporarily disable it, so the issue would go away in Safe Mode.

I've never had this happen when my devices were on Nougat, and it's certainly not a commonly mentioned Nougat issue on the forums, which is why I'm focusing on either 3rd party apps or the individual device.

How do I put my phone in safe mode? Even if I have my phone is safe mode for a week with no issue, it doesn't necessarily prove a rogue app, as I have gone longer than a week without an issue during regular use. Is there another way to detect a rogue app?

 

[albion1991]

The very first thing I did when I experienced this issue was to set the time manually. It did not fix the issue unfortunately.

 

[Dano1200r]

It is you. It's happened on your past 4 phones? That's alot of phones, regardless, a hardware failure giving you the same issue across 4 devices is extremely unlikely.
Factory reset your phone and leave off every app you can. And get a watch. Google how to get into safe mode, clearing your cache, etc, things you need to know for maintenance anyway.

 

[albion1991]

My phone has 6GB of RAM plus 128GB of storage (with an SD) so doesn't need massive amounts of maintenance. Getting a watch seems to be my only solution The most frustrating thing is that the Lock screen time is always correct, I wish there was a away of making all my clocks show that time.

 

[Rukbat]

The very first thing I did when I experienced this issue was to set the time manually

That allows the clock to run freely, and the clock speed (the basic speed of the CPU) isn't that tightly controlled. Watches can vary by a few seconds a month but phones, since they receive GPS time (the tower should be getting its time from the backhaul, which gets its time from GPS, so it could be off by a few thousandths of a second at the tower), aren't checked for the accuracy of the clock. Keep the phone on automatic time unless there's a massive carrier failure of all the carriers in your area and manual time is the only thing available. (Or you travel to a place with no cellphone signal.)

Or run GPS Status & Toolbox to see GPS time directly and compare it with your phone time. ("Time of last fix" is within one second if you've locked onto at least 5 satellites - which is almost always the case in the latitudes between Oslo and Cape Town. It's rare to lock to only 5.)

 

[B. Diddy]

How do I put my phone in safe mode? Even if I have my phone is safe mode for a week with no issue, it doesn't necessarily prove a rogue app, as I have gone longer than a week without an issue during regular use. Is there another way to detect a rogue app?

On most Android devices, while powered on, press and hold Power until the Power Off menu appears. Press and hold the Power Off selection until the Safe Mode prompt appears. Tap OK.

It's admittedly harder to pinpoint the problem if it's only happening every few days or so. I was under the impression from your OP that it was happening regularly. Another way to determine if the problem is due to some app you installed would be to do a factory reset and not reinstall any app, and see if the problem persists.

 

[albion1991]

Well I haven't experienced the issue for 4 days now. I very much doubt I've fixed it as I've done nothing. If or when it happens again I'll start unintalling all my apps and reinstalling them 10 at a time for a couple of weeks to try and pinpoint the offending app. Because the issue doesn't crop up every day it's so difficult to diagnose. Does anyone know an app that can scan for rogue/misbehaving apps?

 

[albion1991]

That allows the clock to run freely, and the clock speed (the basic speed of the CPU) isn't that tightly controlled. Watches can vary by a few seconds a month but phones, since they receive GPS time (the tower should be getting its time from the backhaul, which gets its time from GPS, so it could be off by a few thousandths of a second at the tower), aren't checked for the accuracy of the clock. Keep the phone on automatic time unless there's a massive carrier failure of all the carriers in your area and manual time is the only thing available. (Or you travel to a place with no cellphone signal.)

Or run GPS Status & Toolbox to see GPS time directly and compare it with your phone time. ("Time of last fix" is within one second if you've locked onto at least 5 satellites - which is almost always the case in the latitudes between Oslo and Cape Town. It's rare to lock to only 5.)

I know that using automatic date and time, or even setting the time manually won't be perfect. The issue is the widget shows one time, the other two clocks show different times and the lock screen time will remain correct. It's bizarre.

 

[albion1991]

Here is a screenshot and a perfect example of the problem. All the times have all been correct for 4 days ( I check religiously). All of a sudden (see picture). The time in the top left when I pull the menu down was the same as the widget. The actual time was 15:20, which was the time displayed on the lockscreen clock. Help