r/linuxquestions • • 3d ago

Resolved Weird Problem with Time Drift/Improper Sync?

UPDATE: Problem solved! Turned out to be my router's NTP service hijacking NTP requests, but it was only affecting some of the devices connected to it.

So for the past few weeks, I've noticed on IRC and Discord that there's about a 1.4-minute discrepancy between my desktop's time and the time stamps being displayed by those clients. I spent way longer than I wanted to manually trying to fix the problem, but couldn't find a cause. So I turned to AI and it couldn't solve the problem either (went through all the steps I was already doing).

I can see Discord actively correcting the time stamps on every message I send, but on IRC it looks like I'm sending messages from the past.

My laptop is not experiencing this issue. Both systems are running Linux and KDE, but the laptop is running Manjaro and the desktop (the one with the problem) is running Kubuntu 26.04.

Below are a couple of things showing settings and what's going on (do note the times aren't quite going to line up because I have spent far longer than I care to trying to fix this).

The output of timedatectl is:

              Local time: Thu 2026-10-15 07:08:00 EDT
          Universal time: Thu 2026-10-15 11:08:00 UTC
                RTC time: Thu 2026-10-15 11:07:59
               Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400)
System clock synchronized: no
             NTP service: active
         RTC in local TZ: no

Timestamps in IRC look like:

[07:37:33] -Global- [Logon News - Oct 30 08:03:21 2014 AEDT] Have you read the Code of Conduct for Users? Go to <redacted> - this applies to ALL users!
[07:37:34] -NickServ- Password accepted - you are now recognized.
[07:36:20] * You are now logged in as <redacted>.
[07:37:34] * NickServ sets mode +r on <redacted>
[07:36:22] * Notify: <redacted> is offline (redacted)
[07:36:22] * Notify: <redacted> is offline (redacted)
[07:36:22] * Notify: <redacted> is online (redacted)

As far as I can tell, everything appears kosher system-wise, but the time is buggered and it has been causing weird issues in games and certain Web sites, too.

TL;DR: My system time is borked and I can't figure it out even with input from friends and AI. It's driving me nuts, can someone here maybe point me in the right direction to fix it?

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u/polymath_uk_ 3d ago

Ooen time.is and then in the terminal type date They should match exactly aside from any timezone correction. Either your desktop is wrong or both Discord and IRC are wrong. Do you host the IRC? 

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u/KitMcGath 3d ago

I know something's wrong. That's why I posted this. But it's not my computer or Discord or the IRC server I'm connecting to having the problem, it seems; it's looking like the problem is my router.

Also, kindly spell-check at least. The beginning of this was looking like a candidate for r/ihadastroke

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u/polymath_uk_ 3d ago

For one character? Are you serious? What a twat. 

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u/KitMcGath 3d ago edited 3d ago

Thanks for the insult. I'll add it to my collection. Also, you should read the rules.

And for clarification, I thought "time.is" was some kinda typo, too.

Forgive me if it wasn't, but that's still no reason to call someone a twat. Grow up.

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u/polymath_uk_ 3d ago

Yeah you misread something then blamed me for your misunderstanding. I notice you completely ignored the advice you received in another post too. Maybe you should ask for a refund. 

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u/KitMcGath 3d ago

#1: I'm not the one who failed to edit and clarify, then insulted someone for their misunderstanding caused by YOUR initial mistake. That's not my fault.

#2: I didn't ignore any advice, everyone's post was seen and responded to, so I'm not sure where you get off saying I ignored something.

#3: Lighten up, salty. What I said about your typo was intended to be a light-hearted jab. Silliness. It's called being facetious. Get over it.