Time Desynchronization Between Traccar Server and GPS Devices Despite UTC Configuration

Hi everyone,

I'm facing a persistent issue with time synchronization on my Traccar server and GPS devices. I've been working on this for some time now and I'm hoping someone in the community can offer some advice or a potential solution.

Current Setup

1. VPS Server:

   • Provider: Contabo
   • Operating System: Debian 12
   • VPS Time Zone: Initially set to America/Chicago (CDT, -0500) due to the default configuration.
   • Traccar Server: Version [6.4]
   • Time Zone Configuration: I've tried setting it to both America/Chicago and UTC. However, it seems that the UTC configuration causes more desynchronization issues with the GPS devices.

2. GPS Devices:

   • Protocols: GT06 and others.
   • Time Zone: Configured to UTC.
   • Model: [GT06, h02, teltonika, coban]

3. Traccar Configuration:

   • coordinates.filter enabled to filter out erroneous or inconsistent data.
   • Adjustments in traccar.xml to avoid position jumps and out-of-sync data.

Problem

Despite making the above configurations, I'm still experiencing a desynchronization in the "Adjusted Time" shown in the Traccar system, with differences of up to 8 or 12 hours between the server time and the time reported by the device. This happens even though both the server and GPS devices are configured to UTC.

• Example of Errors:
  • Device Time: 22/08/2024, 12:58:13 p.m.
  • Adjusted Time: 23/08/2024, 01:28:03 a.m.
  • Server Time: 22/08/2024, 12:58:13 p.m.

This issue is intermittent but significantly affects data accuracy and user experience, as positions and events are not recorded correctly according to real-time.

Attempted Solutions

• I have tried changing the VPS time zone to UTC and configuring all GPS devices to UTC, but the issue persists.
• Setting the VPS to America/Chicago seems to stabilize the situation somewhat, but some time discrepancies remain.
• I've also reviewed the Traccar logs and the database configuration but found nothing that indicates a clear error.

Questions

1. Has anyone experienced a similar issue when using UTC on both the server and devices?
2. Is it preferable to use the local VPS time zone (in this case America/Chicago) instead of UTC to avoid these issues?
3. Are there any additional settings in Traccar or on the devices that could help resolve this desynchronization?
4. Could the issue be related to the GT06 protocol specifically or the firmware of the GPS devices?

I appreciate any suggestions or advice. I'm open to trying different configurations or techniques to resolve this issue.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best regards,
Urdanegui Castillo

What is "Adjusted Time"?

Hola gracias por respondes
Tiempo ajustado es Fixtime (Hora Ajustada)

This issue has persisted through several updates, and while it sometimes seems to be fixed, it does reoccur, suggesting it could be related to settings or filters in the XML file that are outdated with each new release.

Issue Description: I currently have a GPS device that is marking a tour route for today, 08/23/2024 at 00:49. However, the vehicle has not been out on a tour on this day, indicating that the data the system is displaying is incorrect and corresponds to a tour taken yesterday. This type of time lag causes confusion and issues when trying to monitor the actual status of vehicles.

Attached Image: I've attached a screenshot that clearly shows the issue. You can see how the system indicates a tour activity for the current date and time, when in fact there has been no such movement.

Discussion: This issue has been recurring, and I'm wondering if anyone else in the community has experienced something similar with devices using the GT06 protocol. I would like to know if there is any specific solution or setting that can be applied to prevent filters or settings from becoming obsolete with each update.

Could the problem be related to a misinterpretation of the timestamps in messages sent by these devices? Has anyone managed to solve this problem permanently?

I appreciate in advance any help or suggestions you can offer.

Regards.

I thought the issue was with the time. What makes you think it's related to some obsolete settings or filters? Can you please provide some evidence of your claims.

Of course it is a problem with the time, and that causes many devices to disconnect from the platform do not show route but in the bd it does record it, on the map screen it does not update it stays stuck as if it were not moving, I am not the only one who has this inconvenience several have it and we cannot find the solution.
BeforeThe computer was private on another DEMO server of traccar and it works correctly it was tested on other platforms and works normally, but in my vps it does not work the device freezes in the log I did not find anything that shows the error...

Hi!

I'm migrating from 4.11 to 6.4 and I'm having the same problem as you.
I'm having problems with several protocols, H2, GT06 and T800x.

The devices work for a while and then stop updating. In the log I see the frame received but not decoded.
The fix time freezes.

Have you managed to do anything about it?

I have a similar problem; the fixed time shows up on an incorrect date (a day in the past) because of the GPS, but the server receives the correct locations, and the server time is also correct. However, when I try to view the history for that day, it tells me there are no locations. How can I use the server time so that the report refers to that time instead of the adjusted time? Cheers!

You can use time override, but I would strongly recommend fixing the source of the issue.

Thanks for the quick response, I'll check the documentation on how to use that property

I set

<entry key='time.override'>serverTime</entry> 
<entry key='time.protocols'>tk103</entry>

but same not show log report of today...

Adjusted time
10/09/2024, 1:28:44 PM

Street Address
Show street

Speed
2.56 km/h

Total Distance
9133.86 km ⚙

Server Time
10/15/2024, 11:16:09 AM

Are you sure you waited for new data? And restarted the server?