Score:1

20.04 MATE desktop - clock in panel occasionally shows UTC

us flag

Testing a newly upgraded Ubuntu 20.04 system with the MATE desktop installed.

The panel clock normally shows the desired US Central Time. But every now and then it sneakily reverts to UTC - This screenshot was taken at 7:30 am local

enter image description here

When I click on the clock and select Time and Date settings, the proper timezone is shown, and the panel clock goes back to US Central Time. I don't make any changes to Date and Time Settings, simply call it up.

enter image description here

It's like the clock says, darn I got caught, and goes back to the normal time zone.

How can I fix this prankish panel clock?

Edit: more info - the problem seems to be with the clock in "indicator-applet-complete" only, the standalone panel clock is fine.

enter image description here

David avatar
cn flag
Just a shot in the dark are you maybe using a VPN?
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@David there is a VPN client installed on the system, but I rarely use it. It wasn't in use at the time of the latest incident.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
What's in your /etc/default/crda file?
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema the only non-commented-out line in that file is REGDOMAIN=. But this is a workstation and doesn't have a wifi card. Ethernet only.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
Try "REGDOMAIN=US"
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema will do, that seems harmless enough. Since the problem is intermittent, will report back in a day or so.
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema it did not work. Reverting.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
Do you dual-boot with Windows?
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema no. pure Ubuntu workstation.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
Reset the Power Manager. Shutdown the computer. Hold down the power button for ~20 seconds. Reboot and monitor the clock. ps: REGDOMAIN=US would be correct for the United States. No need to revert it.
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema can you supply some background information as to why you think this might be the culprit? I'd like some rationale before attempting any more fixes.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
The power supply drives the entire computer, of course, but including the RTC (real time clock). Sometimes the Power Manager can get confused. Costs nothing to try and eliminate some obvious things first.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
Show me `sudo dmidecode -s bios-version` and tell me the EXACT make/model of your computer or motherboard.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
@OrganicMarble Oh, it looks like you've discovered that the problem is with "indicator-applet-complete". Does it have any prefs to check? Is it optional to run this, as you already have a top panel clock?
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema yeah, I just got rid of that applet and installed the smaller applet+ clock. So far it has worked, if it continues to work, I'll post an answer. Thanks.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
@OrganicMarble We've worked together in the past, and your comment *"I'd like some rationale before attempting any more fixes"* kind of perplexed me. Up to that point, I had only recommended one quick fix, and was recommending another possible quick fix. I never did get a reply to my BIOS question. Am I missing something?
Organic Marble avatar
us flag
@heynnema you have been an awesome help many times, but sometimes the changes you suggest seem kind of random - like the one here asking me to fix a wifi thing on a system that doesn't have wifi, or your suggestions here https://askubuntu.com/q/1174374/243321 As I've gotten smarter about Ubuntu, I pretty much won't do any actions on my system that I don't understand the rationale behind first. It's possible that they seem random due to my ignorance, but that doesn't change the fact that I will not make changes I don't understand the reasons for.
heynnema avatar
ru flag
@OrganicMarble Genius can sometimes be awesome, genius can sometimes be random. Usually there's some good reason behind my madness. Sometimes it depends on if my morning coffee has kicked in yet :-)
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