Hi experts,
Following the discussion on another post,
I’m wondering if e/os developers can explain:
is the system date ‘set’ at the time of installation? If so, where does it get the date from?
Can a factory reset change that date?
The problem i’m facing is …the date is always one month back from the current date… which is exactly what I set it to while installing e/os …
From this post:
Thank you 
Bump…
Seems like a legit question…
Android gets its time from an ntp server once network is available. It also uses the carrier networks to determine time (ntiz). After Android 12 ntp takes precedence over ntiz.
So either the carrier is at issue - then removing the sim card could maybe leave the ntp time untouched, or something is at issue with ntp. But the latter is hard to believe. For this to happen the “ntp.pool.org” address would resolve for you locally to a dysfunctional ntp server. This pool address is replacing the Google Android default value “time.android.com” (in framework base).
Can you install “NTPSync” and press the upper button and check if the response is proper? it uses the ntp.pool.org and should be able to reproduce the time issue.
Thanks for the info…
So in other words there is no ‘built-in’ date? it is always fetched from an external source?
Every time I reboot?!
In that case, what is the manual setting actually for?!
And what happens when I reboot without any external connection?
Btw, I haven’t used a sim on that device…
I’ll connect it to WiFi later, query with NTPSync and report back here…
When you first start up a clean installation of /e/OS or other LineageOS-based ROMs, the date is set to the date that the ROM was built. You can see that on one of the early pages of the first-time setup app. If you never connect to a network, then the system will base its date on that
I queried with NTPSync… details attached…
I’m still perplexed about this. I connected to a WiFi and ‘used network-provided time’, restarted phone a couple of times… each restart it reverts back to wrong date, and then corrects itself to the network date. Is this normal? It needs to fetch the date every single restart?
Well it would fit with a design brief of “always on” as in always online.
Yes, you’re probably correct…
Am I the only one who sees this as security glitch and a blow to anonymity??
Yes 
At least not many people see it that way, given that you are the first to mention it in this forum, and I;ve not seen many (any?) complaints about it in other custom ROM forums. (This is standard Android behaviour, not specific to /e/OS)
ntp is as much an issue as the connectivity check for people that prefer absolute network silence - the CC has been debated in this forum before. As you do not send identifiers that can be tracked, it has more use (correct time) than downsides
Automatic time detection receives time suggestions from various sources, selects the best option, and then sets the system clock in Android to match. Previous Android releases provided two ways to set date and time — either manually set per user or by automatic time detection, set by one of these two options:
Each option requires connections to external networks, which aren’t always available in Android Automotive. For example, in some countries, some cars may not have built-in telephony. Therefore, Global Satellite Navigation Systems (GNSS) time is now also provided as a source of system time for you to use when network connectivity is unavailable.
This upcoming Android release provides two more options to automatically detect and set time:
SOURCE: https://source.android.com/docs/automotive/time/automatic_time_detection
I’m glad to see this discussion… (perhaps should be on a separate thread? )
Bottom line, as i understand it, the manual-time-settings has no point and is just for show…
e/os is great, a vpn is nice, but they give a false sense of security…
none of our online activity is anonymous. None…
Change my mind… ?
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