Mac message timestamps getting progressively farther ahead of real time

I recently updated my macOS to High Sierra (10.13.6). Ever since, my outgoing message timestamps have gotten progressively farther ahead of real time. It started out only being a few seconds off but got as bad as fifteen minutes, at which point several outgoing messages started showing as not delivered even though they were. Timestamps and message order are shown correctly on my iPhone.

I found a temporary solution, which is to reset my computer's system management controller (SMC). However, this only fixes the problem for at most a day or two before things begin to get noticeably out of sync again. What can I do to permanently fix this problem?

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Apr 27, 2020 4:57 PM

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BDAqua

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Posted on Apr 28, 2020 3:15 PM

Thanks, I think we're down to 2 possibilities...

#1 Corrupted OS install

#2 some 3rd party App or kext interfering, might test this last one by...

Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode?

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37 replies

BDAqua

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May 5, 2020 12:49 PM in response to photo_ninja14

Oh, are the times off for all or only certain addresses?

May 5, 2020 12:57 PM in response to BDAqua

From what I can tell, it is all of them. iMessage vs SMS does not appear to make a difference.

May 5, 2020 1:28 PM in response to BDAqua

Here is the EtreCheck report

May 5, 2020 2:31 PM in response to BDAqua

Yes, I empty the trash pretty frequently. I do need Paragon for NTFS Drives.

Here is the new EtreCheck report

May 5, 2020 2:31 PM in response to photo_ninja14

I'm sorry, the link didn't paste. Here is the new EtreCheck report.

BDAqua

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May 5, 2020 2:36 PM in response to photo_ninja14

OOPs, no report here...

May 6, 2020 3:24 PM in response to BDAqua

Again, here is the new report.

BDAqua

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May 6, 2020 6:19 PM in response to photo_ninja14

What does etrecheck report for Free RAM now?

May 6, 2020 7:11 PM in response to BDAqua

It currently says 1.34 GB available RAM.

BDAqua

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May 6, 2020 7:41 PM in response to photo_ninja14

Sounds great, maybe it's all cured now! :)

May 6, 2020 7:42 PM in response to BDAqua

I hope so! I will keep an eye on it to see.

Can I ask, do you believe that Sophos was the problem or one of the unsigned files that was removed? Or something else?

BDAqua

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May 6, 2020 8:55 PM in response to photo_ninja14

Seems the unsigned files are still there, I think the problem was mostly Sophos, but most Anti-virus Apps have the same problems sooner or later.

BDAqua

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May 7, 2020 7:10 PM in response to photo_ninja14

Weird...

May 7, 2020 7:13 PM in response to BDAqua

I appreciate all of your help in trying to solve this problem. I guess it's just going to keep happening.

Did we rule out "corrupt OS install" as the possible cause?

BDAqua

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May 9, 2020 6:31 AM in response to photo_ninja14

How are we doing?

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Mac message timestamps getting progressively farther ahead of real time