Troutbum63

Q: Time zone auto isn't working

For my last few updates (I'm only on 10.9.5) my air ignores the checkbox to set date and time automatically.  It does put a pin on my correct city (I go back and forth between EST and MST) but whichever time zone I came from remains the time unless I manually relocate it.  This wasn't happening a few upgrades past.  Any suggestions?

 

And this is a late 2011 MB Air with 4 gigs of memory and a 1.8 Ghz Core i7.  Do I have the horsepower to run Yosemite?  I'm a bit reluctant to upgrade again and lose more functionality, as I did the last time.

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Jul 9, 2015 10:45 AM

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Q: Time zone auto isn't working

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 1:29 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 1:29 PM in response to Troutbum63

    Location Services (including automatic time zone selection, Maps, and "Find My Mac") relies on a database of Wi-Fi access points with known locations. You don't have to be connected to a wireless network, but Wi-Fi must be turned on and within range of one of those access points. Otherwise the machine won't be located at all, or the location will be wrong. Sometimes the location will be wrong because the database contains inaccurate data. That would happen, for example, if you moved from one place to another and took your Wi-Fi router with you. The router is still listed in the database, but the location is wrong.

    According to reports, if you connect to a Wi-Fi network with an iPhone, the location of the network will be sent to Apple and added to the database after a delay. An iPhone, unlike other Apple devices, has built-in GPS satellite navigation, and so can locate itself independently of Wi-Fi. The phone would have to be set to share diagnostic and usage information with Apple.

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 9, 2015 2:21 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 9, 2015 2:21 PM in response to Linc Davis

    My Mac location services are turned on.  My phone finds the time zone automatically.  My Mac does not.  MY dat and time setting is ckecked to automatically set date and time based on current location.  When I came home and logged into my wifi, the pin moved from Denver to New York.  The time zone stayed on Mountain Time and did not change the time.  That's the question--it should have done that, I believe.  What am I missing? 

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 3:41 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 3:41 PM in response to Troutbum63

    This procedure is a diagnostic test. It makes no changes to your data.

    Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

    ls -@Oaen /e*/local* | pbcopy

    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

    Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:

    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

    Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

    Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear below what you entered.

    The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. If the command produced no output, the Clipboard will be empty. Paste into a reply to this message.

    The Terminal window doesn't show the output. Please don't copy anything from there.

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 9, 2015 5:49 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 9, 2015 5:49 PM in response to Linc Davis

    lrwxr-xr-x  1 0  0  - 36 Jul  9 13:37 /etc/localtime -> /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/New_York

     

    That's the result.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 6:14 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 6:14 PM in response to Troutbum63

    Does the preference pane actually show that you're in New York but the time zone is Mountain? Or is it just that the clock doesn't adjust?

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 9, 2015 6:21 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 9, 2015 6:21 PM in response to Linc Davis

    The clock doesn't adjust.  The pane shows the change when I change locations, but the clock stays in the prior zone.  Example: I came to NY from CO yesterday.  The computer didn't adjust.  When I opened date and time, the checkbox to auto adjust was clicked.  Then the computer pinned me into New York, but the clock didn't change until I manually changed the time zone.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Troutbum63
  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 9, 2015 7:57 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 9, 2015 7:57 PM in response to Linc Davis

    When I follow the instructions you posted, under the advanced tab, I get these results--you see the week of the year and week of the month show as 2s: in the example, and logically, Jan 5 has to be week 1 of the year and month, as the explanation says.  Moreover, the restore defaults button on both the date and time tab is greyed out and inoperable.  So that's a puzzle.  I can't restore defaults.  Is there a bug in my 10.9.5 installation?

     

     

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 8:16 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 8:16 PM in response to Troutbum63

    I can't restore defaults.

    That's because the settings are already default.

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    Step 1

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

    Step 2

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

    Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

    After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 9, 2015 9:07 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 9, 2015 9:07 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Nothing changed.  In safe mode, I checked date and time settings, removing auto check, and I set the zone to MST.  Then I rechecked the automatic box, it immediately put a locator pin in NY, but didn't change the time at all.  I unchecked the auto box, rebooted normally, and I was in MST.  Checked the auto box and again, it locates me in NY but doesn't change the time.  So no change.  I'm finished for tonight. 

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 9, 2015 9:23 PM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 9, 2015 9:23 PM in response to Troutbum63

    Step 1?

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 10, 2015 6:46 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 10, 2015 6:46 AM in response to Linc Davis

    In step I I couldn't change anything.  The settings were fixed unless I logged in as an administrator.  There, nothing changed either. 

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 10, 2015 7:00 AM in response to Troutbum63
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Jul 10, 2015 7:00 AM in response to Troutbum63

    You didn't need to change any settings. The question was whether the clock was still wrong while you were logged in as Guest.

  • by Troutbum63,

    Troutbum63 Troutbum63 Jul 10, 2015 11:36 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 10, 2015 11:36 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Seems I'm going in circles.  If I manually set the zone to CO, it stays in CO no matter what login I use and regardless of whether set time zone automatically is checked.  When I manually set CO and then log in and check set time automatically, the machine relocates the pin to New York, but the time zone never changes.

    This morning I was noticing that emails were not being sent, and when I went through diagnostics, I found the email was attempting to send via a wifi in Colorado.  My computer was logged into my NY home network and internet was working, so why the mail program (apple's own) was trying to send with another email is disconcerting.  I went into network preferences and deleted several CO logins from memory, and restarted.  That cleared that up, but I'm concerned that at different levels the internal programs are not picking up on the location changes.

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