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Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

MK3Chris
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎02-03-2011

Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

As part of my efforts to monitor my line (old, aluminium and long) I set my router to email a copy of the log each day.
Previous  Netgear DG834V3  :  worked fine. 
Previous  Netgear DG834V4  :  also worked fine. 
Current  / new  Netgear N150 : WNR1000V3  works except for the date and time as shown in the Inbox
My set up has not changed in any way except for the new Router.  Everything else is exactly the same :
i.e  Only cable and no wireless. Same SMTP server.  Same computer (XP Pro).  Same software, etc.
On the Webmail screen Inbox it shows  (Unknown date).
In the Email software (Thunderbird) the Inbox shows the same Subject title 
and  01/01/1970  00:00  for each Email for each and every day.
Date and time in the router is correct each time I Login and check. 
The Logs all carry appropriate dates and times.
The Email headers all show the correct dateand times in the appropriate fields.
Only the Inbox (following the Subject and the Sender) shows  01/0/1970  00:00 for every Email sent by the Router.
The  WNR1000V3 was recently supplied by Plusnet as part of my FTTC upgrade.
Any thoughts please ?  Known bug ?  Anyone else had the the same date problem ?
Have I missed a Statement from the Ministry of the Bleedin' Obvious somewhwere ?
A list of identical Email Subjects, sender, date, etc. does look very odd. even though the Logs inside match the dates in each mail header.

12 REPLIES 12
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

That date and time correspond to a *nix time field containing zero. Where does that field get populated? It looks like it's coming from the wrong source or being processed with an incorrect format.
David
MK3Chris
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎02-03-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Hello spraxyt .  Thanks for your thoughts.
You have caused me to remember that on my old computer  (Win98SE) the DG834's always recorded the correct date and time in the Eudora email package. However the webmail at that time also always reported as "Date unknown".
The Plusnet supplied WNR1000V3 does not come with the Netgear CD.  The router takes care of the setup at initial switch on and the Plusnet guide states  " Come back in 15 minutes and do not try to use the Internet even if the light turns green".
Questions for Plusnet :-
Have you accidently  "played about"  with something ?
Am I the only one with this problem ?
As I am in the 10 day training period do I leave the router alone, or can I dare to try a factory reset and start again ?
orbrey
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 10,540
Registered: ‎18-07-2007

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Hi there,
We haven't played with anything to my knowledge, though the firmware does have some customisations (it has to or it can't communicate with our TR69 server for auto setup purposes). I doubt you're the only one with the problem though you're certainly the only one who's reported it, to my knowledge - it's not something we often come across.
As for factory resetting, I'd not bother with that in all honesty unless you really think it'll make a difference. It shouldn't matter if you're on fibre though as even if you do turn the router off the modem will still be in sync with the service.
We'll test the same thing here on the same router and get back to you with our findings, though I'm afraid that won't be until next week.
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

IIRC, some different Mail clients report different time fields in the Date/Time column. OE does specifically call it Received and reports the time it got to the receiving email server. Some clients don't specify which they use, but use the time the message was compiled rather than delivered.
Thunderbird may well be using the date the mail was compiled and perhaps there is another date/time field in the modem/router that is not set for some reason. Try browsing through all your modem/router setuo to what you can find.
Bald_Eagle1
Grafter
Posts: 313
Registered: ‎24-06-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Quote from: MK3Chris
In the Email software (Thunderbird) the Inbox shows the same Subject title 
and   01/01/1970  00:00   for each Email for each and every day.
Any thoughts please ?  Known bug ?   Anyone else had the the same date problem ?
Have I missed a Statement from the Ministry of the Bleedin' Obvious somewhwere ?
A list of identical Email Subjects, sender, date, etc. does look very odd. even though the Logs inside match the dates in each mail header.

Same issue here.
I had got used to it, but your post reminded me to have another look.
In Thunderbird, right click the From, Subject, Date bar & tick Received.
By all means untick Date.
I have tolerated that issue for almost 11 months  Angry
mxs
Grafter
Posts: 70
Registered: ‎08-12-2010

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

I have the same issue on the WNR1000v3 using stock Netgear firmware so it seems to be a bug in the base firmware rather than any Plusnet customizations.   The dates in the email are correct so its just a minor annoyance for me.
It seems to show up as a problem in thunderbird for sure but as anotherone has stated some email clients use a different source (Delivery-date) for the date and work OK (windows mail seems to be fine).
The problem is a badly formatted date field and missing time zone in the email created/sent by the router (date set in the router is correct):
correct formatting (depending on time zone):
Delivery-date: Thu, 07 Jun 2012 22:31:30 +0100
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2012 22:31:01 +0100 (BST)
wnr1000v3 formed email:
Delivery-date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:05 +0100
DATE: Wed Apr 25 12:01:02 AM
(ignore the fact they are different dates - I just pulled them from random email headers)
Perhaps it is worth giving Netgear a poke to see if they will fix it but the easiest solution is bald_eagles suggestion (assuming you use thunderbird and that change works for you). Smiley
Anotherone
Champion
Posts: 19,107
Thanks: 457
Fixes: 21
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Ah, well spotted. I suppose I should ask the silly question, any chance the format is configurable in the router?
I just re-checked OE and you can have a 'Sent' column and/or a 'Received' one.
JayG
Pro
Posts: 1,145
Thanks: 143
Fixes: 6
Registered: ‎30-10-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

My Netgear DG834v4 logs used to  show the correct weekday but the actual date was somewhere back in the 1990's IIRC!
Don't know whether this is a firmware bug or a problem with the default NTP server, but I fixed mine by going into "Services", ticking "use this NTP server" and typing 131.107.1.10 in the boxes
Don't know whether this is applicable to all Netgear modem/routers but it's been working fine for several months now.  Smiley
MK3Chris
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎02-03-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Time for a bit more feedback and my mucho thanks for the various comments and suggestions.
@Matt Taylor.  Your offer of doing a test is much appreciated.  This is the kind of helpful and normal response I have come to expect from Plusnet.
There are negative complaints elsewhere in the Forum, some understandable.  But there is not enough appreciation of the efforts made by PN staff to correct errors, faults and misunderstandings.
The WNR1000V3 router is locked as regards access to an NTP server and the format. 
In addition, there is no indication as to how the date and time is derived.  I think back to circa 2003 when Netgear locked some of their routers to the University of Wisconsin time server.  They buried the site in traffic ( thousands of routers located all over the world ) and are possibly still paying compensation for the deed.  So, do we suspect Netgear of another date and time faux pas ?  I vote Yes.
As mentioned in this thread the handiing of date and times by various email client is variable :  01/01/1970, unknown date, sent, compiled, etc. 
I have changed sending the router log to my Eudora package, i.e the original "proper" one and not the open source one.  If Eudora cannot identify the time sent (the norm.) then it substitutes with the time received.  This will do me for the time being.  Routerstats is no longer an option because the BTOR FTTC modem is separate from the router and is connected through the WAN port.  Hence daily monitoring of the router log is the next best option for trying to prove my ongoing weather dependant line fault.
FIRMWARE.
Matt Taylor notes that the Firmware is custumised for TR-069 auto-configuration purposes. 
When the router arrives it is configured to get automatic updates to the Firmware. 
No indication of the location of the updates.  If the router is asking Netgear for the updates then will this " xxxx up " the PN customisation ?  Substitute " xxxx up " with your own phrase, such as negate. 
The first thing I did was to untick the auto update option.  My philosophy is  "If it ain't broke then don't fix it"  as regards life and auto updates.
Thanks again to all,
Chris.
prichardson
Grafter
Posts: 1,503
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Hi Chris,
The date is present within the email, but it's incorrectly formatted, which actually means you may see "unexpected" results from your email client when it looks at the date, rather that just 1970 dates. This needs to be corrected to a RFC compliant value in the headers and will work.
This looks to be a issue generic to the model and is not directly related to our customisations in any way. So this needs to be fixed in the core product as well.
Quote
No indication of the location of the updates.  If the router is asking Netgear for the updates then will this " xxxx up " the PN customisation ?  Substitute " xxxx up " with your own phrase, such as negate.
The first thing I did was to untick the auto update option.  My philosophy is  "If it ain't broke then don't fix it"  as regards life and auto updates.

Aside from the obvious response to that of "it is broke, let's fix it ;)"
The router does make the query to check for the update from Netgear directly. It will only return a response that an update is available, if we make an update available. This will only allow updates to a Plusnet firmware, so there are no concerns related to using a wrong firmware and thus losing any of the customisations we normally make.
I am in the process of replicating this in more detail, so that we can raise a report to Netgear. Whilst we know it is happening, there are a few bits we need to collect to show the problem.
MK3Chris
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎02-03-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Ref. Phil Richardson,
Did this query ever get replicated and reported back to Netgear ?
Or do I just forget it ?
Regards,
Chris from MK
JayG
Pro
Posts: 1,145
Thanks: 143
Fixes: 6
Registered: ‎30-10-2011

Re: Emailing Router Logs : wrong date and time.

Quote from: JayG
My Netgear DG834v4 logs used to  show the correct weekday but the actual date was somewhere back in the 1990's IIRC!
Don't know whether this is a firmware bug or a problem with the default NTP server, but I fixed mine by going into "Services", ticking "use this NTP server" and typing 131.107.1.10 in the boxes
Don't know whether this is applicable to all Netgear modem/routers but it's been working fine for several months now.  Smiley

The above NTP server no longer "works" with the above router (and is unpingable) and the router logs had reverted to a date/time in year 2000.
This morning I went back into "Schedule" (not "Services" as previously posted - sorry) and cleared the "use this NTP server" tickbox and address and hey presto, the correct date and time is now appearing in the logs.
As far as I can recall this is now the same configuration which previously failed to display the correct date/time data (no firmware updates or anything else I can think of) so I'm quite mystified as to what is going on here.