(Solved) ‘Your Clock is Ahead/Behind error’ issue

So your browser gave you a strange error message that said ‘Your Clock is Ahead/Behind error’ What’s the meaning of that? Is it important? Have you gotten sick? Can the time on your Mac really be wrong? Your Clock is Ahead Error can sometimes show up on Mac computers when the browser can’t make a private connection.

The “Your Clock is Ahead” error on a Mac could be caused by a number of things, and most of them are easy to fix. When the system clock is ahead, your browser tells you that it can’t make a private connection to the site you’re trying to visit because it can’t check the site’s certificate to see if it’s still valid.

This means that the browser doesn’t “know” if the site is safe or not. Most of the time, this error message doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with the site you’re trying to visit. Most browsers actually let the user ignore the warning and still go to the site.

Fix: ‘Your Clock is Ahead/Behind error’ issue

Adjust the time & date

Most of the time, a NET::ERR CERT DATE INVALID error will cause the “Your clock is ahead/behind” error to be thrown in the end. Most of the time, this happens when the date and time on the computer or mobile device are wrong.

1. Ensure that your computer is connected to the Internet.
2. Open up a Run dialog box by pressing Windows key + R. Next, type ‘timedate.cpl’ and press Enter to open up the Date & time panel.
3. Once you’re inside the Date & Time window, go fo the Internet Time tab and click on Change settings.
4. Once you’re inside the Internet Time settings, start by checking the box associated with Synchronize with an Internet time server. After you do this, set the Server to time.windows.com and click on Update Now.
5. After this setting is enforced, move over to the Date & Time tab and click on Change time zone and make sure you’re using the correct one. After you do this, click on Change date and time to ensure that the date is set properly.
6. Make the adjustments and click Apply to save the modifications.
7. Restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved at the next system startup.

Deleting Chrome’s Cache and Cookies

1. Open your Google Chrome browser and click on the action button (three-dot icon) in the top-right corner of the screen.
2. Once you’re inside the Settings menu, scroll down all the way to the bottom of the screen and click on Advanced to bring up the hidden options.
3. After you manage to land inside the advanced options menu, scroll down to the Privacy and Security tab and proceed by clicking on Clear browsing data.
4. Inside the Clear browsing data menu, start by clicking on the Basic tab, then make sure that the boxes associated with Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files are enabled.
5. Finally, set the Time range to All time and then hit the Clear data button to start the process of deleting your Chrome’s cookies and cache.
6. Wait patiently until the process is complete, then restart your computer and see if the problem is resolved at the next system startup.

Contact the Web administrator

‘Your Clock is Ahead/Behind error’ If none of the above solutions worked and the problem only happens on one website, it’s likely that the site’s security certificate has expired. This particular situation happens, you can’t do anything about it (unless you are the administrator).

If you can log in as admin, you can fix the problem by renewing the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. But if you don’t have admin access, the only way to fix the problem is to ask the website’s admin to renew the SSL certificate.

Cleaning / Replacing CMOS battery

1. Start by turning off your computer and unplugging it from a power source.
2. After you do this, remove the side cover and equip yourself with a static wrist band in case you have one at the ready.
3. After you manage to open the case, take a look at your motherboard and identify your CMOS battery. When you see it, use your fingernail or a non-conductive screwdriver to remove it from its slot.
4. After you remove it, clean it thoroughly with rubbing alcohol and ensure that there is no lint or dust inside the CMOS slot.
5. Insert the old or new battery back into the CMOS slot, then put the side cover back and plug your computer back to a power source and start it up.
6. Power it up and wait for the machine to start. After the next startup procedure is complete, follow Method 1 to change the time to the correct values again, then restart your computer to see if the change is permanent.

Reset Chrome

1. Open Chrome.
2. Go to Chrome Settings by clicking on the three dots at the upper right and clicking on Settings.
3. Click on Advanced in the left panel.
4. Click on Reset and clean up.
5. Select Restore settings to their original defaults.
6. Click the Reset settings button.
7. After the reset, start Chrome again and check if the problem you’re experiencing has been fixed.

Causes of ”Your Clock is Ahead/Behind error’

• Your Mac has been off for a long time and hasn’t been on.
• If your Mac hasn’t been connected to an Apple server in a while, the clock might be a little bit off. So, your Mac’s system clock might start going faster.
• You recently went to a place where the time is different.
• If you change time zones but leave your Mac’s region set to your home time zone, you might get the “Your clock is ahead” error in browsers like Chrome on your Mac.
• Your browser has too many cookies or cached files.
• Another reason for the error could be that your browser has a bug because its memory is full of cache and cookie data, or because some of that data got messed up because of a mistake or a bug.
• The security certificate for the website you are trying to get to is no longer valid.
• If the website you are trying to get to has a security certificate that has expired, it could be a simple mistake or something more serious. The site could have been broken into or is run by bad people.