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Index not uploading because of unreliable NTP server

More often than not, my Index wasn't uploading any data when it should. The wifi icon blinked for a while, after which an X appeared in the upper right corner of the display.

Initially I though it wasn't connecting to my wifi network properly, but when I looked at the network traffic, the problem turned out to be something entirely different: the NTP server the Index is using, clock.garmin.com, isn't responding most of the time. This is what used to happen most of the time when I stepped on my Index:

67699 2016-02-11 08:38:10.026783      0.0.0.0 -> 255.255.255.255 DHCP 303 DHCP Request  - Transaction ID 0xa90d3832

67700 2016-02-11 08:38:10.029093   10.0.7.254 -> 10.0.7.116   DHCP 342 DHCP ACK      - Transaction ID 0xa90d3832

67701 2016-02-11 08:38:10.173502 GarminIn_41:c4:f0 -> Broadcast    ARP 56 Who has 10.0.7.254?  Tell 10.0.7.116

67703 2016-02-11 08:38:10.684652   10.0.7.116 -> 10.0.1.2     DNS 76 Standard query 0xa487  A clock.garmin.com

67704 2016-02-11 08:38:10.685102     10.0.1.2 -> 10.0.7.116   DNS 159 Standard query response 0xa487  A 204.77.162.174

67705 2016-02-11 08:38:10.730001   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

67706 2016-02-11 08:38:11.038477   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

67707 2016-02-11 08:38:11.343489   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

67708 2016-02-11 08:38:11.653700   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

67709 2016-02-11 08:38:11.975087   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

67710 2016-02-11 08:38:12.288109   10.0.7.116 -> 204.77.162.174 NTP 90 NTP Version 4, client

After 6 unsuccessful NTP requests, the Index gives up and won't use the network for anything anymore. (when the server does respond, the Index will continue by sending requests to https://gold.garmin.com)

I worked around this problem by configuring my DNS server to return the address of a working NTP server instead of the actual address of clock.garmin.com, but it would be much better if Garmin would:

fix their server
update the Index firmware to request and use NTP servers given by the DHCP server
update the Index firmware to handle a failing NTP server more gracefully

Top Replies

Garmin-Blake over 6 years ago +1 verified

We have released an update this morning to resolve this issue. This will require your scale to connect to a network and upload data to install. We understand that this is not currently possible for all…

All Replies

0 LukeyC over 7 years ago

Hi All,

I know this is an old thread but my Index SS looks like it has the same issue, and I want to try and reconfigure this clock.garmin.com thing.

I have a netgear Orbi system - can anyone help with what I need to change to make it work? I'm based in the UK so what NTP should I use, and how do I tell Orbi point to it instead of the Garmin one?

(or, if you can't give me the specific details for Netgear, could you please tell me what to Google so I can figure it out?)

Thanks!

Luke

0 darnich over 7 years ago

I use the parental controls on my TG585 router to redirect clock.garmin.com to gr.pool.ntp.org and my scale works perfectly ever since

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Can anyone tell me if the DD-WRT router firmware would allow me to redirect traffic being sent to clock.garmin.com to another NTP server. I'm pretty sure the firmware supports this but wanted to double check first.

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/health-fitness/index-smart-scale/1356616-wifi-and-connection-issues-for-the-tech-dummy?p=1362190#post1362190

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Thanks guys! This issue was driving me crazy.
It took some effort to reconfigure my router, but redirecting 'clock.garmin.com' to the ip for 'pool.ntp.org' works like a charm. Finally getting those beautiful '>>>>>' every single time I use the scale.

I can't believe Garmin still hasn't fixed the issue a year and a half after omolenkamp figured out what is causing the problem. A simple config change in their firmware should do the trick.

0 Garmin-Ben over 7 years ago

Hi All,
We have seen that in multiple instances where there are upload issues after adding additional users, that problems were caused by these users not accepting consent for uploads. With the implementation of GDPR in the month of May, some of these reports are corresponding to Data Consent. This can be done by accepting consent from this link, or by having these users sign into their accounts within the GCM application. We are still investigating this but wanted to provide this potential fix/troubleshooting step in the meantime and get feedback from the group in regards to this working or not.

0 drego85 over 7 years ago

Hello,
from Italy I can reach the Garmin NTP server (clock.garmin.com) but has a ping greater than 150ms! Very high!

$ ping clock.garmin.com
PING clock.garmin.com (204.77.162.174): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 204.77.162.174: icmp_seq=0 ttl=242 time=155.300 ms
64 bytes from 204.77.162.174: icmp_seq=1 ttl=242 time=155.850 ms

I modified the associated DNS zone in my network, forwarding the request to an Italian NTP server (20ms) and now everything is faster!

$ ping clock.garmin.com
PING clock.garmin.com (193.204.114.232): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 193.204.114.232: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=28.420 ms
64 bytes from 193.204.114.232: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=28.367 ms

The WiFi icon blinks much less!

I hope this information can be useful!

Andrea

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Hi All,
We have seen that in multiple instances where there are upload issues after adding additional users, that problems were caused by these users not accepting consent for uploads. With the implementation of GDPR in the month of May, some of these reports are corresponding to Data Consent. This can be done by accepting consent from this link, or by having these users sign into their accounts within the GCM application. We are still investigating this but wanted to provide this potential fix/troubleshooting step in the meantime and get feedback from the group in regards to this working or not.

This does not solve the WiFi issue which (at least that's one outcome of the user analysis discussed here) is related to the connection to the NTP server.
In my case, I'm the only user. My ISP's router does not allow me to re-route clock.garmin.com to a different NTP.

We need a solution via the Scale's firmware.

0 camillo.vezzoli over 7 years ago

I don't run my own DNS but I have an always running windows machine in my network. I was able to spoof clock.garmin.com by installing the Acrylic dns proxy on that machine and configuring it as the primary DNS server in the network and configuring it so that clock.garmin.com is directed to another server. So far so good, I still get the X at the end of the weight data upload but data gets uploaded. This morning, before the change, it was not able to connect at all. Let's see if it keeps working in the next days.

0 Gerd_NL over 7 years ago

Since last weekend my scale is running ok ... hopefully it stays so ...