220-802 · Question #883
A user states that all their incoming mail is showing that it is behind three hours. All other users have the correct time. Which of the following should the technician check?
The correct answer is A. The system's local time settings. Only one user has incorrect email timestamps, pointing to a client-side configuration issue rather than a server or network problem. A three-hour offset strongly indicates a timezone or local clock misconfiguration on that user's machine.
Question
A user states that all their incoming mail is showing that it is behind three hours. All other users have the correct time. Which of the following should the technician check?
Options
- AThe system's local time settings
- BThe system's O/S version and patch status
- CThe system's network configuration
- DThe mail server's configuration
How the community answered
(27 responses)- A93% (25)
- B4% (1)
- D4% (1)
Why each option
Only one user has incorrect email timestamps, pointing to a client-side configuration issue rather than a server or network problem. A three-hour offset strongly indicates a timezone or local clock misconfiguration on that user's machine.
Because the problem is isolated to a single user and manifests as a consistent three-hour offset, the root cause is the local system clock or timezone setting on that user's machine. Email clients stamp received messages using the local system time for display, so an incorrectly set timezone or clock will shift all displayed timestamps by a fixed offset. Correcting the system time or timezone setting will resolve the issue without affecting any other users.
OS version and patch status do not cause a fixed time offset on displayed email timestamps.
Network configuration affects connectivity, not the time values applied to incoming mail display.
Mail server configuration affects all users equally; a server-side issue would not be isolated to one person.
Concept tested: Local system clock and timezone troubleshooting
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-set-your-time-and-time-zone-dfaa7122-479f-5b98-2a7b-fa0461bf6b72
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