NRF52 Zigbee time component not syncing - Error in Realtimeclock::synchronize_epoch

Author: FredfishfaceCreated Aug 14, 2026Updated Sep 18, 2026

The problem

If I send a mqtt message to a device such as zigbee2mqtt/device_id/set with the appropriate json payload, I see

[I][zigbee:114][0x20001f48]: zcl_device_cb id 0, cluster_id 10, attr_id 0, endpoint: 1 [I][zigbee.time:064][0x20001f48]: Synchronize time to 1786732950 [D][time:104]: Synchronized time: 1969-12-31 23:59:59

in the device logs which is the correct unix time that I just synchronized via the mqtt message, but not the correct synchronized time. If I check to see if the time in my zigbee time component is valid, it isn't. It is always 1969-12-31 23:59:59 as reported in the log. How do I access the correct synchronized time within my ESPHOME yaml? I am testing the time validity as follows:

- lambda: |-
      auto t = id(time_zigbee_1).now();
      ESP_LOGI("custom", "Unix Time: %lld", id(time_zigbee_1).now().timestamp);
      int my_hour = t.hour;
      ESP_LOGD("time", "Current Time: %s", id(time_zigbee_1).now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S").c_str());
      if (t.is_valid()) {
          // t is never valid
      }

Which version of ESPHome has the issue?

Latest version of ESPHome

What type of installation are you using?

Home Assistant Add-on

What platform are you using?

Other

Component causing the issue

No response

YAML Config

yaml

# Board: Seeed XIAO nRF52840
# Definition: definitions/boards/xiao_ble/manifest.yaml

esphome:
  name: nrf-light-sensor
  friendly_name: nrf light sensor
    
nrf52:
  board: xiao_ble
 
logger:
  level: VERBOSE

zigbee:
  id: nrf_lux_1
  model: "XIAO-LuxSensor-1"

time:
  - platform: zigbee
    id: time_zigbee_1    

interval:
  - interval: 20s
    then:
      - lambda: |-
          auto t = id(time_zigbee_1).now();
          ESP_LOGI("custom", "Unix Time: %lld", id(time_zigbee_1).now().timestamp);
          int my_hour = t.hour;
          ESP_LOGD("time", "Current Time: %s", id(time_zigbee_1).now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S").c_str());
          if (t.is_valid()) {
            int my_hour = t.hour;
            // If it is night time (e.g., after 19:00 or before 04:00)
            if (t.hour >= 19 || t.hour < 4) {
              // Sleep for 120 minutes
            } else {
               // Sleep for 5 minutes
            }
          }

Anything in the logs that might be useful for us?

txt

[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]: Zigbee
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Wipe on boot: NO
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Device is joined to the network: YES
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Sleep time: 1s
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   RX ON when idle: YES
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Current channel: 11
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Current page: 0
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Sleep threshold: 20ms
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Role: end device
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Long addr: 0xf4ce365d89e48318
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Short addr: 0x1388
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Long pan id: 0xa57b2faa8c3b7210
[11:41:39][C][zigbee:227]:   Short pan id: 0x0263
[11:41:40][C][zigbee.time:033]: Zigbee Time
[11:41:40][C][zigbee.time:033]:   Endpoint: 1
[11:41:40][C][time:055]: Current time: 1969-12-31 23:59:59

[11:42:30][I][zigbee:114][0x20001f48]: zcl_device_cb id 0, cluster_id 10, attr_id 0, endpoint: 1
[11:42:30][I][zigbee.time:064][0x20001f48]: Synchronize time to 1786732950
[11:42:30][D][time:104]: Synchronized time: 1969-12-31 23:59:59
[11:42:30][D][zigbee.time:082][0x20001f48]: Zcl_device_cb_ status: 0

Additional information

No response

Source: esphome/esphome

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