commaai/openpilot · error · RuntimeError

System time is not set; TLS certificate validation requires…

Error message

System time is not set; TLS certificate validation requires a valid clock

What it means

download_profile() refuses to start when system_time_valid() is False, because TLS certificate validation against the SM-DP+ server requires a correct wall clock. Without valid time, cert expiry checks are meaningless and HTTPS would either fail or need to be insecurely disabled.

Solutions

1. Wait for the system time source (GPS/NTP) to set the clock before calling download_profile
2. Ensure the time-sync service runs before eSIM provisioning in startup ordering
3. Manually set a roughly correct time if a trusted source is unavailable and re-run

from openpilot.common.esim.lpa import system_time_valid

def can_download() -> bool:
    return system_time_valid()

try:
    download_profile(client, qr)
except RuntimeError as e:
    if "System time is not set" in str(e):
        wait_for_time_sync()
        download_profile(client, qr)

When it happens

Trigger: Calling download_profile() on a device whose clock is unset — e.g. right after boot before GPS or NTP time sync has set the system time.

Common situations: Embedded device with no RTC battery boots before GNSS fix; time sync daemon not yet run; VM/container with unsynced clock.

Understand the failure class

• SSL/TLS and certificate errors — how TLS handshakes and certificate validation fail.

Related errors

• DeleteProfile failed
• EnableProfile failed
• Invalid activation code format
• Invalid profileMetadata
• Profile installation failed at

AI-assisted analysis of commaai/openpilot@516ec1e682 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/fb6f9929cc66a9e6. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at openpilot/common/esim/lpa.py:640

  return base64_trim(data[key])


def _cancel_session_safe(client: AtClient, smdp: str, tx_id: str, session: requests.Session) -> None:
  b64_cancel = ""
  try:
    b64_cancel = cancel_session(client, b64d(tx_id))
  except Exception:
    pass
  try:
    es9p_request(smdp, "cancelSession", {"transactionId": tx_id, "cancelSessionResponse": b64_cancel}, "CancelSession", session=session)
  except Exception:
    pass


def download_profile(client: AtClient, activation_code: str) -> str:
  """Download and install an eSIM profile. Returns the ICCID of the installed profile."""
  if not system_time_valid():
    raise RuntimeError("System time is not set; TLS certificate validation requires a valid clock")
  smdp, matching_id = parse_lpa_activation_code(activation_code)
  challenge, euicc_info = get_challenge_and_info(client)
  session = requests.Session()
  tx_id = None

  try:
    # step 1: initiate authentication
    auth = es9p_request(smdp, "initiateAuthentication", {
      "smdpAddress": smdp, "euiccChallenge": b64e(challenge),
      "euiccInfo1": b64e(euicc_info), "matchingId": matching_id,
    }, "Authentication", session=session)
    tx_id = _b64_field(auth, "transactionId")

    # step 2: authenticate server
    b64_auth = authenticate_server(client,
      _b64_field(auth, "serverSigned1"), _b64_field(auth, "serverSignature1"),
      _b64_field(auth, "euiccCiPKIdToBeUsed"), _b64_field(auth, "serverCertificate"),
      matching_id)

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