Hello,
Thank you for contacting us and sorry for any inconvenience that might have been caused due to that.
We can see an “Invalid JWT” error and it occurs when the server’s clock is not in sync with NTP. Please check the server time, and fix it if it’s incorrect. If you do not know how to do this, please get in touch with your hosting provider.
Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.
Thank you.
Thanks, I’ll check it but that doesn’t really make sense to me as if that was the case logically that error would appear with or without Instant Indexing being active. The rest of my plugins are still active and no issue. Anyway, I will check it and get back to you.
Thanks
Hi
I received the following response from my host:
“Please note that all our servers operate on the standard UTC timezone, and this setting cannot be modified.
However, if you would like to adjust the timezone for your cPanel account, you can do so by navigating to:
cPanel → Select PHP Version → Options.”
I would be concerned about changing the timezone innacurately on my cpanel though?
Thanks and kind regards
Andrew
Hello,
The issue with the “Invalid JWT” error is not related to the timezone itself but rather the server’s internal clock being out of sync with NTP (Network Time Protocol), which affects JWT authentication. Even if your host uses UTC, the server’s clock could still be slightly off.
We recommend verifying that the server time is accurate through your host or having them check the time synchronization settings.
Let us know if you need further assistance.
Thanks I’ll check with them again.
Are you suggesting I also send them these error logs?
Hello,
Yes, you can share that log with your hosting. You may also share this ticket conversation we have: https://support.rankmath.com/ticket/instant-indexing-134/?view=all
Let us know how that goes. Looking forward to helping you.
OK, I’ll share this with my host
Hi
My host responded as follows:
“Hello Andrew,
Apologies for this very delayed response.
We have checked and the server clock is in sync with all the tasks on the server. Nothing on our end stands out to be causing the error.
If you encounter any issues do let us know.
Regards,
Gloria.”
Hello,
You can find this issue by checking the output of the following code:
$date = date('m/d/Y h:i:s a', time());
If you output the value of the variable $date on your website you’ll likely notice that it doesn’t match the UTC time. The server administrator might have synced the time but the server is likely losing sync, which can be seen with the code above.
Since the server loses the time immediately the JWT token that gets sent to Google fails so the error you are getting is coming directly from Google API.
This is a server issue and unless the server is able to keep the clock in sync with UTC the tokens will constantly fail.
You can even see people discussing the same error on one of Google API repositories and finding the same conclusion about the syncing of the clock: https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-python/issues/3100
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any other questions.
Technically this is a bit beyond me, so I don’t know how to do the checks you are referring to. Is this something I should relay to my host in response to their confirmation the clock is syncing?
Hello,
Yes, you can forward this ticket to your Web Host provider to check: https://support.rankmath.com/ticket/instant-indexing-134/
Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.
Thank you.
My host responded confirming the server is syncing correctly. I asked them to double confirm and they said:
“Hello Andrew
Thank you for replying.
Our server has set the time to UTC (Universal Time, Coordinated) by default. We do not set the time to a certain time zone. This allows servers that run in different time zones to interact (reference: https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/server-configuration/server-time/).
As of now, we can’t freely sync the server time as this might affect all of the automatizations set within the server.”
Does that answer your question?
Hello,
While your host confirms the server is syncing correctly, even minor inconsistencies can trigger this issue when communicating with Google’s API.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Verify the Current Time Programmatically: Share the following script with your hosting provider to ensure the server’s time is accurately synced with UTC: https://time.is/UTC
echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s T');
Compare the output with an official UTC source to check for discrepancies:
2. If the server time is correct, regenerate the JSON Web Token (JWT) credentials in your Google Cloud Console:
- Go to Google Cloud Console > Credentials.
- Recreate the service account key and update it in the Instant Indexing plugin settings.
3. If the issue persists, try reinstalling the Instant Indexing plugin to ensure no files are corrupted.
If these steps don’t resolve the issue, let us know, and we’ll help you further troubleshoot.
Thank you.
Thank you for getting back to me but you’re talking to me about stuff that is way above my level of knowledge and experience; that’s why I’m coming to you for your support.
I’ll ask my host again this question, can you confirm what you mean by the following script?
At the moment I have the ‘Instant Indexing’ plugin deactivate, if this gets too complicated I will have to just delete it.
Thanks
Andrew
Hello,
We understand your concerns. Here’s a simplified explanation and what you can do next:
The script provided, echo date(‘Y-m-d H:i:s T’);, is a simple PHP command that displays the current server time. This can help confirm if the server’s clock is properly synced with UTC. You can share this with your hosting provider and ask them to execute it to verify the server time.
If the server time is accurate, the next step would be to recreate the service account key and update it in the Instant Indexing plugin settings.
Please follow the steps in this guide religiously: https://rankmath.com/blog/google-indexing-api/
We hope this helps.
Thank you.
