B.C. Time Change: Check Your Security Camera Timestamps

Quick answer: If your security cameras or recorder still follow the old daylight saving time schedule, they may have turned back one hour on November 1, 2026—even though most of British Columbia did not. Check both live video and recorded footage, then confirm your system uses the correct local time rules.

This is a potential timestamp configuration problem, not evidence that a camera has been hacked. Not every system is affected. A quick check can help businesses and homeowners avoid confusion when footage is needed.

What changed in British Columbia?

British Columbia adopted year-round Pacific time at UTC−7 for most of the province. November 1, 2026 was the first autumn date when clocks would previously have moved back but instead remained unchanged. Some B.C. communities follow different local time arrangements; confirm the rules for your location before changing a device.

See the Province of British Columbia’s official Pacific time guidance for the time standard and regional exceptions.

Which security systems should you check?

Review IP cameras, digital video recorders (DVRs), network video recorders (NVRs), video management software, doorbell cameras, and alarm panels. Devices using old time-zone rules or manually configured seasonal schedules may still apply the former fall adjustment.

A camera, recorder, app, and alarm panel can each have separate time settings. One correct screen does not prove that every recording or event log is correct.

How to check your camera and recorder timestamps

1. Establish the correct local time. Use a trusted time reference configured for your community. A phone or computer is useful only if its own time-zone information is current.
2. Compare the live displays. Check the camera overlay, recorder clock, viewing app, and alarm panel. Note any difference and which device or screen shows it.
3. Record a known event. Note the actual local time, then walk into a camera’s view or perform another safe, recognizable action. Do not trigger a monitored alarm without arranging the test with your provider.
4. Play the recording back. Find that event and compare the on-screen timestamp and playback timeline with the time you noted. Where possible, export a short test clip and check its timestamp in the supplied player. File creation or download times alone do not establish when the event was captured.
5. Review time-zone and DST settings. Check the camera and recorder separately, along with any connected management software. Look for an outdated Pacific seasonal rule, a recurring DST schedule, or conflicting automatic and manual adjustments.

How to correct an affected system safely

Before making changes, record the existing settings and the measured clock offset. If footage may relate to an incident, preserve the original recordings and exports first. Avoid resetting, formatting, or upgrading the recorder until evidence-preservation needs have been addressed.

• Prefer the manufacturer’s supported time-zone update. Updated firmware or time-zone data may handle B.C.’s new rules correctly. Contact 1 Sys before applying updates, especially on older systems.
• For a device that supports only a fixed offset and a DST switch: in a B.C. community using year-round Pacific time, the intended combination is UTC−7 with no seasonal DST adjustment. Confirm the manufacturer’s instructions before applying it. Simply disabling DST while leaving the base offset at UTC−8 can make the clock wrong.
• Keep supported network time synchronization enabled. NTP helps synchronize a device’s clock, but does not by itself fix an incorrect local time zone or an obsolete DST schedule.
• Avoid double adjustments. Do not both move the clock manually and change the time-zone offset without checking the result. Cameras and recorders may synchronize with each other.
• Verify again after the change. Repeat the known-event recording, playback, and export checks. Confirm the clock stays correct after the next scheduled synchronization.

If the system’s settings are unclear, contact 1 Sys at 250-999-7771 rather than guessing. A clock change may affect playback searches and event ordering; document when the change was made.

Why accurate timestamps matter

Security footage can help establish what happened during theft, a break-in, a workplace incident, or another event. An incorrect timestamp can make footage harder to find and complicate comparisons with access-control logs, alarm events, transactions, or witness accounts.

A wrong timestamp does not automatically make footage unusable or inadmissible. Evidentiary questions depend on the circumstances. Preserve originals, document any known offset, and seek appropriate professional advice when footage may be evidence. This tip is technical guidance, not legal advice.

Common questions

Will internet-connected cameras correct themselves?

Some will, particularly when their software and time-zone data are current. Others may synchronize the clock successfully while continuing to display the wrong local time. Verify actual recordings instead of assuming connectivity fixes the issue.

Does a correct live timestamp mean older recordings are correct?

No. Check playback around the affected period and preserve original exports. Changing the clock now does not establish the accuracy of historical timestamps, and playback behavior varies by system.

Should every B.C. system be set to UTC−7?

No. First confirm your community’s time rules and your equipment’s configuration method. This advice about fixed UTC−7 applies to locations observing B.C.’s year-round Pacific time, not every location or every device configuration.

Need help checking your security system?

1 Sys encourages businesses and homeowners to verify their security-system timestamps before an incident makes that information critical. If you are unsure how your cameras, recorder, or alarm panel handle the change, contact 1 Sys for a time-settings and recording check. Call 250-999-7771 or email contact@1sys.org.

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