# Timestamp Not Updating for External OPCUA Server Tags **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** ignition83\ **Created:** [January 27, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/timestamp-not-updating-for-external-opcua-server-tags/113553 "2026-01-27T02:38:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nicholas\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@Nicholas\_Ewing](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Nicholas_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 2:38am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/timestamp-not-updating-for-external-opcua-server-tags/113553/1 "2026-01-27T02:38:59Z")
I’m currently using a custom external OPC UA server written using the [opcua-asyncio](https://github.com/FreeOpcUa/opcua-asyncio) Python package. The general usage works just fine for connecting to this server using Ignition and adding OPC tags, however, I am unable to track history on tags updated by Ignition. After digging for a little bit, I’ve figured out that this is because Ignition fails to properly update the timestamp value when writing to the OPC UA server. As soon as the tag is updated by Ignition the Timestamp property goes to ‘1600-12-31 7:00:00 PM’: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/4/3/434c843660294b5ddc2d84722e4c229f0880e3ef.png) And, using the [opcua-client-gui](https://github.com/FreeOpcUa/opcua-client-gui) application I can see that the OPC UA server’s source timestamp attribute for this tag is set to None. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/7/5/752be38420b7033805fb114a66aafa16a43f1e57.png) I know this is an Ignition problem because read-only tags written to from the OPC UA server itself work just fine: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/1/c/1cd3ad8125acf22ab028594e2280cb50229296ec.png) And, I know this is specific to external OPC UA servers because using a simulator device on Ignition’s built-in OPC UA server works just fine: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/1/4/146feb53fd652ce6c980c321fa49bcae4c3879e5.png) So far I’ve attempted the following in-Ignition fixes to no avail: 1. Writing a QualifiedValue object instead of just the value to the tag. 2. Writing the value directly to the ‘value’ property and also writing the timestamp directly to the ‘Timestamp’ property at the same time. I do have a workaround which involves adding two tags to the UDT, one OPC and the other derived, then just interfacing and storing history on the derived tag, but that is unideal. Any assistance on ways to fix this in Ignition (or on the OPC UA server somehow) would be appreciated. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Kevin.Herron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/kevin.herron/32/7259_2.png) [@Kevin.Herron](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Kevin.Herron)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 3:14am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/timestamp-not-updating-for-external-opcua-server-tags/113553/2 "2026-01-27T03:14:26Z")
What version of Ignition are you using? Ignition 8.3.2 included this release note: > Fixed a bug that caused timestamps received from OPC UA servers with a value of `1601-01-01T00:00:00.000Z` to be treated as if they were valid instead of null. Which sounds like it could be your issue; I think after the write the server returns a null source timestamp, and Ignition is treating that as if it were the value. ---
**Author:** ![Nicholas\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@Nicholas\_Ewing](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Nicholas_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/timestamp-not-updating-for-external-opcua-server-tags/113553/3 "2026-01-27T03:30:10Z")
I’m on 8.3.1. I’ll try an update when I have time tomorrow and report back. Thanks for the quick response! ---
**Author:** ![Nicholas\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@Nicholas\_Ewing](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Nicholas_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/timestamp-not-updating-for-external-opcua-server-tags/113553/4 "2026-01-27T14:23:11Z")
Fixed it. Thanks!