diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useTimeSkew.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useTimeSkew.ts
index 03d816a..cb12355 100644
--- a/frontend/src/hooks/useTimeSkew.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useTimeSkew.ts
@@ -11,16 +11,14 @@ import { API_ENDPOINT } from "../api/endpoint";
  * Positive offset => client is AHEAD by that many ms.
  */
 const TIME_URL_ENDPOINT = API_ENDPOINT.v1.TIME;
-
 export function useTimeSkew(opts?: {
-    endpoint?: string;     // e.g., "/api/time" or `${import.meta.env.BASE_URL}api/time`
-    intervalMs?: number;   // how often to recheck; default 5 min
-    samples?: number;      // take N measurements and median; default 1
-    enabled?: boolean;     // allow turning off; default true
+    intervalMs?: number;
+    samples?: number;
+    enabled?: boolean;
 }) {
     const {
         intervalMs = 5 * 60_000,
-        samples = 1,
+        samples = 3,                      // ✅ small median sampling
         enabled = true,
     } = opts || {};
 
@@ -31,15 +29,24 @@ export function useTimeSkew(opts?: {
 
     const measureOnce = async () => {
         const t0 = Date.now();
-        const res = await fetch(TIME_URL_ENDPOINT, { cache: "no-store" });
+        const res = await fetch(TIME_URL_ENDPOINT, {
+            cache: "no-store",
+            headers: { Accept: "application/json" },
+        });
         const t1 = Date.now();
         if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
-        const data = await res.json();
 
-        if (typeof data?.now !== "number") {
+        // Robust parsing: number or string, seconds or ms
+        const data = await res.json() as any;
+        let serverMs = typeof data?.now === "number" ? data.now : Number(data?.now);
+        if (!Number.isFinite(serverMs)) {
             throw new Error("Bad time payload (expecting { now: number })");
         }
-        const serverMs = data.now;
+        // Heuristic: if it's too small to be ms epoch, treat as seconds
+        if (serverMs < 1e12) {               // ~Sat Sep 09 2001 ms epoch
+            serverMs = serverMs * 1000;        // seconds -> ms
+        }
+
         const rtt = t1 - t0;
         const offset = Math.round(((t0 + t1) / 2) - serverMs);
         return { offset, rtt };
@@ -48,20 +55,14 @@ export function useTimeSkew(opts?: {
     const measure = async () => {
         try {
             setError(null);
-            if (samples <= 1) {
-                const { offset, rtt } = await measureOnce();
-                setSkewMs(offset);
-                setRttMs(rtt);
-                return;
-            }
-            // multiple samples → median offset, min RTT (more stable)
             const offsets: number[] = [];
             const rtts: number[] = [];
-            for (let i = 0; i < samples; i++) {
+            const N = Math.max(1, samples);
+            for (let i = 0; i < N; i++) {
                 const { offset, rtt } = await measureOnce();
                 offsets.push(offset);
                 rtts.push(rtt);
-                if (i < samples - 1) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 120)); // tiny gap
+                if (i + 1 < N) await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 120));
             }
             offsets.sort((a, b) => a - b);
             const median = offsets[Math.floor(offsets.length / 2)];
@@ -75,14 +76,11 @@ export function useTimeSkew(opts?: {
 
     useEffect(() => {
         if (!enabled) return;
-        measure(); // initial check
+        measure(); // initial
         if (intervalMs > 0) {
             timerRef.current = window.setInterval(measure, intervalMs);
         }
-        return () => {
-            if (timerRef.current) window.clearInterval(timerRef.current);
-        };
-        // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+        return () => { if (timerRef.current) window.clearInterval(timerRef.current); };
     }, [intervalMs, samples, enabled]);
 
     return { skewMs, rttMs, error, recheck: measure };