diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/main.go b/cmd/ingestor/main.go
index 4f669ae0..da63e4b9 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/main.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/main.go
@@ -1086,7 +1086,7 @@ func resolveRxTime(msg map[string]interface{}, tag string) string {
 	if raw == "" {
 		return now.Format(time.RFC3339)
 	}
-	t, err := parseEnvelopeTime(raw)
+	t, naive, err := parseEnvelopeTime(raw)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Printf("MQTT [%s] unparseable timestamp %q, using ingest time", tag, raw)
 		return now.Format(time.RFC3339)
@@ -1105,13 +1105,30 @@ func resolveRxTime(msg map[string]interface{}, tag string) string {
 		log.Printf("MQTT [%s] stale timestamp %q (>30d old), using ingest time", tag, raw)
 		return now.Format(time.RFC3339)
 	}
-	// Soft clamp: naive local-clock timestamps from UTC+N observers are parsed
-	// as-if UTC, making them appear N hours in the future. A UTC+2 observer's
-	// live packet looks 2h ahead, but it is NOT a buffered packet — the whole
-	// point of using rxTime is to preserve the past timestamp for packets that
-	// were buffered offline. If rxTime is ahead of now, the packet is live and
-	// ingest time is the correct value. This also prevents storing future
-	// timestamps that would show ⚠️ in the UI for every packet from UTC+N nodes.
+	// Symmetric naive-timestamp clamp (issue #1463). Naive (zone-less) ISO
+	// values from observers in non-UTC zones are parsed as-if UTC, leaving a
+	// residual offset equal to the observer's UTC offset:
+	//   - UTC+N observer → value appears N hours in the future
+	//   - UTC-N observer → value appears N hours in the past
+	// The past case was silently stored verbatim, poisoning last_seen and
+	// rendering UTC-N observers perpetually "Stale" in the UI. Collapse any
+	// naive value more than 15 min off server-now to now() — well-behaved
+	// observers (Z-suffixed or explicit offset) are untouched regardless of
+	// skew so legitimate buffered uploads remain accurate.
+	const naiveTolerance = 15 * time.Minute
+	if naive {
+		delta := t.Sub(now)
+		if delta < 0 {
+			delta = -delta
+		}
+		if delta > naiveTolerance {
+			log.Printf("MQTT [%s] naive timestamp %q off by %s, using ingest time", tag, raw, delta.Round(time.Second))
+			return now.Format(time.RFC3339)
+		}
+	}
+	// Legacy soft clamp for zone-aware near-future values: any value ahead of
+	// now is from a slightly skewed observer clock — collapse to now so we
+	// don't render ⚠️ in the UI for live packets from those nodes.
 	if t.After(now) {
 		return now.Format(time.RFC3339)
 	}
@@ -1121,19 +1138,22 @@ func resolveRxTime(msg map[string]interface{}, tag string) string {
 // parseEnvelopeTime parses the MQTT envelope timestamp. Two on-wire forms
 // occur: zone-aware ISO8601 (RFC3339), and a naive local-clock ISO string
 // with no zone (python datetime.isoformat()). Zone-aware layouts are tried
-// first; naive layouts are assumed UTC, leaving a bounded residual offset
-// equal to the observer's UTC offset for naive-timestamp uploaders.
-func parseEnvelopeTime(s string) (time.Time, error) {
+// first; naive layouts are assumed UTC but the caller is informed via the
+// returned `naive` flag so it can apply a symmetric clamp (see issue #1463).
+func parseEnvelopeTime(s string) (time.Time, bool, error) {
+	// Zone-aware first — RFC3339 demands Z or ±HH:MM.
+	if t, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, s); err == nil {
+		return t, false, nil
+	}
 	for _, layout := range []string{
-		time.RFC3339,                 // 2026-05-16T10:00:00Z / +02:00
 		"2006-01-02T15:04:05.999999", // python isoformat w/ microseconds
 		"2006-01-02T15:04:05",        // naive ISO
 	} {
 		if t, err := time.Parse(layout, s); err == nil {
-			return t, nil
+			return t, true, nil
 		}
 	}
-	return time.Time{}, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized timestamp layout: %q", s)
+	return time.Time{}, false, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized timestamp layout: %q", s)
 }
 
 // deriveHashtagChannelKey derives an AES-128 key from a channel name.
diff --git a/cmd/ingestor/rxtime_test.go b/cmd/ingestor/rxtime_test.go
index 2a29baa7..9fc4b9b2 100644
--- a/cmd/ingestor/rxtime_test.go
+++ b/cmd/ingestor/rxtime_test.go
@@ -7,23 +7,27 @@ import (
 
 func TestParseEnvelopeTime(t *testing.T) {
 	cases := []struct {
-		name string
-		in   string
-		ok   bool
+		name      string
+		in        string
+		ok        bool
+		wantNaive bool
 	}{
-		{"rfc3339 utc", "2026-05-16T10:00:00Z", true},
-		{"rfc3339 offset", "2026-05-16T12:00:00+02:00", true},
-		{"naive iso", "2026-05-16T10:00:00", true},
-		{"naive iso micros", "2026-05-16T10:00:00.123456", true},
-		{"garbage", "not-a-time", false},
-		{"empty", "", false},
+		{"rfc3339 utc", "2026-05-16T10:00:00Z", true, false},
+		{"rfc3339 offset", "2026-05-16T12:00:00+02:00", true, false},
+		{"naive iso", "2026-05-16T10:00:00", true, true},
+		{"naive iso micros", "2026-05-16T10:00:00.123456", true, true},
+		{"garbage", "not-a-time", false, false},
+		{"empty", "", false, false},
 	}
 	for _, c := range cases {
 		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			_, err := parseEnvelopeTime(c.in)
+			_, naive, err := parseEnvelopeTime(c.in)
 			if (err == nil) != c.ok {
 				t.Fatalf("parseEnvelopeTime(%q): want ok=%v, got err=%v", c.in, c.ok, err)
 			}
+			if err == nil && naive != c.wantNaive {
+				t.Fatalf("parseEnvelopeTime(%q): want naive=%v, got %v", c.in, c.wantNaive, naive)
+			}
 		})
 	}
 }