diff --git a/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb.go b/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb.go
index ea9ac22..5eb87f0 100644
--- a/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb.go
+++ b/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb.go
@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@ import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"encoding/csv"
 	"io"
+	"math"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"bee/audit/internal/platform"
@@ -19,7 +21,68 @@ const metricsDBPath = "/appdata/bee/metrics.db"
 
 // MetricsDB persists live metric samples to SQLite.
 type MetricsDB struct {
-	db *sql.DB
+	db    *sql.DB
+	clock seqClock
+}
+
+// seqClock generates the timestamps stored on metric rows. It is seeded once
+// from the wall clock (or the newest persisted row) and thereafter only ever
+// advances by the *monotonic* elapsed time between Write calls. A system-clock
+// step — an NTP correction, a timezone change, a manual `date` — can therefore
+// never punch a gap into the history or send timestamps backwards, which is
+// what used to smear every chart into a single diagonal line after the clock
+// was changed. Charts count backwards from the newest sample when rendering,
+// so the absolute value of the seed does not matter; only the spacing does.
+type seqClock struct {
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	lastReal time.Time // wall reading from the previous tick (carries a monotonic component)
+	cur      float64   // current device time, unix-seconds
+	lastInt  int64     // last integer ts handed out, to keep the PK strictly increasing
+}
+
+func (c *seqClock) seed(base float64) {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	c.lastReal = time.Now()
+	c.cur = base
+	// One below floor(base) so the first tick (near-zero elapsed) can still
+	// hand out floor(base) itself instead of being bumped forward.
+	c.lastInt = int64(math.Floor(base)) - 1
+}
+
+// tick advances the clock by the monotonic time elapsed since the previous
+// call and returns the next row timestamp (unix-seconds, strictly increasing).
+func (c *seqClock) tick() int64 {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	c.advanceLocked()
+	ts := int64(math.Floor(c.cur)) // truncate, matching time.Time.Unix semantics
+	if ts <= c.lastInt {
+		ts = c.lastInt + 1
+	}
+	c.lastInt = ts
+	return ts
+}
+
+// deviceNow returns the current device time, advancing the clock so the
+// wall↔device relationship stays anchored to the latest observation.
+func (c *seqClock) deviceNow() float64 {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	c.advanceLocked()
+	return c.cur
+}
+
+// advanceLocked moves cur forward by the monotonic time elapsed since the
+// previous observation. c.mu must be held.
+func (c *seqClock) advanceLocked() {
+	now := time.Now()
+	elapsed := now.Sub(c.lastReal).Seconds() // monotonic: immune to wall-clock steps
+	if elapsed < 0 || elapsed > 24*3600 {
+		elapsed = 0
+	}
+	c.lastReal = now
+	c.cur += elapsed
 }
 
 func (m *MetricsDB) Close() error {
@@ -43,7 +106,15 @@ func openMetricsDB(path string) (*MetricsDB, error) {
 		_ = db.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return &MetricsDB{db: db}, nil
+	m := &MetricsDB{db: db}
+	var maxTS sql.NullInt64
+	_ = db.QueryRow(`SELECT MAX(ts) FROM sys_metrics`).Scan(&maxTS)
+	if maxTS.Valid && maxTS.Int64 > 0 {
+		m.clock.seed(float64(maxTS.Int64))
+	} else {
+		m.clock.seed(float64(time.Now().UnixNano()) / 1e9)
+	}
+	return m, nil
 }
 
 func initMetricsSchema(db *sql.DB) error {
@@ -127,9 +198,16 @@ func ensureMetricsColumn(db *sql.DB, table, column, definition string) error {
 	return err
 }
 
-// Write inserts one sample into all relevant tables.
+// Write inserts one sample into all relevant tables. The row timestamp is
+// taken from the monotonic seqClock, not from s.Timestamp, so a system-clock
+// change never corrupts the stored series.
 func (m *MetricsDB) Write(s platform.LiveMetricSample) error {
-	ts := s.Timestamp.Unix()
+	return m.writeAt(m.clock.tick(), s)
+}
+
+// writeAt inserts one sample at an explicit timestamp. Production code uses
+// Write; writeAt exists so tests can lay down a series with known spacing.
+func (m *MetricsDB) writeAt(ts int64, s platform.LiveMetricSample) error {
 	tx, err := m.db.Begin()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -174,19 +252,22 @@ func (m *MetricsDB) Write(s platform.LiveMetricSample) error {
 }
 
 // Downsample reduces density of old metrics rows to 1 sample per minute.
-// Only rows in the half-open window [deleteOlderThan, downsampleBefore) are
-// affected — rows newer than downsampleBefore keep full 5-second resolution.
-// For each 60-second bucket the row with the smallest ts is kept; the rest
-// are deleted. This trims ~92 % of rows in that window while preserving
-// the overall shape of every chart.
+// Rows older than downsampleAge (but within retain) are thinned; rows newer
+// than downsampleAge keep full 5-second resolution. For each 60-second bucket
+// the row with the smallest ts is kept; the rest are deleted. This trims ~92 %
+// of rows in that window while preserving the overall shape of every chart.
+//
+// The window is measured back from the newest sample (the device clock), not
+// from the wall clock, so it is unaffected by system-clock changes.
 //
 // Called hourly by the metrics collector background goroutine.
-func (m *MetricsDB) Downsample(downsampleBefore, deleteOlderThan time.Time) error {
+func (m *MetricsDB) Downsample(downsampleAge, retain time.Duration) error {
 	if m == nil || m.db == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
-	start := deleteOlderThan.Unix()
-	end := downsampleBefore.Unix()
+	now := m.clock.deviceNow()
+	start := int64(now - retain.Seconds())
+	end := int64(now - downsampleAge.Seconds())
 	if end <= start {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -207,13 +288,14 @@ DELETE FROM `+table+` WHERE ts >= ? AND ts < ?
 	return nil
 }
 
-// Prune deletes all rows older than the given cutoff from every metrics table.
+// Prune deletes rows older than retain (measured back from the newest sample,
+// so it is unaffected by system-clock changes) from every metrics table.
 // Called hourly by the metrics collector to keep the DB size bounded.
-func (m *MetricsDB) Prune(before time.Time) error {
+func (m *MetricsDB) Prune(retain time.Duration) error {
 	if m == nil || m.db == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
-	cutTS := before.Unix()
+	cutTS := int64(m.clock.deviceNow() - retain.Seconds())
 	for _, table := range []string{"sys_metrics", "gpu_metrics", "fan_metrics", "temp_metrics"} {
 		if _, err := m.db.Exec("DELETE FROM "+table+" WHERE ts < ?", cutTS); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -244,6 +326,10 @@ func (m *MetricsDB) LoadBetween(start, end time.Time) ([]platform.LiveMetricSamp
 	if end.Before(start) {
 		start, end = end, start
 	}
+	// Row timestamps track the monotonic device clock, which is seeded from the
+	// wall clock and advances at the real rate, so ts stays aligned with wall
+	// time for the task-window correlation done here. (System-clock *steps* are
+	// absorbed by the device clock rather than corrupting the series.)
 	return m.loadSamples(
 		`SELECT ts,cpu_load_pct,mem_load_pct,power_w,IFNULL(power_source,''),IFNULL(power_mode,''),IFNULL(power_reason,'') FROM sys_metrics WHERE ts>=? AND ts<=? ORDER BY ts`,
 		start.Unix(), end.Unix(),
diff --git a/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb_test.go b/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb_test.go
index 4ec7d08..73a9b62 100644
--- a/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb_test.go
+++ b/audit/internal/webui/metricsdb_test.go
@@ -153,11 +153,12 @@ func TestMetricsDBLoadBetweenFiltersWindow(t *testing.T) {
 
 	base := time.Unix(1_700_000_000, 0).UTC()
 	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
-		if err := db.Write(platform.LiveMetricSample{
-			Timestamp:  base.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Minute),
+		ts := base.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Minute)
+		if err := db.writeAt(ts.Unix(), platform.LiveMetricSample{
+			Timestamp:  ts,
 			CPULoadPct: float64(i),
 		}); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Write(%d): %v", i, err)
+			t.Fatalf("writeAt(%d): %v", i, err)
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/audit/internal/webui/server.go b/audit/internal/webui/server.go
index 241611b..2ffb7fe 100644
--- a/audit/internal/webui/server.go
+++ b/audit/internal/webui/server.go
@@ -393,9 +393,8 @@ func (h *handler) startMetricsCollector() {
 				h.setLatestMetric(sample)
 			case <-pruneTicker.C:
 				if h.metricsDB != nil {
-					now := time.Now().UTC()
-					_ = h.metricsDB.Downsample(now.Add(-metricsDownsampleAge), now.Add(-metricsRetainWindow))
-					_ = h.metricsDB.Prune(now.Add(-metricsRetainWindow))
+					_ = h.metricsDB.Downsample(metricsDownsampleAge, metricsRetainWindow)
+					_ = h.metricsDB.Prune(metricsRetainWindow)
 				}
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/audit/internal/webui/server_test.go b/audit/internal/webui/server_test.go
index 1677878..f0d9824 100644
--- a/audit/internal/webui/server_test.go
+++ b/audit/internal/webui/server_test.go
@@ -969,8 +969,8 @@ func TestTaskChartSVGUsesTaskTimeWindow(t *testing.T) {
 		{Timestamp: base.Add(-1 * time.Minute), PowerW: 300},
 	}
 	for _, sample := range samples {
-		if err := db.Write(sample); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Write: %v", err)
+		if err := db.writeAt(sample.Timestamp.Unix(), sample); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("writeAt: %v", err)
 		}
 	}
 	_ = db.Close()