diff --git a/dashboard/src/components/GraphItem.vue b/dashboard/src/components/GraphItem.vue
index 5d95e5814..bf5534bd9 100644
--- a/dashboard/src/components/GraphItem.vue
+++ b/dashboard/src/components/GraphItem.vue
@@ -200,8 +200,10 @@ function pruneGraphData(dataset, options) {
 }
 
 function advance() {
-  graph.options.scales.x.min += LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MSECS;
-  graph.options.scales.x.max += LIVE_REFRESH_INTERVAL_MSECS;
+  // advance is called in a timer and when the browser tab is in the background , it is unreliable. Use absolute time to set the scale
+  const now = Date.now();
+  graph.options.scales.x.min = now - 5*60*1000;
+  graph.options.scales.x.max = now;
   graph.update('none');
 }