diff --git a/changes/bug31995 b/changes/bug31995
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c7ddd437a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/bug31995
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+  o Minor bugfixes (testing):
+    - Avoid intermittent test failures due to a test that had relied on
+      inconsistent timing sources. Fixes bug 31995; bugfix on 0.3.1.3-alpha.
diff --git a/src/test/test_hs_service.c b/src/test/test_hs_service.c
index efe4166bf9..66194cee3d 100644
--- a/src/test/test_hs_service.c
+++ b/src/test/test_hs_service.c
@@ -674,9 +674,11 @@ test_service_intro_point(void *arg)
 
   (void) arg;
 
+  update_approx_time(1481621834);
+
   /* Test simple creation of an object. */
   {
-    time_t now = time(NULL);
+    time_t now = approx_time();
     ip = helper_create_service_ip();
     tt_assert(ip);
     /* Make sure the authentication keypair is not zeroes. */