diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/fetch_service_paths_from_trace_ids.ts b/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/fetch_service_paths_from_trace_ids.ts
index 14047f4bacea9..f40ae7803e364 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/fetch_service_paths_from_trace_ids.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/fetch_service_paths_from_trace_ids.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
  * or more contributor license agreements. Licensed under the Elastic License;
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
+import { rangeFilter } from '../../../common/utils/range_filter';
 import { ProcessorEvent } from '../../../common/processor_event';
 import { TRACE_ID } from '../../../common/elasticsearch_fieldnames';
 import {
@@ -10,14 +11,19 @@ import {
   ExternalConnectionNode,
   ServiceConnectionNode,
 } from '../../../common/service_map';
-import { Setup } from '../helpers/setup_request';
+import { Setup, SetupTimeRange } from '../helpers/setup_request';
 
 export async function fetchServicePathsFromTraceIds(
-  setup: Setup,
+  setup: Setup & SetupTimeRange,
   traceIds: string[]
 ) {
   const { apmEventClient } = setup;
 
+  // make sure there's a range so ES can skip shards
+  const dayInMs = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+  const start = setup.start - dayInMs;
+  const end = setup.end + dayInMs;
+
   const serviceMapParams = {
     apm: {
       events: [ProcessorEvent.span, ProcessorEvent.transaction],
@@ -32,6 +38,7 @@ export async function fetchServicePathsFromTraceIds(
                 [TRACE_ID]: traceIds,
               },
             },
+            { range: rangeFilter(start, end) },
           ],
         },
       },
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/get_service_map_from_trace_ids.ts b/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/get_service_map_from_trace_ids.ts
index 14cfece22d053..b650602062c0b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/get_service_map_from_trace_ids.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/apm/server/lib/service_map/get_service_map_from_trace_ids.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   SERVICE_NAME,
 } from '../../../common/elasticsearch_fieldnames';
 import { Connection, ConnectionNode } from '../../../common/service_map';
-import { Setup } from '../helpers/setup_request';
+import { Setup, SetupTimeRange } from '../helpers/setup_request';
 import { fetchServicePathsFromTraceIds } from './fetch_service_paths_from_trace_ids';
 
 export function getConnections({
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export async function getServiceMapFromTraceIds({
   serviceName,
   environment,
 }: {
-  setup: Setup;
+  setup: Setup & SetupTimeRange;
   traceIds: string[];
   serviceName?: string;
   environment?: string;