- A latest bug has hit iPhone users that could potentially harm the units
- Apple has already acknowledged the problem and advises anyone facing the issue to contact Apple Support
- Apple says it will address the issue in an upcoming software update
iPhone users with 64-bit IOS phones are facing another problem which could potentially harm their units.
It has been discovered recently that resetting the iPhones, iPads or iPods to January 1, 1970 date (Apple says May 1970 or earlier) would crash the units; effectively bricking it permanently.
Connecting it to iTunes on a computer to restore it to factory defaults becomes useless too, as the IOS device fails to restart.
The issue has already been acknowledged by Apple; urging iPhone users to contact the Apple Support in case they met the same issue.
“Manually changing the date to May 1970 or earlier can prevent your iOS device from turning on after a restart,” Apple announced last February 15. “An upcoming software update will prevent this issue from affecting iOS devices. If you have this issue, contact Apple Support.”
A thread about the topic on Reddit revealed some users have tried and actually faced the problem.
Some commenters claim their units completely failed to reboot, while others said theirs managed to restart but has since been lagging in speed.
According to 9TO5Mac, the bug affects any 64-bit processors (A7, A8, A8X, A9, and A9X) running on IOS 8 or newer. However, a 32-bit device has not been affected.
One Reddit user offered an explanation for the bug: “When connected to public Wi-Fi, iPhone calibrates its time settings with an NTP server. Theoretically, attackers can send malicious NTP requests to adjust every iPhone’s time settings to January 1, 1970, hence brick every iPhone connected to the same network.”
It has been claimed further that disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it fixes the problem, although Apple has yet to confirm if it indeed solved the issue.
Nevertheless, iPhone users are advised that the best way to prevent this problem is to NOT try it, or let anyone else do it on your units, especially if it’s no longer covered by warranty.
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