The iPhone Apocalypse: January 19, 2038

update: after reading post, here's follow-up 64-bit iphone.
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may have noticed latest system time can set on iphone on january 1, 2038. why have happen on time when we’ll still alive? able continue using our iphones 23 years now? answer these questions, researched , conducted interesting experiment based on found. read on find out happen!

why maximum date 2038

iphone keeps time calculating number of seconds passed since january 1, 1970 @ midnight gmt. many iphones store particular number 32 bit integer, , maximum possible 32 bit number 2^31−1 (or 2,147,483,647). means after 2,147,483,647 seconds since january 1, 1970 (or january 19, 2038 @ 3:14:07 gmt), iphone's system time overflow, @ least 32 bit devices, causing various problems arise.

in other words, 32 bit (and possibly current 64 bit) iphone's world terminate on january 19, 2038.

may thinking, why maximum date january 1 instead of january 19? date apple’s method prevent casual users breaking clock quickly.

the experiment

find out happen iphone on january 19, 2038, put iphone 5 on ios 8.4.1 test. set system time january 1, waiting 18 days see happen. additional fun, started stopwatch in clock app @ earliest system time (1970) see clock 68 years later , beyond.

my 3 foreseen possibilities of happen before test follows:

the iphone crash.

the iphone continue counting time past january 19.

only clock portion of ios crash.

january 1 january 18, clock worked fine without problems.

when iphone 5 reached january 19 @ 3:00 gmt, first abnormalities occurred. when iphone 5 in sleep mode, ios automatically froze clock. when device powered on, time continued tick. fascinating.

@ point, figured second possibility wasn’t true, considering ios developers made attempt safeguard clock. still, determined reach end. prevent iphone 5 auto-locking, changed setting “never”. left room few minutes.

when came back, clock must have struck 3:14 am, i’m not sure if did. that’s because clock started glitching sporadically. odd reason, system time became 8:48 pm gmt. that’s when put iphone 5 sleep , re-powered on. saw right after rather astounding:

that’s right: iphone’s lock screen stopped displaying time altogether! fortunately, still able view current system time swiping notification center.

proceeded unlock iphone. entered 4 digit passcode correctly, absolutely nothing happened after tapped fourth digit. meant no longer unlock device. didn’t freeze though; still swipe lock screen , swipe again reenter passcode. tried entering wrong passcode heck of it, instead of telling me code invalid, did absolutely nothing well.

though couldn’t unlock iphone 5, wasn’t locked out. fortunately, there’s control center use access few apps. stopwatch, calculator, , camera worked fine. brightness slider, however, ceased function. should have forgot test flashlight , wifi capabilities.

after testing enough of that, figured i’ve came conclusion: iphone still operate not full extent. little did know happen next when plugged iphone 5 lightning cable…

*vibrate* *vibrate*
ok, that’s normal. that’s iphone 5 once it’s plugged in.

*vibrate* *vibrate*
wait, did again?

*vibrate* *vibrate*
this ain’t looking good. how unplug cable…

*vibrate* *vibrate*
the world doomed!!!

@ point, reached full panic mode. had go sleep soon, desperately needed halt vibrations refused surrender. initial instinct power off device, once pressed , held power button, transparent overlay appeared not power slider or cancel button!

(i have taken picture of that, didn’t think @ given moment.)

seriously, if don’t believe panicking, think way. nonstop vibrating iphone 5 sounded ticking time bomb, or @ least emergency alarm. @ moment, felt apocalypse happening, iphone explode dramatically , denounce demise of existence. , if wasn’t enough, there irritated roommate cramming finals.

roommate fled room study elsewhere, couldn’t leave vibrating iphone 5 behind. still under panic mode, albeit bit more controlled, set iphone 5 aside , used laptop search alternate ways power off iphone. please have way, thought. otherwise, i’ll doomed.

, sure enough, there way power off iphone 5: soft reset. after pressing , holding iphone 5’s power button , home button 10 seconds, praying wouldn’t explode on me, iphone blacked out.

room never felt more quiet ever before.

after calmed down, called roommate come back. told me better not tinker iphone 5 until next day after finals, agreed to. put iphone aside , got needed sleep.

next day, after roommate took off class, examined iphone 5 again, theorizing happen if dared power on again. gut feeling refuse boot ever again, unless somehow manage dfu mode. if reach dfu, i’d have sacrifice ios 8 , restore ios 9.

determine moment of truth, pressed , held iphone 5’s power button.

apple logo appeared, sign. strange, however, while apple logo up, see ghosted version of system time right when soft reset phone. iphone 5 blacked out, , next thing showed was…

…the lock screen!

time, january 1, 1970 @ midnight gmt. clock reset safety, , data, including ios 8.4.1, still in tact.

unexpected, however, stopwatch did not reset. in fact, still able run!

(the time states 4 pm because live in pacific time zone, 8 hours before gmt.)

curious, changed system time once again january 1, 2038 see if double stopwatch’s time. , lo , behold, did!

with that, restored system time normal civilization, thankful no 1 injured during experiment.

the moral of story

the iphone 5 or earlier cannot exceed january 19, 2038 since utilize 32 bit cpu, not because of planned obsolescence.

64 bit devices iphone 5s should in theory unaffected, 64 bit integers can store maximum year of 292277026596, long after world ends. however, may still impacted since max date january 1, 2038, meaning ios might still use 32 bit time on these devices.*

you can still use iphone after 2038, won’t able use calendar app or access https websites properly. dates, such day picture taken, inaccurate.

you should disable internet time in 2038 in case bad happens.

if still have 32 bit iphone laying around, might want sell before more people become aware of 2038 problem.

if want set world record maximum time on ios stopwatch, how it.

*if has spare iphone 5s or newer , perform 2038 experiment, please share observations. edit (apr 19): already done.
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tl;dr: don’t plan on using 32 bit (and possibly current 64 bit) iphone in 2038, or bad things happen.