Q: ive set the date to the 1/1/70 what do i do?

Some have reported that a DFU restore will work. You will need to Google for instructions for that. Otherwise, you can make an appointment at the Genius Bar of the nearest Apple store for assistance.  Next time, don't believe what you read on Facebook or the internet. A quick check of the news would have revealed this to be a scam and it was bricking phones left and right.

A DFU restore will usually recover the phone:

• Install the latest version of iTunes on your computer if it isn't there already ( (you must have Windows 7 or later or OS X 10.8.5 or later)
• Reboot your computer
• Disable any antivirus and firewalls
• Launch iTunes
• Connect the device cable to a USB port on the computer (not to a USB hub), but DO NOT CONNECT TO THE DEVICE YET
• Press and hold the HOME and SLEEP buttons at the same time for exactly 10 seconds, until the screen turns black, then release the SLEEP button but continue holding the HOME button. If an Apple logo appears while holding both buttons you held for too long; start over.
• While still holding the HOME button connect the other end of the cable to the device
• You should see a message in iTunes saying a phone in Recovery mode has been detected (it may take up to a minute for the message to appear). When you see that message release the HOME button and the device should restore. When asked DO NOT restore a backup; set up as a new phone.

Try several times if it doesn't work the first time; getting it into DFU mode is tricky. If this fails take it to an Apple store; they can probably fix it. Make a Genius Bar appointment first, as there's likely to be a long line due to this Internet meme.

See this article:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/12/technology/iphone-date-bug/index.html

If I understand it correctly, it says if you set the date to 1/1/70 (start of Unix time) and then cycle power on your iPhone, the iPhone is then "bricked" forever.

sberman wrote:

 

See this article:

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/12/technology/iphone-date-bug/index.html

 

If I understand it correctly, it says if you set the date to 1/1/70 (start of Unix time) and then cycle power on your iPhone, the iPhone is then "bricked" forever.

Numerous people have reported that putting the phone in DFU resolves the issue (with data loss, of course). I think CNN, perish the thought, may be exaggerating.

Meg St._Clair wrote:

Numerous people have reported that putting the phone in DFU resolves the issue (with data loss, of course). I think CNN, perish the thought, may be exaggerating.

What!? You mean the press exaggerates? Perish the thought!

Meg St._Clair wrote:

 

I think CNN, perish the thought, may be exaggerating.

I certainly hope so!

Thanks.

I've also read that if a user knows how far they are from UTC, they can determine how long to let the device run before attempting the restore or reset. Seems from the explanations that I have read. If you are in the minus areas of UTC, like I am in the Central Time Zone in the US (-6 hours), it is the action of putting UNIX into negative time that is bricking the device. Letting it run for 7 hours may put it back into the positive time setting, but that just seems to involved for me.

I also like how everyone is saying that they "accidently" set that date. Given what I have read, you have to work rather hard to get it that far back due to the restrictions on how the dates are displayed on the iPhone.

Several other sites (PC Mag, the Guardian, CNET) have reported that making an appointment with Apple will take care of it (Apple will disconnect the battery briefly to clear the stuck system clock - that date results in a less than zero GMT+offset number in firmware for the clock which fubar's iOS's boot sequence).

ChrisJ4203 wrote:

 

I've also read that if a user knows how far they are from UTC, they can determine how long to let the device run before attempting the restore or reset. Seems from the explanations that I have read. If you are in the minus areas of UTC, like I am in the Central Time Zone in the US (-6 hours), it is the action of putting UNIX into negative time that is bricking the device. Letting it run for 7 hours may put it back into the positive time setting, but that just seems to involved for me.

Once upon a time, my then significant other took a job in Japan. For the life of me, I could never get the time thing figured out. I never knew when to call him.

I did the same dumb thing but luckily it is not unfixable as reports have stated. The DFU fix seems to be working for some people the other option is to take it to an Apple Store and see if they can restore the phone which luckily they were able to do for me.

My son did this today after seeing a meme on iFunny that told him it would be a cool way to get an older apple icon on the screen.  His device is now toast.  I'm going to try a DFU and if that doesn't work, I was planning on upgrading my 6 to a 6s anyway and recycle my 6 to him... so I may do it that way. But I can confirm this is a real issue.

I was in Korea for a couple of weeks with the Army Reserve back in 1998, and my kids were still very young. The time difference was 15 hours, and it was very strange to them to understand that when they were getting up for school, it was time for me to go to bed.