iPhone 5 time and date issues

Update from Oregon...called AppleCare on Thursday. They were aware of the problem and suggested I get a replacement phone (based on this problem and some other issues).

Got one at the apple store that afternoon. The guy at the Genius Bar said only one other person has come in about the problem. Ironically, HIS phone was doing it too, though he wasn't concerned. He said it was an issue of the phone loosing connection with the cell tower and the internal clock getting confused.

I haven't had the problem occur yet on the new phone. I have Auto Update Time Zone turned off in Date and Time, Setting Time Zone off in Privacy /Location Services/System Services, and Time Zone Support turned off for all of my email based calendars. I'm cautiously optimistic.

I had an iPhone 5 from launch day. I returned it to Apple for a new iPhone 5 because it had a scratch on it. The new iPhone I got from Apple also started doing the same thing with the time. Don't be surprised when your new one starts doing it also.

It's really cool that the Apple store guy could be so nonchalant about the whole thing, but I can't. Too many things that I use my phone for are broken or no longer reliable. I've already been the route of replacing one phone to no avail. I'm going to have to believe there's got to be a real fix Apple and Verizon are going to have to reach.

This phone has definitely lost the "magic" for me now.

I'm in California with Verizon and have had the time and date display incorrectly for me twice. Once was at home using my WIFI and once while in town. Both times, shutting down my phone and restarting it solved the issue....until it occurred again a day latter. I'll try the Airplane mode next time. All my meeting reminders as well as my alarm clock are on this phone so I hope there is a fix very soon.

Black 32g through Verizon.

I am a Verizon customer and while in Olympia last week I noticed my phone time was off by several hours. Rebooting my phone fixed it and it hasn't happened again yet. I also had to reboot my phone one other time because I had a voice message and it wouldn't play until after a reboot. Now I am wondering if I have a defective phone or if it is just a software issue. I'm hoping either Verizon or Apple admit there is a problem and let customers know there will be a fix.

I too have been experiencing the same problem this past week;

iPhone 5, Black, 64g, Verizon

I was experiencing this past week, so I stopped by the Verizon store I got it from on launch day. Yesterday, the date was 9-23-12 and the time was off by 16 hours. All the guy did was adjust the settings, from Automatic detect to manual.

On my phone I noticed the date and time did not get screwed up at home. It is always when I travel more than 5 or so miles from home. I am guessing the phone is in contact with different towers at each time I am on the road. At this time the phone goes skitzo and bipolar then in return I have the wrong date and time. Just a guess.

Just got back from the Pioneer Place Apple Store Genius Appointment. Before I could even explain, he asked, "Verizon iPhone 5 time and date all screwy?" I replied, "Yes." Here's what he said:

Verizon reps came into the Apple Store to explain that there will be some complaints. Apparently they have some older towers that "arent communicating with certain phones correctly." Something that has to do with the time/date communcations and a users phone number and unique ID number. He said that Verizon is working hard to fix it and that the problem affects about 6% of Verizon iPhone 5 users. GB size or color doesnt matter.

The genius rep offered to replace my phone if I wanted to, but he advised that even some users are still getting new phones with the same problem. From what Verizon has said, the problem isn't hardware, its software.

If you havent already, update the carrier settings and do a network settings reset. He said to give it about another week or two, and doing a daily check for carrier updates. He suggested to come in and get a new phone after that if the problem still persists - but that he'd "hate to start a service record on a brand new phone if its not a hardware issue."

So, Im going to wait another week or two and do what he suggested - give Verizon some time to work on this. Ill keep you all updated.

Also... the downtown Portland Apple store has had about 4-5 people come in today, on a very busy Saturday, reporting the problem. Not very many with how many phones are out there. We're the unlucky ones I guess... Ill keep you posted.

I had the problem again today this time while in Tumwater which is a few miles from Olympia. My date went back to September 24th and the time was way off too. Turning on and then off airplane mode fixed it. I would really like to know what is causing the problem because I only have two more days left to take back my new iphone 5 to Verizon before I'm stuck with it. My iPhone 4S never gave me problems and I wish now I would have just kept it.

A frustrated Verizon/Apple customer.

This has to be a tower issue. I am in Seattle and totally had the issue until about 3 Amy's ago. Seems to be all good now. If it as phone everyone would have this issue. Hopefully Verizon is finally handling this.

firefighterjeff wrote:

Hey guys - go to page 12 (just a few posts ago) and read my update. 🙂

Are you only having issues with date/time or is iMessage and FaceTime and APN breaking for you as well in these cases?

I'm only experiencing date and time issues. I've not noticed any issues other than an occasional iMessage going through as a standard SMS (green vs blue) even with full signal or wifi.

An interesting thing happened today... The time and date changed on its own to some random, screwy setting even with "set time/date automatically" turned off. I corrected it by switching auto settings on, toggling airplane mode on/off, then unselecting auto date/time.

I tweeted my complaints the other day and a Verizon drone told me to do the network reset. It worked for almost two days. Now the time is off again. So the network reset doesn't solve the problem. Don't waste your time because it deletes all of your network passwords.

I find it hard to believe that this issue is only attributed to Verizon. Are other devices having this problem on the Verizon network. If not then Apple also must have some responsibility in solving this problem. I also think that it is ridiculous that this problem has been occurring for some since the day the phone arrived and there is no real solution. And still no one in the tech world seem to be talking about it. I have a fancy new phone that has to have it's time set manually like a wrist watch.....and most of the functions of the device do not work when the time is incorrectly set.

I am in Portland, Oregon and went to the Verizon store at 185th and Hwy26 today about this issue. The tech claimed he was clueless; he had never heard about this issue before me. I have an iPhone5, black, 64 since last Thursday. I get bad times/dates at no particular time. The first time I noticed it, I was in the car. The next time, I was at home and picked up the phone off the kitchen counter. The next time I went to bed at night and the time was correct. This morning when I woke up, it was 5 hours behind. At home, the phone would have been using WiFi.

I haven't noticed not being able to text, etc. when the time is off but then, I haven't tried. Trying to manually change or turn auto settings off did not correct the time. Powering completely off and then back on resets the time/date as well as turning the Airplane Mode "on" for 20-ish seconds and then turning it off. While this is more convenient than a complete power down/on its still no good to be able to dependably use the alarm.

I'll go by the Apple Store (Washington Square) tomorrow (less crowded) and see what they have to say there.

Note: when the Verizon guy said he had never heard of this I asked him, "Doesn't Verizon ever talk to you guys out in the retail stores? Google it - this problem is all over the internet. So far, everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else." He registered it in the computer.

Note: my daughters new iPhone has not had this problem...so far.

Brief note: settting up my Yahoo email account also would not work by clicking "Yahoo" on the menu. I had to set it up thru "Other". Also an internet chatted about problem.

There is no setting toggled on or off that I've been able to manipulate that's made my phone not switch the time and date on me. Turning off "time zone" setting in locations and turning off "auto set time/date" has had no effect. If you have a phone that shifts time and date then there is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it. No amount of resetting network connections or restoring or setting up as a new phone will stop it. It's Time Warp-Gate.

For those with persistent and frequent time shifts, have you tried leaving the phone in airplane mode? Maybe overnight so it wouldn't be too inconvenient. I think that's the only way to completely disconnect from the cell network. This might confirm if it is truly an issue with Verizon or the phone.

Many report the problem with wifi on, but isn't the phone still connected to the cell network for phone calls?