5 ms·

Not permanently. Some report that it fixes itself after time, but the most widely accepted solution is to let your iPhone battery die. It seems to fix this bug

by Monory 11y ago

Not permanently. Some report that it fixes itself after time, but the most widely accepted solution is to let your iPhone battery die. It seems to fix this bug every time. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7458347 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7458347

dang 11y ago
OK, since "brick" implies permanent, we've replaced that with "disables" above.
raldi 11y ago
Sounds a lot like the Dec 31, 2008 Zune bug.
- waiseristy 11y ago
  The Zune bug was persistent though, and caused by the leapyear. Even if the battery drained it went straight to bootlock. But yeah, it did fix itself at midnight.
kazinator 11y ago
So simply pulling and re-inserting the battery is not effective every time?
- gsnedders 11y ago
  You can't do that without violating the warranty.
  - colejohnson66 11y ago
    True, but because there's no "warranty void if removed" stickers inside, you could open up the iPhone, unplug and replug(?) the battery, and close it up. Apple wouldn't be able to tell. Heck, I've replaced batteries in iPhones and they were taken into the store for other issues and they were covered under the warranty w/o a problem. So, AFAIK, there's no warranty monitor to tell if the battery had been removed because that would almost certainly have false positives with phones that have fully depleted batteries. Sure, if you replace the pentalobular screws with the Phillips from iFixIt, they'd know you opened it, but if you put the pentalobular ones back on before going in, they won't be able to tell.
    - mikeash 11y ago
      It doesn't matter anyway, they can't void your warranty just because you did some work on your phone. If you break something then of course that wouldn't be covered, but the warranty would still apply to everything else.
- engi_nerd 11y ago
  How do you "simply pull and re-insert" an iPhone battery?
  - kazinator 11y ago
    No idea; not an Apple user.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
      - iopq 11y ago
        Really? I had a Nano and I was able to open it with a soft plastic knife. Does Apple really not allow you to replace your own battery?
      - natch 11y ago
        The phone is not "glued" shut. It's shut with tiny torx screws that are near the lightning connector.
        anonymfus 11y ago
        >tiny torx screws No, they are now pentalobe screws.
        natch 11y ago
        That they are. Thanks for the correction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw
      - dzhiurgis 11y ago
        I am not sure about iPhones but opened all of my Macs before, sometimes to do some upgrades or clean up. It never voided warranty. All three had some work done by Apple. As long as you do not screw up yourself something during repair, it is fine. I would expect majority of HN population to be able to follow step by step guides online.
- Monory 11y ago
  I heard this works, too. Didn't mention because too difficult.
imaginenore 11y ago
I find that more interesting than the bug itself. Why battery dying fixes the issue? Does that reset the time? And if it does, then to what?
- kuschku 11y ago
  It’s not that – but "waiting until the time isn’t negative anymore" fixes it.
- speeder 11y ago
  When the iPod I am using as test device lost battery, it reseted to 1970, but some months later than january.
- hrrsn 11y ago
  I fix iPhones. The battery needs to be really, really dead before it'll fix the issue. When a battery is reconnected the internal date is reset back to 0 (Jan 1 1970) until the phone connects to a cellular network/NTP server.
  - kiliankoe 11y ago
    Wouldn't that result in the same outcome though? I find it more likely that the clock is reset to a more "sane" time - like Laforet stated as being "well into the 2000s".
    - Macha 11y ago
      When I least had an iPod touch, pretty sure it reset to 1/1/07
- Laforet 11y ago
  Before non-removable battery became mainstream, most phones had a small internal battery to keep the internal clock ticking when the battery is being swapped. This is not unlike the CMOS battery found on PC motherboards. iPhones does not need this backup power since the battery is always attached. Hence in case the battery becomes completely drained the internal clock will reset. I can't recall what the default time iOS resorts to after a total power loss but IIRC it was a date well into the 2000s.

by Monory 11y ago

dang 11y ago

OK, since "brick" implies permanent, we've replaced that with "disables" above.

raldi 11y ago

Sounds a lot like the Dec 31, 2008 Zune bug.

waiseristy 11y ago
The Zune bug was persistent though, and caused by the leapyear. Even if the battery drained it went straight to bootlock. But yeah, it did fix itself at midnight.

kazinator 11y ago

So simply pulling and re-inserting the battery is not effective every time?

gsnedders 11y ago
You can't do that without violating the warranty.
- colejohnson66 11y ago
  True, but because there's no "warranty void if removed" stickers inside, you could open up the iPhone, unplug and replug(?) the battery, and close it up. Apple wouldn't be able to tell. Heck, I've replaced batteries in iPhones and they were taken into the store for other issues and they were covered under the warranty w/o a problem. So, AFAIK, there's no warranty monitor to tell if the battery had been removed because that would almost certainly have false positives with phones that have fully depleted batteries. Sure, if you replace the pentalobular screws with the Phillips from iFixIt, they'd know you opened it, but if you put the pentalobular ones back on before going in, they won't be able to tell.
  - mikeash 11y ago
    It doesn't matter anyway, they can't void your warranty just because you did some work on your phone. If you break something then of course that wouldn't be covered, but the warranty would still apply to everything else.
engi_nerd 11y ago
How do you "simply pull and re-insert" an iPhone battery?
- kazinator 11y ago
  No idea; not an Apple user.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
    - iopq 11y ago
      Really? I had a Nano and I was able to open it with a soft plastic knife. Does Apple really not allow you to replace your own battery?
    - natch 11y ago
      The phone is not "glued" shut. It's shut with tiny torx screws that are near the lightning connector.
      - anonymfus 11y ago
        >tiny torx screws No, they are now pentalobe screws.
        natch 11y ago
        That they are. Thanks for the correction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw
    - dzhiurgis 11y ago
      I am not sure about iPhones but opened all of my Macs before, sometimes to do some upgrades or clean up. It never voided warranty. All three had some work done by Apple. As long as you do not screw up yourself something during repair, it is fine. I would expect majority of HN population to be able to follow step by step guides online.
Monory 11y ago
I heard this works, too. Didn't mention because too difficult.

imaginenore 11y ago

I find that more interesting than the bug itself. Why battery dying fixes the issue? Does that reset the time? And if it does, then to what?

kuschku 11y ago
It’s not that – but "waiting until the time isn’t negative anymore" fixes it.
speeder 11y ago
When the iPod I am using as test device lost battery, it reseted to 1970, but some months later than january.
hrrsn 11y ago
I fix iPhones. The battery needs to be really, really dead before it'll fix the issue. When a battery is reconnected the internal date is reset back to 0 (Jan 1 1970) until the phone connects to a cellular network/NTP server.
- kiliankoe 11y ago
  Wouldn't that result in the same outcome though? I find it more likely that the clock is reset to a more "sane" time - like Laforet stated as being "well into the 2000s".
  - Macha 11y ago
    When I least had an iPod touch, pretty sure it reset to 1/1/07
Laforet 11y ago
Before non-removable battery became mainstream, most phones had a small internal battery to keep the internal clock ticking when the battery is being swapped. This is not unlike the CMOS battery found on PC motherboards. iPhones does not need this backup power since the battery is always attached. Hence in case the battery becomes completely drained the internal clock will reset. I can't recall what the default time iOS resorts to after a total power loss but IIRC it was a date well into the 2000s.