iPhone crashing? Apple fixes iOS date bug wreaking havoc on December 2

A date bug in iOS 11.1.2 appears to be causing iPhone devices to crash all around the world as local time-zones roll into December 2.

Update: Apple has since released iOS 11.2, which fixes this problem. There’s also a support document that details what to do if this issue occurs for you. The document reads:

“If your device with iOS 11 unexpectedly restarts repeatedly on or after December 2, 2017, learn what to do. Try to update your device to iOS 11.2 After you tap Download and Install, the download will continue even if your device restarts. Wait for the update to complete.”

If you can’t update your device, Apple recommends turning off notifications for all of the apps on your device until you can make the software upgrade. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Tap Settings > Notifications

2. Tap an app, then turn off Allow Notifications. Repeat this step for each app

3. Update your device to iOS 11.2

4. After updating, tap Settings > Notifications and turn Allow Notifications on again for each app

Original Article:

This morning, social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit are ablaze with irate messages from iPhone owners who report that their devices keep crashing.

After much investigation – courtesy of a thread on the iPhone subreddit – it appears that the issue relates to repeat time-based notifications. For instance, if an app on your phone is set to issue a daily reminder, and this remind is tied to the local time on your phone (i.e. not issued from a server) then it should crash your handset.

Iphone keeps crashing into a black screen then it resets. It keeps happening every minute or so. Already tried hard reset, analytics and a few other solutions, obviously none worked. Iphone7, up to date. This is really insane! New bug? @AppleSupport pic.twitter.com/5A77HjHZBY

— Razieh Al (@RaziehAl) December 1, 2017

Curiously, the issue only seems to be affecting users for whom the local time has passed 12:15am on December 2, 2017. Setting the handset back to before this time appears to resolve the issue, even as close to the mark as 12:14am.

There are some potential fixes floating around, as follows:

If your #iPhone is crashing every few minutes (like mine was) try turning off background app refresh. Fixed it for me. #Apple have escalated issue to engineers at Cupertino and hope to have firmware update out soon to resolve. #iphonecrash

— Simon Hatfield (@haty1) December 1, 2017

PSA from staff: if you have an iPhone, it will likely crash due to a date bug when date rolls over to 2 December, depending on time zone.

The temp fix is to manually set date/time to a date prior to 2 Dec. This will make some apps unusable due to date checks on server.

— J (@jeremybank) December 2, 2017

Unfortunately, these fixes aren’t ideal, as they will impact other aspects of your iPhone’s functionality. It seems that the only real hope is waiting for Apple to issue a hot-fix that resolves the bug en masse for everyone.

The company’s Twitter support page is being inundated with users bemoaning iPhone crashes, but Apple is remaining coy about the issue so far, responding to one user with: “Relying on your iPhone is vital and we understand the concern to ensure your iPhone is working as expected. Please DM us the iOS version that’s currently installed on your iPhone and we’ll go from there.”

We’ve asked Apple for comment and will update this article with any response.

Related: iPhone 9

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