Apple have recently announced there is a GPS bug in old iOS versions which means that GPS, date and time settings may stop working on 3rd November (Basically an internal GPS counter resets to 0 on that day, and it sounds like their code doesn’t take this into account). After that date, if affected, your device could stop working.
Read on to find out what to do.
Update. Just do it anyway. Do it now.
OK let’s just get this out of the way first: you should be keeping your operating system up to date. So even if you are not affected by this bug, if you need to apply an update – do it! This ensures you have the latest security patches etc, so it’s really important!
What devices are affected?
The iPhone 5 and iPad (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular need to be updated to 10.3.4
The iPhone 4s, iPad mini (1st generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular (CDMA models only), iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular need to be updated to 9.3.6
What happens if I don’t update?
If you don’t update you might not be able to maintain an accurate GPS position. And functions that rely on the correct date and time, such as syncing with iCloud and fetching emails, might not work. You also might not be able to receive over the air updates – you may need to connect to iTunes or Finder via a tethered connection to do this.
Plus, as I said before, you really should update anyway! So don’t delay – check now to see if you have an update pending!
You can read more about what Apple have to say about this bug here.
How do I Update my iOS?
Apple have a guide on how to do this which is very good. First take a backup then download and install any updates from ‘Settings’. Usually this is problem free, but if you do have issues, then Apple also link to common problems and how to solve them.
