More specifically, changing the date to January 1, 1970 will supposedly brick your device to the point that it can not be recovered unless you manually disassemble the device and disconnect the logic board from the battery.
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Changing the Date & Time settings to that fateful date will disable your device, Apple users report.
One user in Beijing noted that their phone did not “brick”, and it was suggested this was because the user was ahead of GMT, their internal clock did not drop below zero and therefore crash after the reset.
January 1, 1970 is the earliest date you can set your iPhone to. With this easter egg, warp back in time with a class Macintosh theme to relive the magic on your iPhone.
If, however, you’re in a position where something has broken in your iPhone, physically, and you need to get it repaired from this point forward, be aware: the fix might be the break.
Apple says it’s looking into the bug. Techie commenters on Reddit and elsewhere note that’s the start of Unix time, a way for developers to track time as a running total of seconds.
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According to The Telegraph, The bug renders useless any iOS device with a 64 bit processor including the iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus, the iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 3 and 4, and the sixth-generation iPod Touch. It’ll brick your device, and there’s no fix for it: even Apple’s own Geniuses can’t figure out how to fix it, and you’ll have to get the phone completely replaced.
