Some iPhone 5 users report incorrect automatic date and time settings

Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2014
A number of iPhone 5 owners, especially those on U.S. network Verizon, are complaining of an issue where the incorrect day and time is displayed, sometimes jumping weeks ahead or behind the actual date.

iPhone 5 Automatic Time
Automatic time setting on AT&T iPhone 5.


According to multiple posts on Apple's Support Communities forum, a number of iPhone 5 users are experiencing what appears to be a problem with the handset's automatic date and time setting feature.

It is suspected that the issue may lie in the handset's compatibility with Verizon's network, as most of the reports on the 21-page thread come from that carrier's subscribership.

The bug was initially reported on Sept. 24, the iPhone 5's first day of availability, and subsequent posts citing similar timing-related difficulties have been streaming in ever since. There have been no reports of time-shifting with other iPhone models, including those upgraded to iOS 6.

While the exact cause of problem is unknown, speculation points to a bug with how the timing code embedded in Verizon's CDMA cell network is handled.

In order to operate properly, all CDMA cell towers transmit a time signal based on data from an on-site GPS receiver, allowing the network to stay in synchronization. It is possible that either Apple's handset is somehow misinterpreting the time signals, or timing data from certain Verizon cell towers is faulty, though at this point the theories are mere conjecture.

Forum members say both Apple and Verizon are aware of the iPhone 5's time-shifting issue, however no clear remedies were offered to the few who contacted the companies' customer support staff. Some have found limited success in performing a factory reset, but the method is not a sure-fire solution.

It appears that each party is placing blame on the other, further confusing the situation. Apple forum member "dtenberge" claims to have been contacted by a "Senior iOS Advisor" who said, "I just got a response from our Engineers, at this time we cannot see anything wrong on our end, they did suggest that you contact Verizon and open up a "ticket" and have them look into it."

Another member, Janine Costanzo, said, "We just called Verizon, and they said they've had some reports of this problem, but it's nothing on their end. They checked the cell towers in our area (SF Bay Area) and the time is right on them. They said it's likely a software issue on Apple's end, so we should call Apple and tell them the problem and hope that they release a software fix for it."

AppleInsider reached out to both Apple and Verizon for comment, but the companies did not immediately respond.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34


    At least the time is incorrect, tastefully.

  • Reply 2 of 34
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    You read it here first, folks.

    The iPhone 5 has a new feature-not-bug called 'time-travel'!
  • Reply 3 of 34
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Time-gate
    :no:
  • Reply 4 of 34
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Why does this sort of bug keep popping up. This seems like something Apple should have gotten a firm grasp of decades ago.
  • Reply 5 of 34
    This happened to me a week ago ! I thought it was just a random glitch but hasn't gone away
  • Reply 6 of 34
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member


    Well obviously, if 4G is faster and you have faster Internet then you'd also have faster Internet time.


     


    I call this the scientific theory of stupidity.

  • Reply 7 of 34
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member


    Could this be a conflict caused by the gps losing ephemeris data? The GPS chip should keep accurate time to one billionth of a second, otherwise it won't work.

  • Reply 8 of 34


    I've been experiencing this. It's some kind of interaction between the Verizon network and the electronics inside the iPhone. At first I thought the small shifts in time and date were errors, then I came to see that the ahead-of-its-time sophisticated technology of the iPhone was actually displacing me temporally within the time-space continuum. 


     


    At first it was annoying to have to wait for it to reset itself back to my real timeline. But then I began to see some advantages. Mostly it was helpful to see the results of some of my dumb actions, and was able to make useful adjustments. But a peek now and then into the future has enabled me to make smarter stock trades.


     


    For example, dump your MSFT as fast as you can. APPL is going to go through the roof, so sell your children to slavers, take the money and buy APPL. You'll be able to buy your kids back before Christmas and have a tidy profit. Of course if you can hold out cashing in the stock for over a year, you will be massively rich, but your kids won't speak to you again.


     


    Naturally you all really want to hear about what Apple will be releasing in 2013 and not all this boring stock talk. There will be a new iDevice that will play off what Apple has been able to learn from this Verizon/iPhone phenomenon. Only a few million will make it to the public before the Foxconn factory implodes into a tiny black spot about one mm diameter. Here's how to make sure you are one of the few to get your hands on one of these iPups. I was only able to get mine afte.... wait, heear I goooo agaiiiinnnnnnnnnn......

  • Reply 9 of 34
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AnalogJack View Post


    Could this be a conflict caused by the gps losing ephemeris data? The GPS chip should keep accurate time to one billionth of a second, otherwise it won't work.



     


    I don't think it uses GPS. I remember having this feature long time ago with phones without GPS. I believe the phones sync the time through the cell provider.

  • Reply 10 of 34
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member


    "It is suspected that the issue may lie in the handset's compatibility with Verizon's network"...  I wonder if Verizon's billing is compatible with Verizon's network?


     


    "incorrect day and time is displayed, sometimes jumping weeks ahead or behind the actual date."... might explain billing issues. image


    /


    /

  • Reply 11 of 34
    ipenipen Posts: 410member


    Again, glad to stay with 4s and didn't upgrade.  But I'm with ATT anyway.  Seems like Apple is testing to see how many problems the iphone can have w/o sales going down.  Comparing to 4s, 5 does seem to have a lot more problems...  But Apple have to try harder next time with 5s or 6 because people are still snatching up 5 like no tomorrow.

  • Reply 12 of 34
    mcrsmcrs Posts: 172member


    I love this i-gadget users' mentality. If something goes wrong, be it software or hardware, the first thought that comes to their mind is: Maybe it's just me? Wow..., I mean wow... and wow, i.e. Job's famous "three last words". Jobs and Apple have done an excellent job of brainwashing all their i-gadgetees into thinking that when something goes wrong with their gadgets, it's never Apple's problems but always their users' mistakes. There are bugs being implanted inside each and everyone of i-gadgetees' brains, crawling out of i-gadgets at night and penetrating their owners body through their ears, nose and other cavities I dare not even mention, and these bugs eventually, slowly but surely, are eating parts of their brains, sort of explaining some of their self-sacrificing behaviors.

  • Reply 13 of 34

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post



    Time-gate

    image


    Timegate SG-1.

  • Reply 14 of 34
    solipsismx wrote: »
    Why does this sort of bug keep popping up. This seems like something Apple should have gotten a firm grasp of decades ago.

    If the time is a carrier software issue and they aren't properly fixing it then how is that an Apple issue. They don't control the carriers and towers
  • Reply 15 of 34
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    Why does this sort of bug keep popping up. This seems like something Apple should have gotten a firm grasp of decades ago.




    If the time is a carrier software issue and they aren't properly fixing it then how is that an Apple issue. They don't control the carriers and towers


    Good pont. A number of months back a similar problem happened to me on AT&T where the time was off by an hour ot so. I called them about it an they acknowledged it was a regional issue to Southern California. Nevertheless the phone is programmed to get its date info from the carrier.

  • Reply 16 of 34
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member


    Appleinside - "Apple forum member "dtenberge" claims to have been contacted by a "Senior iOS Advisor" who said, "I just got a response from our Engineers, at this time we cannot see anything wrong on our end, they did suggest that you contact Verizon and open up a "ticket" and have them look into it."


     


    Can't believe this someone has a direct line to a senior iOS advisor.


     


    But what is a Senior iOS Advisor?


     


    Could it be one of the Gateskeepers?

  • Reply 17 of 34
    [INDENT][/INDENT]
    Now I know, why my iP5 hasn't arrived yet even after 3 weeks. It got stuck in it's own space time continuum.
    I really hope Apple is going to fix this soon.
  • Reply 18 of 34
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/14710/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]

    Must've just made a call, I'm sure.
    -----
    What about newly created appointments in the Calendar? Do they move tot he correct date & time once the phone resets to the correct date & time?

    ---
    @Macky the Macky
    APPL is Appell Pete Corp
    AAPL is Apple, Inc.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    iTunes calls my iPhone 5 an iPhone 4S, I think that is due to my activating it the day before the 21st in Cupertino time, due to my being in Australia.

    Oh well, it's no big deal.
  • Reply 20 of 34


    Not sure why my previous post disappeared. I wrote that I have had this problem on my iPhone 4 and 4S for 1-1½ years. Not sure when it stopped working but now I just manually set the time (which is a problem as I travel a lot).

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