Apple acknowledges 1970 date bug, says a fix coming with the next update

The iPhone maker says a fix to the ‘1970’ date bug that’s bricking iOS devices will arrive in the next iOS update

The iPhone maker says a fix to the 1970 date bug that’s bricking iOS devices will arrive in the next iOS update (Apple)

Earlier, Error 53 was literally killing iPhones. Now it's the '1970' bug that is harassing Apple users worldwide. No minor trouble this: the bug can render your iOS device useless. After users began complaining about the glitch last week, Apple said it was working on a solution and would take care of the bug in its next iOS update.

"Manually changing the date to May 1970 or earlier can prevent your iOS device from turning on after a restart. An upcoming software update will prevent this issue from affecting iOS devices. If you have this issue, contact Apple Support," an official statement read.

iOS users reported that changing the time zone on their iPhone, iPad or the latest iPod was bricking their devices. What is worse is that even a factory reset isn't fixing the problem. Instead a physical repair is required.

The bug appears to affect iOS devices running on 64-bit chipsets, implying the iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini 2 and later devices are affected.

If are a victim of the '1970' bug and have accidentally bricked your iOS device, we suggest you pay a visit to your nearest authorised Apple service centre.