Starting November 3, 2019, some iPhone and iPad models introduced in 2012 and earlier will require an iOS update to maintain accurate GPS location and keep the correct date and time. This is due to the GPS time rollover issue that began affecting GPS-enabled products from other manufacturers on April 6, 2019. Affected Apple devices are not impacted until November 3, 2019.
Apple advises, “If you have one of the devices listed below, it’s especially important to update your device’s software before November 3, 2019 to make sure that its GPS, date, and time continue to work properly. If you don’t update to the newest version of iOS available for your device before November 3, 2019, some models 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 email — might not work.”
Update to iOS 9.3.6:
• iPhone 4s
• iPad mini (1st generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
Update to iOS 10.3.4:
• iPhone 5
• iPad (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
This issue does not affect iPod touch or any iPad models that have Wi-Fi only. It also doesn’t affect iOS devices newer than those specifically mentioned above.
This is crazy. The GPS rollover has been a known issue since the 1990s. The last rollover was on 21/22 August 1999. The most recent rollover was on 6/7 April 2019. The next rollover will be on 20/21 November 2038. Unless the USAF changes the time format and gets everyone to adopt and update to a different time format, this sequence will continue.
Apple not having their software set up to properly adjust for this and thus now require updates/patches is truly asinine.