You may have heard about the IOS 9 bricks occuring recently through changing the date on an IOS 9 device to January 1, 1970. Tech website Ars Technica reports that the fault occurs because January 1, 1970, is the first day of Unix time. Unix-like systems (such as the iPhone) keep track of the time in terms of the number of seconds that have passed since that first day. By changing the date back, you've set yourself before the beginning of time! Various users across multiple forums have stated that waiting long enough will have the clock set as a positive integer rather than the negative integer you set it to. They have also said that replacing the sim card with another one will fix the problem. However, I can confirm that a guaranteed way to fix this horrible error is to remove all power from the device. This can be done in two ways.
1.) Waiting. If you wait for long enough past the icon to charge your iPhone, it will die and there will be no power left in the system. It may take a few days to reach this point though.
2.) Removing the battery. Removing the battery entirely will cause the system to reset the time.
If you've been affected by this error, don't be convinced that you're entirely bricked or that you must take it to an apple store, drain the device of all power and you'll be okay.
Thorough explanation and how-to
1.) Waiting. If you wait for long enough past the icon to charge your iPhone, it will die and there will be no power left in the system. It may take a few days to reach this point though.
2.) Removing the battery. Removing the battery entirely will cause the system to reset the time.
If you've been affected by this error, don't be convinced that you're entirely bricked or that you must take it to an apple store, drain the device of all power and you'll be okay.
Thorough explanation and how-to
