If you have an iPhone 5, you will have to update to iOS 10.3.4 before Sunday 3rd November, because if you don’t, your device will be knocked offline. To avoid this, your iPhone will need iOS 10.3.4.
The problem seems to be a ‘GPS time rollover issue’. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that if you don’t update, your problems will be limited to location-based services such as Google Maps or Apple Maps – it’s much wider.
If it’s not updated by this coming Sunday, your iPhone 5 will also be unable to run services such as the App Store, iCloud or even web browsing.
To calculate your location, GPS connectivity needs the correct time and date settings. This system resets itself every 20 years, and 3rd November will be such a reset date.
The only problem is that older iPhones can’t do this reset unless the software is updated. Apple warned earlier this year that certain iOS devices built in 2012 or before could be affected.
The issue began impacting iPad and iPhone models in April, and now the iPhone 5 as well as the fourth-generation iPad might be affected if their software isn’t updated.
According to the notice released by Apple, these devices need to be updated before 12am UTC on 3rd November 2019 to continue using services that depend on the correct time and date.
After the deadline, the software will remain available, but backup and restore services will be limited to computers, not the cloud.
In this particular case, it doesn’t seem as if device owners have any choice: once the device loses connection to iCloud, the App Store and web browsing, one might just as well give it to the kids to play with. Besides that, an updated phone is more secure and reliable to begin with anyway.