Do you still love your iPhone 5? Well, you've got six more days to make sure that you get to keep online functions such as the App Store, email, iCloud, Safari browsing, and the like.
Since releasing bug-fix updates back in July, Apple has been sending out full-screen alerts warning iPhone 5 users to update their Operating System (OS) to the latest iOS 10.3.4 before 12:00 A.M. UTC on Nov. 3. This is in accordance with the Global Positioning System (GPS) time rollover that happened last April 6 that affected devices relying on date and time to tell your location.
The GPS technology works by using a time and date function, which defines a 10-bit number referred to as a "week number" or WN, which means every 1,024 weeks, the WN that is transmitted resets to zero. Because of this, the devices which are relatively older and are manufactured without accounting for the rollover are suffering from the same issue.
If you don't update, you won't be able to go online.
According to Apple, failure to update your iPhone 5 before the said date would totally prevent the device from connecting to the internet, thereby preventing Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates or iCloud backup. However, your device can still be updated after Nov. 3 by connecting it to a computer, backing up your files, and restoring it with iTunes on a PC or Mac.
Planned Obsolecence
Just last year, the tech giant Apple was fined €10m in Italy after being found guilty of "planned obsolescence" by the nation's competition authority. Planned obsolescence is the intentional shortening of a smartphone's lifespan by its manufacturer. It is usually done by releasing updates that generally slow down a phone's performance, which forces you to upgrade to a better one or the latest model. With the iPhone 5 having a non removable-battery and practically everlasting, this new update could be another way for Apple to make older models obsolete.
How to Update
To update your iOS, you can go to Settings > General then Software Update. Additionally, to check if the update was done successfully, go to Settings > General > About. If the update was a success, the number beside software version should be iOS 10.3.4 for iPhone 5 and iPad 4th generation while iOS 9.3.6 for iPhone 4s, iPad mini, iPad 2, and iPad 3rd generation. Additionally, it must be noted that this issue doesn't affect any newer devices, iPad models with the Wi-Fi only function, and iPod touch.
