A hoax is gaining popularity online to set your iPhone to a "Retro Mode," but if you try it, you will damage your iPhone.

According to Consumerist, there is a rumor going around that you can set the date on your iPhone to January 1st, 1970, reboot your phone, and unlock a secret "Retro Mode." Supposedly it has the old rainbow colored Apple logo, and a bunch of other stuff.

But there are two problems:

  • First, it's a hoax.  Apple wasn't founded until 1976, so a 1970 retro mode wouldn't even make sense.
  • Second, and even worse, you'll permanently destroy your phone if you do it.

When you set your date back that far, it screws up the software in your phone and crashes it for good.

Think of it as the Y2K bug of iPhones.

There's a chance they can fix it at the Apple Store, but you'll probably just have to buy a new one.

Fortunately, it's difficult to set your phone date back that far.  To do it, you have to do a lot of long, boring scrolling, which means you can't really do this by accident.

 

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