Phone date can only be set to 2038? There is a big problem behind this...

When is the end of the world? This nonsense question has always had all sorts of bizarre answers. When you open the phone system settings (not the calendar), turn off the automatic time setting, and swipe the number in the future direction, you will find that the time stops at 2038.

Xiaomi and Huawei can be set to December 31, 2037, and the iPhone is only two days longer

Not just on phones, but on computers, when you try to adjust the time from 2037 upwards, you will find that no matter how much you press the set button, the date will not continue to change.

When the date is adjusted beyond 2038, it will stop on January 1, 2038

What exactly will happen in 2038? Why can't various devices "surpass" 2038? Search the Internet for 2038, and you can also find someone who has set up a countdown page. This includes a more precise time: January 19, 2038 3:14:7. And in the next second, your electronic device will travel back to 1901.

The famous "2038 problem" will break out at this moment.

By the time the "2038 problem" occurs, there is...

In 2038, time "destroys" the system

The problem occurs one second after Jan 19, 2038 3:14:7. 03:14:08 on this day will not come, you will be greeted at 20:45:52 on December 13, 1901.

Using a script to simulate the system time, there will be time jumps (platform Debian GNU/Linux (kernel 2.4.22))丨William Porquet/deepsky.com

For many electronic devices, this is a devastating blow. The creation and modification of files, the operation of application software, the synchronization of network systems... As a key value, time plays an absolutely important role in the entire electronic system. Therefore, for a while, Siri, the voice assistant of Apple's mobile phone, also regarded this day as "the end of the world". Why this day? Key words in Siri's answer also give the answer.

Early Siri's answer to the end of the world question (this answer is no longer available in the new version of the system)

Unix, 32-bit, these two words make this day in 2038 doomed. Unix is ​​an operating system. The timing method in this system is based on January 1, 1970 00:00:00, and increases or decreases in seconds. For example, until 0:00 on January 1, 2022, only need to add 1640966400 seconds to the base value. And the Android and Apple systems we are using now belong to Unix-like systems and use the same scheme.

Electronic systems store data using 0s and 1s, or binary. If only 1 digit is used, only 0 and 1 can be represented; if 2 digits are used, 00, 01, 10, and 11 can be used to represent the four numbers 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively. As the number of bits increases, the number that can be represented in binary also increases, but there is always an upper limit. If 32 0s and 1s are used to store numbers, the first bit represents the sign, 0 represents , and 1 represents -, then the remaining 31 bits can represent a maximum of 2147483647. In an age when computer resources are at a premium, 32-bit time is more than enough.

January 1, 1970 00:00:00 2147483647 seconds = January 19, 2038 3:14:7 seconds. In the next second, the data will be "unloaded" and overflow occurs. At this time, the first sign bit changes from 0 to 1, the original plus sign becomes a minus sign, and time suddenly travels to the past.

From top to bottom are binary seconds, corresponding decimal seconds, 32-bit Unix system time, and actual time. After 2147483647, the sign bit will become 1 (minus sign), and the whole number will suddenly flip, back to 1901.丨Pemu/Wikicommons

This question exists in the future, how will it affect us? Looking back, the "Millennium Bug" problem time after time has given us some hints.

Millennium bug from a thousand years away

2000, the millennium. In many applications, the year turns into 1900.

Also because hardware resources are precious, early programs used the last two digits of the year to represent the date, and the first two digits were defaulted to 19. This inconspicuous issue of time has aroused enormous attention in the whole world. Government systems, banking systems, aviation systems and other systems may all be affected and fail. There have been responses across the globe to try to solve the problem. my country has repeatedly issued documents emphasizing the importance of this issue. The United States has also introduced a bill on the Millennium Bug problem to urge industries to share information to address such problems.

Actions around the world against the "Millennium Bug"丨People's Daily Online Edition

Thanks to the high attention paid to the "Millennium Bug", this problem was solved before the concentrated outbreak. But after that, events similar to the "Millennium Bug" continued to emerge in an endless stream.

In the first week of 2010, about 30 million bank cards in Germany were "inactive" at the same time. Not only can cardholders not be able to directly swipe their cards for consumption, but even withdrawing money from ATMs is a problem. This not only affects the lives of the residents of the country, but also makes the Germans who are vacationing abroad stranded in the local area.

Due to differences in different encodings, 2010 was incorrectly identified as 2016 in the German banking system. The bank card is also "expired". The same situation occurs on mobile phones using the Windows Mobile system: the New Year's text message you received on the first day of 2010 will be displayed as 2016 by the system.

Germany accelerated repairs to its banking system, but fortunately it did not cause further damage. But in space, things are not so simple. In September 2013, the spacecraft Deep Impact suddenly lost contact, forcing NASA to announce the official end of the related exploration mission. Mike A'Hearn, chief mission scientist at Deep Impact, believes it's a "Millennium Bug problem." Part of the spacecraft's software couldn't correctly identify dates after August 11, 2013, causing the computer to keep restarting. Ultimately, the scientists lost spacecraft signal.

Simulation of the encounter between Deep Impact and Comet Tempel 1丨NASA

Just at the beginning of this year, the "2022 bug" let Microsoft's programmers experience the New Year's overtime. On January 1, Microsoft's mail service system, Exchange, was suddenly interrupted, and users using the service were unable to send emails. Microsoft then issued a statement saying the issue was related to a failed date check and a change in the new year. To put it simply, like the 2038 problem, the time "overflowed". Fortunately, the Microsoft team worked overtime and solved the problem on the same day.

In the future, the "Millennium Bug-like" problem will certainly appear. For predictable problems, attempts have been made to provide solutions. For example, use a new format to store time information. At the same time, the new kernel provided by the systems team is also addressing "historical problems" on 32-bit platforms. You don't have to worry too much, after all, you should have changed several waves of mobile phones by then.

However, it is normal to encounter similar sudden bugs again. Because there are always reasonable and unexpected things happening in the world.

references

[1] Year 2038 Problem Countdown. https://gregnk.com/2038/

[2] The Project 2038 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). http://www.deepsky.com/~merovech/2038.html#What_operating_systems_and_platforms_are_affected_by_it

[3]Why does Siri say the world will end on January 2038? https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Siri-say-the-world-will-end-on-January-2038

[4]Unix time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time

[5]Unix Time Stamp - Epoch Converter. https://www.unixtimestamp.com/

[6]Unix-like. https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/u/unix-like.htm

[7] The 2038 issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2038%E5%B9%B4%E9%97%AE%E9%A2%98

[8] China's progress in solving the computer problem in 2000. http://www.scio.gov.cn/xwfbh/xwbfbh/wqfbh/1999/1201/Document/328000/328000.htm

[9] Saying "Millennium Bug". http://www.people.com.cn/item/hs2000/july.html

[10] Clinton Urges Americans To Act On Y2K Problem. https://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/07/14/clinton.y2k/

[11]Y2K-type bug hits German cash, credit cards. https://www.eetimes.com/y2k-type-bug-hits-german-cash-credit-cards/

[12]Carry cash as well as a card, says German bank association. https://www.computerworld.com/article/2759697/carry-cash-as-well-as-a-card--says-german-bank -association.html

[13] Windows Mobile Bug Dates Messages from 2016. https://www.wired.com/2010/01/windows-mobile-bug-dates-messages-from-2016/

[14]NASA Declares End to Deep Impact Comet Mission. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/130920-deep-impact-ends-comet-mission-nasa-jpl#:~:text=NASA%20officials %20declared%20the%20Deep,July%204%20of%20that%20year.

[15]Exchange Year 2022 Problem: FIP-FS Scan Engine failed to load – Can t Convert “2201010001” to long (2022/01/01 00:00 UTC). https://borncity.com/win/2022/01 /01/exchange-fip-fs-scan-engine-failed-to-load-cant-convert-2201010001-to-long-1-1-2022/

[16] Email Stuck in Exchange On-premises Transport Queues. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/email-stuck-in-exchange-on-premises-transport-queues/ba-p /3049447