The Year 2028 problem is a problem caused by how electronics and computer devices store dates. When these dates reach 1 second after 03:14:07 UTC on January 2038 they will have an error and incorrectly store the wrong date (in some cases 20:45:52 on Friday, 13 December 1901). To understand why this happens, we need to understand the background on how these dates are stored.


WHAT IS THE YEAR 2038 PROBLEM?

Basically, each computer keeps track of time in the UNIX format simply referred to as a timestamp. UNIX time is the number of seconds that have elapsed since midnight on 01 January 1970 (UTC/GMT), which is known as the "epoch".

For example

The current UNIX time as of when writing this article is 1716278870

Using an online tool to convert UNIX time to get date and time writing this article will give the results below
[img]
https://bashify.io/img/db810f30d0983e22032a1c6c6fa948a6[/img]

Most 32-bit computers can only hold 32-bit signed variables (2^32). A 32-bit signed variable can hold numbers as big as 2 147 483 647.

So once 2 147 483 647 seconds since the epoch has passed, which will be on the 19th of January 2038 at 03:14:07 UTC, the time variable will overflow and revert to -2 147 483 647 causing the computer to think the date is the 13th of December 1901.



Note this problem does not just impact UNIX systems as many programming languages and systems adopted this date format to represent time.


Will I Be Affected

Almost certainly not, since all smartphones and computers made within the last decades are 64-bit, which can hold numbers big as 9 223 372 036 854 775 807 and their time variable won't overflow until the year 292 277 026 596. So most consumer devices (except really old ones) will not be affected.

As for other devices (Like ATMs, Military equipment and others), by the year 2038 it is likely that most 32-bit devices will no longer be in use because of the impending time overflow.


How Do I Check If This Will be A Problem.

All systems are different and it would be impossible to come up with a full list of things to check but here are some things to look out for:

- Databases that have timestamps stored as signed 32 bit integers
- Hardware running 32 bit software or operating systems
- Embedded systems that may store dates as signed 32 bit integer timestamps
- Database functions that use 32 bit integer representations of times such as UNIX_TIMESTAMP()

You will need to rely on experts to check all the systems especially if you have critical software running that you absolutely can’t afford to break for any amount of time.

If you are running all 64 bit software this does not guarantee you won’t have any issues. Even in these systems dates can still be stored using a signed 32 bit integer and these systems could rely on other systems that may have this issue.

It’s also important to note that not all 32 bit software will have this issue, in fact the vast majority of 32 bit software probably won’t have this issue. A lot of 32 bit software will store dates in special structures that can handle dates far in excess of the year 2038 but the only real way to know how the dates are stored and used in a system is to check.


https://theyear2038problem.com/