Here's why your iPhones may stop working in the next 6 months

On July 19, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) launched a new regulation instructing all mobile phones to come with an app to allow subscribers to report unwanted/spam calls and messages. TRAI has given companies six months to comply, with warnings of serious consequences.

TRAI has also launched a DND app for Android in 2017 that would do the job, but Apple put its foot down and refused to allow the app on the App Store, citing its privacy policy. The company has never allowed third-party apps to read a user's call log and messages, and they refused to make an exception for India. 

The DND app requires permission to read a user's call log and incoming messages so that they can report, and TRAI can track promotional and spam messages/calls. Google has complied with the order, but Apple has several reservations since it outright refuses access to certain data.

The new order from TRAI which states, “Every access provider shall ensure, within six months' time, that all smart-phone devices registered on its network support the permissions required for the functioning of such apps. Provided that where such devices do not permit functioning of such apps as prescribed in regulations... access providers (mobile operators) shall, on the order or direction of the (telecom) authority, de-recognize such devices from their telecom networks.”

In simple terms, if Apple doesn't install an app to check and notify "troublesome" calls, TRAI can ask mobile operators to force the device off the network, in other words the mobile phone simply just won't receive network signal.