A properly programmed device should have no issue. A device only needs to know the date to within 10 years so that it can interpret the week number correctly. So if the device runs its own clock that it synchronizes to GPS, it should keep working indefinitely as long as that clock is running. Even if it doesn't run a clock while powered off, it could store the clock to non-volatile memory occasionally, and it would keep working correctly as long as it isn't powered off for more than 10 years.
Find me these “properly programmed devices”! This is the core of the issue: bad assumptions and poor QA let bugs like this have an outsized impact. It’s our fault, folks.
