There is much speculation about the "A refund date will be provided when available" message you may see when you check your Where's My Refund (WMR) status.  Taxpayers report seeing the message when the graphic image of the WMR bars disappeared.  In 2015, an IGMR user posted the following comment; however, we were able to confirm their identity and the information may still be just a guess or tall tale.  You be the judge.
Name: Official
Submitted on 2015/01/16 at 9:41 pm
I can not give my name, but to shed a little light on every one. Our test batch consisted of 35,000 efiled returns. Every last test batch return has to be done processing before opening day and issued ddd’s to clear the system for incoming returns. If your bar has dissappered yu are completely processed so no worries. If your bar and return amount has dissappered either your being reviewed, have an offset or owe an debt.