Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- iOS 18 is reportedly inflicting confiscated iPhones to reboot after a day of inactivity or disconnection from the mobile community.
- After restarting, these iPhones seemingly ship indicators to different close by iPhones to set off the identical conduct.
- It’s unclear whether or not this can be a new iOS 18 safety function or merely the reboot bug that impacted sure iPhones some time again.
Apple is legendary for taking its customers’ privateness and safety severely, particularly when in comparison with a few of its rivals. The corporate has lengthy supplied system-level options that forestall thieves and regulation enforcement officers from simply accessing person information on a locked iDevice. In keeping with a contemporary report, iOS 18 seems to be inflicting confiscated iPhones to reboot underneath particular circumstances, which may complicate police investigations.
How iPhones turn into safer after a reboot
Earlier than delving into the report, it’s value highlighting how information encryption on iOS works. BFU (Earlier than First Unlock) and AFU (After First Unlock) are two states that may dictate how difficult information extraction from an iPhone might be. When a person restarts their iPhone, iOS quickly turns off biometric authentication and retains the info fully encrypted, making it exceptionally difficult to extract delicate information.
When you enter the proper passcode for the primary time after a reboot, iOS transitions from the BFU to the AFU state, which decrypts the on-device information and prompts options like Face ID or Contact ID. That’s why it’s advisable for people being interrogated to restart their gadgets and preserve them locked.
The mysterious conduct on iOS 18
A 404 Media report claims that “regulation enforcement officers are warning different officers and forensic consultants that iPhones which have been saved securely for forensic examination are one way or the other rebooting themselves, returning the gadgets to a state that makes them a lot more durable to unlock.”
The regulation enforcement doc allegedly obtained by the outlet claims that iPhones working iOS 18 are routinely restarting after round a day of inactivity or removing from the mobile community. Restarted iPhones within the BFU state are then reportedly sending wi-fi indicators to close by iPhones within the AFU state to set off an identical reboot.
Whereas Apple might have silently carried out this safety function as a part of the current iOS update, it is also a mere glitch. Many iPhones working iOS 18.0 suffered from an irritating bug that precipitated them to reboot randomly all through the day. This subject was then patched in iOS 18.1. So, maybe the confiscated iPhones have been merely experiencing this iOS 18.0 bug, and the cops misinterpreted the state of affairs.
