Apple has been improving iPhone security in recent years, and iOS 18 takes it even further. However, some of these new anti-theft features are making U.S. law enforcement difficult. According to documents obtained by 404 Media, officers have noticed a strange problem with certain seized iPhones: they keep rebooting on their own, which makes it difficult to unlock and gather evidence.
This issue happens more often on iPhones running iOS 18, especially when they’ve been off their mobile network for a while. Some reports even suggest that iPhones in storage may be “talking” to other nearby iPhones, causing them to restart after a certain period without network connection or activity. This can throw a wrench into the evidence collection process for law enforcement.
Apple has maintained its policy of not unlocking iPhones without a court order since the San Bernardino case. While it’s tough to break through iPhone security like FaceID, TouchID, or passcodes, law enforcement sometimes uses tools like Cellebrite to get in when necessary.
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