This hour timeout should theoretically stop devices like GrayKey (which plugs into an iPhone and cracks the passcode within a few hours) from working successfully. USB Restricted Mode works like this: after an hour of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch sitting without being unlocked, iOS will basically cut off the Lightning port and limit it to charging only.

Now, Apple is trying to eliminate this method of gaining entry to a recovered or confiscated device. But companies have seemingly found a way of avoiding those safeguards via USB and the Lightning port. iOS has built-in security features that prevent constant passcode guesses - such as when it locks down your device after several incorrect attempts. The company hasn’t said as much, but it’s believed that USB Restricted Mode is Apple’s effort to combat devices like GrayKey that are specially designed to help law enforcement crack an iOS device’s passcode and retrieve data that would normally be guarded by encryption. This seemingly small change goes a long way in blocking tools used by law enforcement to crack passcodes and circumvent Apple’s encryption and built-in measures designed to shield sensitive user data.Īpple describes it as a new “security protection” that’s introduced as part of iOS 11.4.1.

USB Restricted Mode prevents USB accessories that plug into the Lightning port from making data connections with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch if your iOS device has been locked for over an hour. Apple quietly introduced a significant privacy safeguard as part of the new iOS 11.4.1 update that was released on July 9th.

Usb for iphone 6