iOS 12 developer beta 4 requires device to be unlocked before connecting any USB accessories

Your iPhone's Lightning port will be even more locked down come iOS 12, which has adding an additional layer of security in the fourth developer beta.

The change in the latest beta of iOS 12 is building on USB Restricted Mode which disables the Lightning port of an iOS device one hour after last being unlocked. The Lightning port could still be used for charging, but no accessories would be able to function until unlocked.

In the fourth developer beta of iOS 12, a passcode is required any time a computer or USB accessory is connected.

Before the change, authorities or criminals would have an hour since last unlock to connect a cracking device, like the GreyKey box. Now, they don't have that hour, making it that much more difficult to brute force a password attempt into a device.

Users could, in iOS 11.4.1, manually enable USB Restricted Mode by enabling SOS after pressing the side button five times, but now that may no longer be necessary.

USB Restricted Mode recently launched with iOS 11.4.1 as a way to more thoroughly protect the data within iOS devices. Apple has made it clear that they were not creating this security measure solely to make law enforcement live's more difficult but to prohibit anyone from gaining access to a phone that isn't theirs. Any security hole exploited by law enforcement can just as easily be used by a criminal.

12 Comments

jbdragon 2312 comments · 10 Years

About 6 years ago

I'm seeing this with the newest version of iOS11. I have a lightning plug extension so I can plug my iPhone into my iHome Dock. I've notice that it says I have to unlock the phone to use the accessory. If I don't, my phone won't even charge up.

Mike Wuerthele 6901 comments · 8 Years

jbdragon said:

I'm seeing this with the newest version of iOS11. I have a lightning plug extension so I can plug my iPhone into my iHome Dock. I've notice that it says I have to unlock the phone to use the accessory. If I don't, my phone won't even charge up.

That's a little bit different. The iHome is using a different (and older) iOS connectivity protocol than most. This is fine, but the older protocol will require that unlock every time.

This change is for every protocol, it appears. We're still looking into it.

2oh1 489 comments · 16 Years

I'm seeing this in the latest version of iOS 11 too, using the standard Apple lightning cable that came with my iPhone, connected directly to my late 2014 Mac Mini.

Interestingly, I didn't notice the change after I updated iOS. Instead, I noticed it after I updated Mac OS this most recent time, though that could just be a coincidence.

2oh1 said:

I'm seeing this in the latest version of iOS 11 too, using the standard Apple lightning cable that came with my iPhone, connected directly to my late 2014 Mac Mini.

Interestingly, I didn't notice the change after I updated iOS. Instead, I noticed it after I updated Mac OS this most recent time, though that could just be a coincidence.

This is probably the re-authentication of a trusted device that happens periodically, notably after an OS update. We'll add this to the testing regimen, though.

djsherly 1029 comments · 15 Years

What about CarPlay? Is that affected? Right now I plug in and the audio goes seamless from headphone to my cars head unit. Hopefully that doesn’t change.