IPhone Stored For Forensic Analysis Suddenly Restored, Police Confused

IPhones stored for forensic analysis are reported to have suddenly restarted (photo: x @anemone_tar)

JAKARTA Several iPhones stored for forensic analysis are reported to have suddenly restarted themselves, causing concern among police officers that Apple may have implemented a new security feature. Affected devices have similarities, namely running the iOS 18.0 operating system and having long been disconnected from cellular networks before being sent to a forensic laboratory on October 3, 2024.

Affected devices include one in Aircraft Mode and another stored in Faraday cages, which should prevent access to electric signals to devices. While preliminary suspicions suggest that the device may have "boot loop" or run out of battery power, officers suspect there is another cause behind this restart phenomenon.

According to documents obtained by 404 Media, officers suspect the iPhone running iOS 18.0 could send a signal triggering restarts on other nearby devices, especially if the device is disconnected from the mobile network for a long time.

The document explains that restarted iPhone devices will automatically enter "BFU" or "fore first unlock," which is safer than "AFU" or "after first unlock". Under BFU conditions, devices become more difficult to access, so important data in them is not easy to obtain.

This case poses a serious problem for the forensic team, as the BFU's iPhone requires more complicated and slow access methods. The document, which comes from officers in Detroit, Michigan, aims to spread awareness of this issue and provide clues on how to isolate devices that are prone to restart.

Speculation Of Causes Of Automatic Restart On IPhone

Although the theory of this security feature is interesting, some experts doubt the truth. Matthew Green, a cryptograph from Johns Hopkins University, mentions that this hypothesis is "very suspicious" and would be great if Apple actually implemented a feature that forces restart devices after decoupling from cellular networks.

This restart problem may have been caused by a bug in iOS 18.0 that made the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max restart randomly, which many users have reported since October 2024. Apple then fixed the problem in the iOS 18.1 update on October 28.