It is one of the great novelties of iOS 11.4.1, not because it adds some spectacular function to the iPhone, but because improves the security of our devices against unauthorized access attempts. The new version that Apple launched yesterday incorporates a new restricted USB mode that blocks the port of our iPhone or iPad.
This new feature causes devices to bypass their Lightning port when locked, so no accessory will be able to access the data of our iPhone or iPad without us unlocking it. How does it work? How can we disable it? How does it affect our accessories? We explain everything below.
iOS 11.4.1 and iOS 12
This new restricted USB mode It is available in the final version of iOS 11.4.1 that Apple released yesterday, and how could it be otherwise, also in iOS 12. It is a new function that improves the security of our devices and that will already be present in future updates that Apple releases. So that it works, the first thing is to update to the latest version of iOS available at this time, which is the aforementioned iOS 11.4.1.
Forbidden access to port lightning
This new feature kicks in when more than an hour has passed since you last locked your device. As long as this time has elapsed, your iPhone or iPad will not accept any accessory that you connect to your lightning port, even if it is your trusted computer with the same iCloud account. You will need to unlock your device for it to work properly.
As we say at least an hour must have passed since the device was last locked. Before that time, you will be able to continue using the accessories normally, without any type of restriction. After sixty minutes, you must unlock your device to connect an accessory, and this will be indicated on the screen.
And the chargers?
With chargers you should not have any problem, unless it is some type of charger that requires special communication with the device. A normal, Apple-certified charger should have no problem and you can connect it without having to unlock your device even if an hour has passed since your last use. In the worst case that the charger is not detected properly, it will only be necessary to unlock the device for it to start working normally.
During how much time?
Once you have unlocked the device and connected the accessory, even if you lock the device and while the accessory is connected, it will not restart the countdown to lock again. That is, if you connect an iPhone to a computer, despite locking it and as long as it remains connected, it will not stop working. one hour after the last lockout.
Precisely this is a weak point They have found this security measure, but if this were not the case, it could cause problems with some accessories because after an hour they would stop working.
How can I disable it?
It is not recommended to disable it because it is a security measure, but if you want to do it, Apple gives you the option. You must navigate to Settings> Face ID and code> USB accessories»(Settings> Touch ID and code> USB accessories on iPhone 8, 8 Plus and earlier) and you must activate the" USB Accessories "option to allow access. By default it is disabled, which is with restricted USB mode working.
Let's see if you can help me with my question. I work in an official technical service, and now in order to diagnose a terminal I will need to ask the customer for the password of the device. Before what we did was simply restore it and update it by putting it in DFU mode, and now this method is invalid as it does not even detect that the mobile phone is connected to the computer, how brown we are going to have here now.
It would be interesting an option to deactivate it from the first minute, the option of the hour, or leave it continuously activated, so that, as Byron Vega says, the technical service does not have problems when diagnosing a terminal.