iOS 18 Security Feature Causes iPhone to Reboot After Three Days of Inactivity

[bradman83]

imagine thinking iPhones have 72 hour battery life

My work phone, a regular iPhone 12, can go several days on end between charges if it’s just sitting idle in my work bag such as over the weekend. Ironically after a long holiday weekend here in the US I noticed it was rebooting completely on its own on Tuesday no doubt because of this new feature (I had just assumed it was installing a software update).

 

[mongobongo]

Oh wow, I didn’t know about this feature! Thank you! 👍

Don't forget to also set a Screen Time pass code or it's useless 😆

 

[nt5672]

Rebooting every 3 days, sounds suspiciously like Microsoft troubleshooting instructions from the 90s when MS software was full of bugs. I wonder if this is just cover for the exponential increase of iPhone bugs?

 

[jhwalker]

I wish they let the user setup that feature to increase or decrease the time it takes to reboot when not in use. I think this is a great anti-theft feature to make it harder for the bastards to get into the phone's data. My iPhone was robbed in February 2024 and since then there have been thousands of login attempts into every single service that I use in my phone. They may have not been able to access all the information, but they managed to get hints of all the web pages and apps that I use and the login, username and/or email address (not the passwords as far as I can tell), specially online shopping sites and apps.

I would love to be able to setup my phone to reboot every 12 hours or so, I don't care waiting for a few munites to use my phone.

Same - I was just thinking I'd appreciate it going to this state SOONER than three days

 

[Sith_lord]

Your phone shouldn’t be constantly rebooting. That is not a feature much less normal. Consider setting up as new.

This is on a fresh clean install, reboots at least twice a day while using. Definitely a bug.

 

[hudson1]

In the middle of a call two days ago, my iPhone 16 sounded a loud tone for a couple seconds and then rebooted. Annoying.

 

[godofredog]

Sure! I tried to share the automation but I don't know how. Here's what I did basically:

1. Open Shortcuts App
2. Automations Tab at bottom
3. "+" at top right
4. Choose "Time of Day"
5. Pick your time... like 3AM Daily
6. Choose "Run Immediately" at the bottom (so it doesn't prompt you to reboot).
7. Next
8. "New Blank Automation"
9. Search for "Shut Down" and click the first result.
10. Tap on the blue "Shut Down" label and change it to "Restart"
11. Done

View attachment 2451536

Also pinging a couple other people who wanted this feature...

Thank you very much for this!

 

[bmark]

Apple should let users schedule reboots nightly!

 

[MakaniKai]

Apple should let users schedule reboots nightly!

You can: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ty.2443013/page-4?post=33568626#post-33568626

 

[coolfactor]

Score a win for us consumers!

I do reboot my phone daily, and have for years. Why, because I’m just crazy 😬

At least you're aware of the condition. 🤣

I applaud Apple for implementing this feature, but sure hope it becomes a configurable feature for those that want choice.

 

[coolfactor]

"Security feature" or tracking feature?

How is it a tracking feature? Definitely a security feature.

 

[coolfactor]

Does this apply to the iPad? I didn’t use my cellular iPad for 3 days and last night I went to use it and it said passcode required after restart.

If you have Software Updates set to Automatic, that may also trigger a reboot after certain updates complete.

 

[Tago]

How is it a tracking feature? Definitely a security feature.

When you have a switched off iPhone in your hand.

What happens when you switch it on, regardless of what kind of mode it was in when it was switched off (wifi off, bt off, 5g off, air mode on and the whole shebang)?

 

[ericinboston]

Apple has not provided details on inactivity reboot, and kept quiet about the addition of the feature.

It would be nice to know EXACTLY what this "reboot" does to the phone, all the apps running, FindMy, etc. Lots of people/organizations use the words "reboot" and "reset" and "power off/on" and "recycle" interchangeably when they all (usually) mean different things from a technical point of view (and hence why these words/phrases were created in the first place).

Is there a way I can manually do this exact same "reboot" now so I can test what happens? My guess is no since the article states Apple hasn't provided much clarity.

Any input from folks (or MacRumors) here would be very appreciated.

 

[MakaniKai]

Is there a way I can manually do this exact same "reboot" now so I can test what happens? My guess is no since the article states Apple hasn't provided much clarity.

I haven't seen a way. Only way I know of is to not unlock the phone for 3 days. Could be an excuse to go off grid for a long weekend... eh who am I kidding, I always bring my phone camping

 

[kevinj85]

imagine thinking iPhones have 72 hour battery life

anybody trying to break into phones keeps the phones powered. So battery is not an issue in this intance.

 

[Dave-Z]

Is there a way I can manually do this exact same "reboot" now so I can test what happens? My guess is no since the article states Apple hasn't provided much clarity.

I experienced it this week. The effect is the same as if you powered the phone completely off (hold the side switch and volume button for about five seconds, then swipe the option on the screen to power the phone off), then turned it back on (where you see the Apple logo while it boots, before showing the lock screen).

As the phone was restarted, the operating system doesn't have access to the "user" portion of the storage, which is encrypted using a combination of your passcode and a unique device code. Without access to this partition wi-fi connections, etc. are not available because it cannot retrieve the wi-fi passwords. With the phone in my possession, there was also a SIM PIN on the SIM card. The phone stayed at the lock screen without wi-fi or cellular connectivity. The only connectivity it had was to emergency services (denoted by the SOS text where the cell signal would be).

 

[i_bit_the_apple]

To be honest this is pretty inconvenient for me, especially that it isn’t configurable.

I’m an expat and I keep a second iPhone with a US eSIM that never goes off airplane mode + Wi-Fi calling. With iMessage, SMS forwarding and enabling calls on nearby iPhones, everything is easily forwarded to my main iPhone. It stays plugged in at home and I can usually go weeks without touching it. Now if I leave home for a week…. I’m out of luck. :/

I don’t have a lot that still gets sent to my US number, but a few services I’m signed up for still send 2FA messages to that number. It’s also way easier for Grandma to keep calling me on my old number.

I would love it if I could use dual eSIM and just keep one number only using WiFi Calling, but unfortunately that’s not possible.

Hopefully Apple takes the feedback and makes it configurable.

I have the same problem. What i had to do now is remove passcode/faceid from that phone. It now reboots without a problem and is able to join the WiFi.

 

[cupcakes2000]

A court or police cannot force you to remember a code, a pattern or anything. .

An iron bar works just fine

They have the tools needed for decryption as well as Apple provides all the stuff they need for that. As Apple never tells which security protocols they actually use, as well as thanks to closed source nature of their software no one can’t assess that.

Making stuff up and saying it, doesn’t suddenly make it true.

If encryption was broken, the world would know. If secure banking(closed)and https(open), to take just two prime high usage examples, were no longer able to be securely encrypted there would be bedlam. If end to end encryption was broken then it would be absolutely well known as secure messaging apps such as WhatsApp (closed)or Signal(open) would be broken. It wouldn’t be a secret, it wouldn’t be possible to keep the secret.

‘Apple’ can’t decrypt anything, and there is no ‘stuff’ they can provide to enable it. Modern end to end encryption remains secure unless;
a:the user gives up their keys
b:the user uses weak keys
c:the user chooses to allow some kind of back door, such as uploading content to a cloud and not encrypting it with their own keys.

Suggesting anyone has the tools to break encryption is incorrect or conspiracy theory.

 

[AppliedMicro]

Modern end to end encryption remains secure unless

d:the hardware manufacturer or software developer has built in a back door
e:someone with more power, resources, programming and cryptographical skills managed to sneak one in

The key (for security services and U.S. three-letter agencies) is to convey a false sense of security to general public. Making the public believe they don’t have that access by exploiting those it only for their highest-profile targets, or using the information gathered through it only when it can credibly be explained to have been obtained through other means.

 

[colinhash]

I have the same problem. What i had to do now is remove passcode/faceid from that phone. It now reboots without a problem and is able to join the WiFi.

I had the same thought yesterday and independently decided to try it. Thanks for confirming!

I don’t love the solution. It makes me want to lock my phone in a safe (with a hole drilled for a charging port) since I regularly host parties. I trust my friends but still… not great that it leaves my photos, keychain exposed. Hopefully this is just a temporary measure and this “feature” becomes configurable.

 

[i_bit_the_apple]

I had the same thought yesterday and independently decided to try it. Thanks for confirming!

I don’t love the solution. It makes me want to lock my phone in a safe (with a hole drilled for a charging port) since I regularly host parties. I trust my friends but still… not great that it leaves my photos, keychain exposed. Hopefully this is just a temporary measure and this “feature” becomes configurable.

One more thing, under Settings..Cellular turn off "Wifi Assist".

Even though there was no data connection, it would disconnect from Wifi from time to time since it though the cellular would be better. Even though there was no cellular connection, and then never reconnect to wifi. I also added a shortcurt that runs twice a day to turn wifi off and on, just incase the phone drops wifi for any reason.

 

[foliovision]

a police officer and/or robber holding you at, say gunpoint for example, can simply open the iPhone to its locked screen and point your phone at your face...I tried this with my wife's phone, and it works like a charm.

How did your wife feel about being held at gunpoint? Did dinner go okay after that?

 

[amartinez1660]

My old mother regularly doesn't use her iPhone for several days at a time. This could become highly annoying if every second time she picks it up again she'll have to reenter the device password and the SIM pin. It's already difficult to understand for her when to enter what cryptic code.

But “every second time” she picks it up, is, frequency and time wise, in a week?
Could be even off if it was left unplugged (which is likely an even bigger annoyance).

That said, yeah, technology is wearing out my parents too… so unfriendly to elders. Minor hand coordinations issue and away goes properly navigating the touch interface, to name one.

 

[jk73]

How is it a tracking feature? Definitely a security feature.

It’s confirmed the device doesn’t connect to any network until after the security code is entered?