A team of hackers has come up with a new jailbreak for the iPhone, demonstrating how it persists with Lock Mode enabled, even after an update to iOS 27.2.
Lockdown Mode is Apple’s way of strengthening device security, intended to protect high-profile individuals from sophisticated cyber attacks. Although Apple said in March 2026 that it had managed a 100% protection rate as of 2022, it appears that it is not completely impenetrable.
In a video posted on X, hacking group Calif shows an iPhone 18 Pro with Lock Mode enabled. A PDF is then sent to the iPhone using AirDrop and displayed.
PDF is assumed to be part of the process, due to the change of music in the video. However, since Calif did not share any technical details of the jailbreak publicly, it may have been performed before the video began.
Lockdown mode helps, until it doesn’t anymore. https://t.co/1UyxPHQUAe
– California (@calif_io) November 3, 2026
Immediately after AirDrop, the video shows someone navigating to the Software Update section of Settings, resulting in a pop-up warning that Block Mode is enabled and that it would affect certain settings. They then ignore the notification, choose to install the iOS 27.2 update, enter their iPhone passcode, and allow the update to run.
After a few minutes, the iPhone processes the update and completes it successfully.
Second MacRumorsCalifornia said it was disclosing the vulnerabilities it found to Apple. It also wouldn’t even produce a jailbreak tool.
A little less than perfect
If authentic, the video shows that Apple’s Lock Mode is a safe way to protect your iPhone and your data from attacks, but not entirely perfect.
The purpose of Lock Mode is that it strengthens iPhone security for people who need it. Think about the politicians, activists and CEOs who could be big targets for hackers.
Enabling Lockdown Mode in iOS 16 or later places many limits on the apps and services that operate on iPhone. This includes blocking the use of some technologies while browsing the Internet and blocking you from seeing links and most types of messages in Messages.
At the most extreme end, it will block setup mobile device installations, prevent iPhone installations in mobile device management systems, and even disconnect from insecure Wi-Fi networks.
The intention is to prevent many of the main attack avenues that a hacker can use to access data and accounts on the target’s device.
The discovery of a jailbreak that allows an iOS update to run while apparently allowing the jailbreak to persist means Apple has more work to do.
Apple may have said in March that there had been no successful hacks on iPhones in Lockdown mode. Evidently that perfect record is imperfect.
