A New Persistent Jailbreak Ruins Apple’s Perfect ‘Lockdown Mode’ Batting Average

A team of white hat hackers claim to have developed a new jailbreak for the iPhone that persists with Lockdown Mode enabled, and even after the device is updated to the latest version of iOS (iOS 27.2).

What Is Lockdown Mode?

Lockdown Mode was developed by Apple to offer an extreme, optional level of security for the very few users who, because of who they are or what they do, may be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats, such as those from NSO Group and other private companies developing state-sponsored mercenary spyware. Turning on Lockdown Mode in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and newer versions of the software further hardens device defenses and strictly limits certain functionalities, sharply reducing the attack surface that potentially could be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.

While Lockdown Mode is turned off by default, it can be enabled in the Privacy & Security section of the Settings or System Settings app. After being turned on, Lockdown Mode can be turned off at any time in the same section of the Settings app. Enabling or disabling Lockdown Mode requires restarting the device and entering the device’s passcode.

When Lockdown Mode is enabled, some apps and features will function differently, including:

• Messages: Most message attachment types are blocked, other than certain images, video, and audio. Some features, such as links and link previews, are unavailable
• Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies are blocked, which might cause some websites to load more slowly or not operate correctly. In addition, web fonts might not be displayed, and images might be replaced with a missing image icon.
• FaceTime: Incoming FaceTime calls are blocked unless you have previously called that person or contact within the past 30 days. Features such as SharePlay and Live Photos are unavailable.
• Apple services: Incoming invitations for Apple services, such as invitations to manage a home in the Home app, are blocked unless you have previously invited that person. Focus and any related status will not work as expected. Game Center is also disabled.
• Photos: When you share photos, location information is excluded. Shared albums are removed from the Photos app, and new Shared Album invitations are blocked. You can still view these shared albums on other devices that don’t have Lockdown Mode enabled.
• Device connections: To connect your iPhone or iPad to an accessory or another computer, the device needs to be unlocked. To connect your Mac laptop with Apple silicon to an accessory, your Mac needs to be unlocked and you need to provide explicit approval.
• Wireless connectivity: Your device won’t automatically join non-secure Wi-Fi networks, and will disconnect from a non-secure Wi-Fi network when you turn on Lockdown Mode. 2G and 3G cellular support is turned off for iPhone and iPad.
• Configuration profiles: Configuration profiles can’t be installed, and the device can’t be enrolled in Mobile Device Management or device supervision while in Lockdown Mode.

Phone calls and plain text messages continue to work while Lockdown Mode is turned on, although incoming calls won’t ring on a paired Apple Watch. Emergency features, such as SOS emergency calls, are not affected.

Apple’s Security Bounty program rewards researchers who find Lockdown Mode flaws and help improve its protections, with bounties to be doubled for qualifying findings in Lockdown Mode, up to a maximum of $2 million.

In late March 2026 an Apple spokesperson told TechCrunch “We are not aware of any successful mercenary spyware attacks against a Lockdown Mode-enabled Apple device,”

However, this latest news from Calif appears to knock at least a few points off Lockdown Mode’s preventative batting average.

How Does the New JailBreak Work?

Hacker group Calif on Tuesday posted a video to X showing an iPhone 18 Pro with Lockdown Mode enabled. We see a PDF being sent to the iPhone through AirDrop, and then the PDF being opened and viewed on the device.

Although Calif hasn’t gone into detail as to how the jailbreak is performed, the tone shift in the music playing during the video indicates the PDF file had something to do with the process, as it changes from a light-hearted bit of music to a more sinister tune at various points in the video. It should be noted that the jailbreak could possibly have already been put in place before the video was recorded.

The video continues, and after the AirDropped PDF is received and viewed, the user then navigates to Software Update in the Settings app, where a pop-up warning is displayed, warning that Lockdown Mode is enabled and that certain settings would be affected. The notification is dismissed, and the iOS 27.2 update – which was released to the public earlier this week – is installed. The user enters the iPhone’s passcode to allow the update to be installed.

After a few minutes, the update is installed, the device reboots, and the user enters their passcode, only to find that the jailbreak is still in place, even under the latest available version of iOS.

Happily for iPhone users, Calif assured MacRumors that it would be sharing the discovered vulnerabilities to Apple, and that it would NOT be releasing a jailbreak tool to exploit the vulnerability.

While videos like this can be easily faked in these days of AI-produced video, if it is genuine, it shows that Apple’s Lockdown Mode, while a good way to protect your iPhone and your data, is not completely infallible.