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Comment by runjake | Hacker News Reader

If you have Face ID enabled, you can put your iPhone in hard-lock mode and require a passcode by pressing and holding the side (aka power) button and either of the volume buttons for a couple seconds.

It will pop up an emergency screen, but just tap the power button once more to cancel it.

I'm fortunate to be in a position where I don't attract negative attention from law enforcement, but this is still muscle memory to me.

Edit: You can also do the same thing by quickly pressing the side button alone five times.

Edit 2: mcc1ane beat me while I was editing!

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Or even better: turn off the device. Cracking cold/BFU (before first unlock) devices is not supported in many cases by tools like Cellebrite [1].

[1] https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/updated-cellebrite-iphon... : support matrix from 2024, in many cases only AFU (after first unlock) is supported.

Both of these methods have an undesirable side effect for me, which is that it immediately pops up the passcode dialog saying that a passcode is required to activate Face ID. Depending on the situation, that could be construed as an attempt to actively interfere with a police investigation, which could bring consequences of its own. It would be better if it silently dropped you to the normal lock screen, and only showed the passcode dialog when you attempt to unlock the phone normally.

Another thing I've often wished for with kids is a mode that removes all notifications and widgets from the lock screen - the only things you should be able to do is to unlock the phone and emergency calls. You can remove most notifications with the right Focus, but not notifications to control playing music/video apps, for example, nor any other widgets you happen to put on your lock screen.

> Depending on the situation, that could be construed as an attempt to actively interfere with a police investigation

IANAL but I highly doubt this would hold up in court with even mildly competent attorneys. Anyone can easily accidentally trigger it, I do all the time.

100%. But important to caveat that not everyone here falls under US jurisdiction.

The same passcode prompt appears after software updates, multiple previous failed Face ID login attempts, and maybe more.

Not a lawyer, but everyone has a password locked phone and its standard practice for device security. I'm not optimistic for a prosecutor winning on an interference charge.

> Both of these methods have an undesirable side effect for me, which is that it immediately pops up the passcode dialog saying that a passcode is required to activate Face ID.

Must be an iOS 26 thing? I haven't dared upgrade yet. No immediate passcode dialog on iOS 18 if you follow the instructions above. It does pop up like you describe if you press the cancel button on the screen, but if you are whipping out your phone to play with the screen you're not exactly acting inconspicuously anyway.

or 5 times the lock (power) button only

… or you can just close your eyes, and move your face around. The device will not unlock if you're not looking at it and after 3 or 4 tries will ask for the password.

Right, there’s a multitude of ways to trigger a passcode requirement, but the point here is quick/immediate procedures that can be learned into muscle memory.

Note: do not try the "click the side buttons a few times" on pixels. It starts an emergency alarm and you have 5 seconds to cancel before it starts reaching out to your emergency contacts. I almost pissed myself in bed.

Thankfully, you can disable that feature

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