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Weird Bluetooth device bricked my iPhone twice at LAX (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by the_student_the@alien.top to c/apple@hardware.watch

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I was near the security checkpoint at LAX. I saw a notification from the bottom (like when you connect an AirPod) “Connecting..” and the Bottom text read “Bluetooth device would require additional…”

My iPhone 14 Pro on IOS 17 immediately bricked. The screen was ok but I couldn’t select anything. I kept pressing the power and volume up buttons but nothing happened. It then turned off with the “rotating wheel” symbol in the middle. It wouldn’t turn on. I had to connect it to my laptop to turn it on.

This happened a second time — Same sequence. Then I turned my Bluetooth off rest of the time.

What could have caused it? Was someone trying to hack me?

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[–] relaymoth@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago

Sounds like it was the iOS bluetooth exploit being spammed in a public place. There are a few variations, one that’s a little annoying, and one that will lock up your phone until a hard reset - your experience sounds like the latter.

This exploit is broadcast to all devices in the area so, good news is that, no one was specifically targeting you. The -only- way to avoid this is to turn off Bluetooth via Settings.