Lockdown mode on iPhones has been advertised as one of the strongest security measures to block malicious attacks. Hacker Calif has shared a video of an iPhone jailbreak, and this one is on an iPhone in Lockdown Mode. This is Calif’s 2nd demonstration in a few weeks. Earlier, he performed a jailbreak on the iPhone Duo on its launch date.

The video shows an iPhone 18 Pro with Lockdown Mode enabled, and even after iOS 27.2 is installed, the jailbreak was still active on the iPhone. The video shows the iPhone surviving the iOS 27.2 update, although it’s unclear if the jailbreak can be installed on a device that is already on iOS 27.2. The steps of the jailbreak are simple. The target device just has to accept a malicious PDF file on AirDrop. Calif has not shared anything beyond that, so the exact steps are unclear.

Lockdown Mode exists for people who could be targeted by advanced spyware, such as journalists and activists. Having to trick someone into accepting a file is a real limit, but the demo still gets around the additional protection from Lockdown Mode. It blocks most message attachment types, limits complex web technologies, stops FaceTime calls from unknown callers, blocks invites for Apple services, and excludes location data from photos.

Even though everyday users are not at risk, Apple is likely to respond soon since it previously told TechCrunch that they are unaware of any successful spyware attacks on an iPhone when it is in Lockdown Mode.