{"id":60495,"date":"2026-04-17T10:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/locked-out-iphone-user-tells-the-reg-that-apple-is-scrambling-to-fix-character-flaw-passcode-bug\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:00:08","slug":"locked-out-iphone-user-tells-the-reg-that-apple-is-scrambling-to-fix-character-flaw-passcode-bug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/locked-out-iphone-user-tells-the-reg-that-apple-is-scrambling-to-fix-character-flaw-passcode-bug\/","title":{"rendered":"Locked-out iPhone user tells The Reg that Apple is scrambling to fix character flaw passcode bug"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apple is finally working on a fix for a bug that has locked some users out of their iPhones for months, The Register<\/em> understands.<\/p>\n

Cupertino’s iOS engineers apparently became aware of the Czech keyboard blunder last week via university student Connor Byrne’s Reddit post and set out to fix it in an upcoming iOS 26 release.<\/p>\n

\"passcode\"<\/p>\n

Apple update looks like Czech mate for locked-out iPhone user<\/h2>\n

READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

Byrne’s post highlighted the issue involving missing keyboard characters rendering his iPhone passcode useless, which he detailed in greater depth during an interview with us over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\n

Even if they deliver on the fix, I’ll purchase an Android soon because of how much better the cameras are …<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The student, 21, used the unconventional method of authentication for his iPhone 13. Instead of using the four-number PIN that most iPhone users opt for, Byrne instead chose to use a custom alphanumeric string, like a regular password.<\/p>\n

The only issue was that he used the caron\/h\u00e1\u010dek (\u02c7) on the iPhone’s Czech keyboard as one of his special characters – a character Apple removed in iOS 26, which became generally available to iDevices in September 2025.<\/p>\n

The software update meant Byrne was left without any hope of unlocking his device, upon which a catalog of valuable photos and memories are stored, unless he were to restore the phone, wiping off the only files of any importance to him.<\/p>\n