I'm trying to help my friend who's convinced that his iPhones are getting hacked. He has two devices, and even his mom's phone seems to be affected. He's mentioning all sorts of strange behaviors—like random accessibility options toggling on and off, fake menus popping up, and even odd screens that look like coding windows appearing. I've done a full restoration of his phones, wiped them clean, and even updated his computer's security and his router's firmware, but the issues are still there. He got a replacement phone from Apple, but the problems persist. His mom's phone is acting up too, sometimes switching to SOS mode by itself. I'm not sure if there's a new vulnerability or if there's something more to this. Any ideas?
3 Answers
It sounds really strange, but it's quite unlikely he's being hacked in the way he's describing. Sometimes, phones can act up due to accessibility features being triggered accidentally, especially if you're pressing buttons a certain way. It's worth checking the settings to see if anything stands out.
Honestly, I wouldn’t jump to hacking right away. Some weird stories can circulate, and it could just be your friend misinterpreting random glitches. Maybe it’s best to check the device settings thoroughly instead of assuming something malicious is at play.
Exactly! Sometimes it’s just about a software bug or a misconfiguration. A reset might solve it, or at worst, it may just need a trip to the Apple store for a thorough check.
I hope it’s nothing too serious, but it might be time for your friend to see a professional, especially if there's a possibility he’s dealing with something more emotional or psychological. It could help him sort this out in a more positive way.
Absolutely. Sometimes people can start to see things that aren’t there when they’re under a lot of stress or in a bad headspace. Having a neutral party help out could really clarify things for him.
Yeah, also remember that a lot of iPhones have built-in options that can be activated with simple button presses. That could be causing some of the weird behavior.