Apple's iOS 7 Lightning Connector Authentication Check 'Permanently' Cracked
As noted just after the launch of the first iOS 7 beta earlier this month, the operating system is capable of detecting when unauthorized Lightning cables or accessories are plugged into an iOS 7 device. While the system alerts the user with dialog box that must be manually dismissed, it does not prevent the unauthorized cables and accessories from working with the device at this point.
iPhone5mod, the Chinese firm that was among the first to begin offering Lightning accessories last year while Apple had yet to authorize official accessories and was struggling to keep up with demand for its own Lightning cables, now claims to have cracked Apple's iOS 7 authentication and is now offering new cables compatible with the upcoming operating system.
iPhone5mod's Cyril Chang says that his company's effort is a hardware crack that can not be worked around by Apple without changing its own Lightning hardware, and iPhone5mod is offering a money-back guarantee that its new cables will work with the final release of iOS 7.
Chang warns that several other companies have claimed to have achieved similar cracks, but that in iPhone5mod's testing those companies' cables still generate alerts under certain circumstances.
iPhone5mod's cables, docks and accessories are all being updated with the new cracked Lightning chips, with production already underway.
Update 10:56 AM: Chang tells MacRumors that the new Lightning cables with cracked authentication continue to function properly under iOS 7 beta 2, which was released today.
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