Stop Using 6-Digit iPhone Passcodes

Now that police and Federal agents can allegedly crack iPhones protected with passcodes made of six numbers, it’s time to use longer, harder to guess and crack alphanumeric passphrases.

Cops all over the United States are racing to buy a new and relatively cheap technology called GrayKey to unlock iPhones. GrayShift, the company that develops it, promises to crack any iPhone, regardless of the passcode that’s on it. GrayKey is able to unlock some iPhones in two hours, or three days for phones with six digit passcodes. That’s why security experts are suggesting people stop using passcodes of only six digits altogether. (Motherboard, April 16, 2018)

 

How to switch to a longer numeric passcode

If a 6-digit numeric passcode isn't secure enough for you, but an alphanumeric password is too much of a hassle, you can set a custom numeric passcode, which simply means more than 6-digits.

Launch Settings from the Home screen.
Tap Touch ID & Passcode.
Enter your existing passcode.
Tap Change Passcode
Re-enter your existing passcode.
Tap Passcode Options.
Tap Custom Numeric Passcode.
Enter your new passcode numbers, as many as you can remember for daily usage.
Re-enter your passcode numbers.

How to switch to a stronger alphanumeric passcode

If the strongest phone access security is what you're after, this is what you'll want to switch to an alphanumeric passcode. The alphanumeric passcode should be long enough that it's extremely difficult to crack with current technology, but not so long that you can't remember it or enter it accurately when you need to. A strong passcode should be 12+ alphanumeric characters. 

Launch Settings from the Home screen.
Tap Touch ID & Passcode.
Enter your existing passcode.
Tap Change Passcode
Re-enter your existing passcode.
Tap Passcode Options.
Tap Custom Alphanumeric Code.
Enter your new long, strong alphanumeric password.
Re-enter your new long, strong alphanumeric password.