After the mysterious reboots, the devices supposedly enter what is called the Before First Unlock (BFU) state. This makes cracking them to get data about criminal activity much harder.

The lock state of an iPhone determines how easy it is for cops to use third-party tools like Cellebrite to break in and root around. When an iPhone boots after a loss of power, it’s in BFU and much harder to get into. Cops can still brute force their way into the phone, but it’s harder and the data they can extract is limited.

Apple’s iPhones employ two main states: Before First Unlock (BFU), which sees information encrypted and Face ID disabled until a user enters a passcode after a reboot. Then there’s After First Unlock (AFU), which is easier to crack when law enforcement needs to and offers more data on the display screen.

Phones are seemingly rebooting automatically and sending signals to nearby units to do the same, and we aren’t sure if it’s a bug or a feature.