--- title: U.S. Drops Case to Force Apple to Unlock iPhone description: The Justice Department on Friday unlocked an iPhone and dropped a court case asking Apple to help them unlock the device canonical: https://time.com/4305708/prosecutors-drop-case-apple-locked-iphone/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-23T16:03:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:46:02.577Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Drops Case to Force Apple to Unlock iPhone og:description: Authorities were able to unlock the phone after its owner revealed the passcode og:url: https://time.com/4305708/prosecutors-drop-case-apple-locked-iphone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Drops Case to Force Apple to Unlock iPhone twitter:description: Authorities were able to unlock the phone after its owner revealed the passcode twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # U.S. Drops Case to Force Apple to Unlock iPhone > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=4b44225d-4d77-4b6d-9274-2c2162692ea6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Know Right Now: FBI Unlocks San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: FBI Unlocks San Bernardino Shooter's iPhone](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HHCTwZr7.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2016-03-29_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 23, 2016 4:03 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Apr 23, 2016 4:03 PM UTC The Justice Department [dropped a court case asking Apple to help them unlock an iPhone](http://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-prosecutors-drop-court-case-to-force-apple-to-unlock-iphone-1461377642?cb=logged0.3194766904284374) after its owner came forward with the passcode, a potential blow to the department in its [ongoing battle](http://time.com/4286883/justice-department-apple-brooklyn-iphone/) with Apple over encryption and privacy Prosecutors said the phone’s owner, who was arrested as part of a drug investigation, suddenly remembered the passcode and provided it to authorities, who were then able to unlock the phone, the Wall Street _Journal_ reported. “Late last night, the government used that passcode by hand and gained access to the iPhone,” prosecutors wrote in a letter filed with a Brooklyn federal court Friday, according to the _Journal_. “Accordingly, the government no longer needs Apple’s assistance to unlock the iPhone, and withdraws its application.’’ The dropped case is a blow to any Justice Department efforts to set a legal precedent in favor requiring companies cooperate with authorities in unlocking encrypted devices. The resolution of this case follows the department’s [other high-profile suit](http://time.com/4242709/apple-fbi-encryption-new-york-san-bernardino/) against Apple over a phone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, another instance when authorities were [ultimately able to unlock the phone](http://time.com/4275828/how-to-tell-who-won-the-fight-between-apple-and-the-fbi/) without Apple’s assistance. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We need to decide, as a nation, how much power the government should have over our data. And over our privacy. 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