Unable to erase certain model iPhones without user interaction when firmware is updated to iOS 12.1

Cause:

The flash-loader which is extracted from the firmware file, is sent to the phone prior to flashing, fails to reboot the device. The structure of the flash-loader has likely changed due to iOS 12.1.

Solution:

This is currently under investigation.

Workarounds:

Option 1: Disconnect and connect device a couple of times during the erasure.

• The cable needs to be reconnected from the device's side.
• First re-connect might be needed right after download finishes and erasure gets started. After erasure is restarted user should be prepared to reconnect the device quickly again when the progress gets to 7%.
• From there erasure should continue automatically and is expected to finish ok.

Option 2: Rollback the software to use the older version.xml instead of iOS 12.1:

1. Download and copy version.xml to USB stick: Download version.xml
2. Insert USB stick in BMDE machine and in Erasure App go to Settings > iOS > Storage > Manage storage > Import
3. Find the stick and version.xml and click Import.
4. After completed you should have an older version.xml and it will flash the devices to iOS 12.0.

Recommendations:

Due to the impact of frequent changes from Apple, it is recommended to set the iOS firmware download settings to ‘disable’ automatic download.  More information on available settings can be found here.

Update Nov 6, 2018:

The root cause is currently identified as an issue with USB interfaces introduced by iOS 12.1. As the issue originating from the Apple firmware, also the fix for this behavior should be provided by Apple. Workarounds mentioned above can be used to process these devices for now.