America's FBI has said it thinks it has discovered a way to unlock an encrypted iPhone used by a terrorist.
Apple had steadfastly refused to meet FBI demands to hack the phone and both parties were due in court on Tuesday to see if Apple could be forced to develop software to decrypt its products.
Apple claims such an effort would end security for anyone using encryption.
The FBI claims it needed to view the encrypted information on the phone of Syed Rizwan Farook who shot and killed 14 poeple in a terrorist attack in California last year.
A court case could have been a show down between civil liberties and security concerns, but just the day before proceedings, prosecutors filed papers with the Los Angeles court saying that an outside party had shown the FBI a possible way to unlock the phone.
"Testing is required to determine whether it is a viable method that will not compromise data on Farook's iPhone,” it said.
"If the method is viable, it should eliminate the need for the assistance from Apple Inc set forth in the All Writs Act Order in this case."
The court agreed to postpone the hearing.
