Does the Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (MD821AM/A model A1440) support yubikey 5 when using an iPad Pro 10.5” and iPadOS 15?
I don’t want to enable yubikey two-factor on accounts (on my 2020 iMac running Big Sur) and then find out that I cannot login on my iPad Pro 10.5”.
Well, a little more digging and I found a Yubico Authenticator app in the App Store.
According to the documentation in the app:
The only Yubikey that works on iPads is the 5ci (lightning and USB-C; using lightning connection only; so, upgrading to an M1-based iPad Pro wouldn’t work with my Yubikey 5c: USB-C port and no NFC)
The Yubico Authenticator app doesn’t see the Yubikey 5 through the lightning to USB camera adapter.
You have to wonder if Yubico could create a secure link between an iPhone with NFC and a target iPad (assuming they’re both registered to the same AppleID) to allow NFC yubikey login for accounts on the iPad.
OR
Work with Apple to get the USB-C yubikeys working on iPad USB-C ports. (and maybe get a firmware update for the two Apple lightning to USB adapters so USB-A yubikeys would work through them)
Well, a little more digging and I found a Yubico Authenticator app in the App Store.
According to the documentation in the app:
The only Yubikey that works on iPads is the 5ci (lightning and USB-C; using lightning connection only; so, upgrading to an M1-based iPad Pro wouldn’t work with my Yubikey 5c: USB-C port and no NFC)
The Yubico Authenticator app doesn’t see the Yubikey 5 through the lightning to USB camera adapter.
You have to wonder if Yubico could create a secure link between an iPhone with NFC and a target iPad (assuming they’re both registered to the same AppleID) to allow NFC yubikey login for accounts on the iPad.
OR
Work with Apple to get the USB-C yubikeys working on iPad USB-C ports. (and maybe get a firmware update for the two Apple lightning to USB adapters so USB-A yubikeys would work through them)
As a user of Yubikey, I’ll try to provide some definitive information.
Support for Yubikey by iOS/iPadOS is, at best, limited. Note the construct of that sentence - as this is perhaps key to understanding some of the challenges associated with Yubikey and similar hardware authenticators with iPad and iPhone.
1) Authentication support is primarily limited to FIDO2/WebAuthn, U2F and OTP.
2) iPad does not support NFC - as iPad lacks any NFC hardware. iPhone does support NFC; with Yubikey NFC you may need to use the Yubikey App.
3) Both iPad and iPhone can support connection of USB with an appropriate adapter. Note published iOS limitations for USB-C Yubikey.
3) Yubikey (and similar devices) that connect via USB effectively emulate a USB Keyboard device. All USB devices declare a USB Device Type when connected to the host - as this determines how the host device will use the connected device.
A Yubikey declares itself to be a USB Keyboard. Whilst a USB keyboard is connected to an iPad or iPhone, the touch-screen “soft” keyboard is suppressed; if your device has iOS14 or later installed, the soft-keyboard must be prompted to reappear for every keyboard input… as illustrated here:
When using an external keyboard device, in addition to a connected Yubikey, this may be less of a limitation. However, if you primarily use the screen for input, this introduces a fundamental usability issue as you are repeatedly having to summon the keyboard with two additional targeted taps to the screen.
The workaround is to connect the Yubikey only when authenticating - immediately removing the Yubikey from the USB connection after completing an authentication attempt. Of itself, this may be acceptable - but for most users, the Yubikey is ideally allowed to remain physically connected throughout a session. Alternatively, use an external wired or Bluetooth Keyboard when using your Yubikey.
Summary
Speaking of personal experience alone, Yubikey is usable with iPad when using an appropriate Adapter/USB hub to host a USB Yubikey - but due to architectural limitations of iOS/iPadOS, is only really viable when using an external hardware keyboard. Only basic Authentication protocols are properly supported - which for many may be adequate for their needs.
I hope this insight and guidance proves to be helpful to you.
Now this is a very good question and I decided to do some research into it.
Now I would assume that it would generally work because of the USB input and it can generally receive data, but I could not find anything confirming that it would generally work for the Yubikey. You are more then welcome to try though. But if you want my opinion, I would find a Lightning to USB (Female) adapter. However, Apple does not make something like that. (I am assuming this is the USB A version and USB C version of the Yubikey)
Ohhhh! Okay so this I can for sure answer. So I snipped this from yubico:
Please keep in mind that you cannot use a lightning adapter as the lightning is MFI (made for iPhone) and therefore it may not work. Adapters should work with OTP and Fido U2F, however we don’t recommend it.
Taken From: https://support.yubico.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404456942738-FAQ#h_01FFHPVEWW2GCFTZMSHRFPXXR7
The real question is:
Does Mfi (the Lighting plug’s logic) support all the yubikey 5’s security protocols?
(both the adapter and the Yubikey 5 are USB2)
The iPad Pro sees the USB camera adapter.
But, I can’t figure out how to check if the Yubikey 5 is seen by the iPad Pro when it’s plugged into the adapter. (I have two Yubikeys: USB-A and USB-C; backup to keep from being locked out of secured accounts and future proofing; I haven’t seen any info that the M1 or A12Z iPads’ USB-C port would support the yubikey 5C)
Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (MD821AM/A model A1440) support for yubikey 5
