The FBI may be backing out of its case against Apple

The FBI has moved to vacate the court hearing in its case against Apple that was scheduled to take place Tuesday, and the hearing has been canceled.

In a motion filed Monday, the FBI says it has discovered a new way to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone without Apple's help.

"...an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking Farook's iPhone," reads the motion.

Previously, the FBI said the only way it could access the iPhone was to order Apple to rewrite iOS to allow it to bypass its security passcode. Apple refused the FBI's order, setting off a tense legal battle. 

The hearing may not happen at all if the FBI is able to access the iPhone without Apple's help. It sounds like the FBI wants to give this a method a shot before going through a long legal battle with Apple.

It's unclear who provided the FBI with a method to potentially unlock the iPhone, but the filing does mention it came from someone outside the US government. It's also unclear whether or not Tuesday's hearing will still go through. However, it sounds like the FBI wants to give this a method a shot before going through a long legal battle with Apple.

Assuming the method the FBI wants to use does work without Apple's help, that means there's a potentially serious flaw in the iPhone's security and it can be unlocked even if it's protected with a passcode.

Tech Insider has reached out to Apple for comment.

Here's the full text of the motion: