Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,489
4,376
long island NY
I'm assuming each iPhone has a hardware-level id that you can't change by jailbreaking.

So, if I had a phone with id 321, and you stole it, then no matter what you did to it (wipe it, reformat it, jailbreak it), when you tried to re-activate it so it could do all the Apple-y things you want an iPhone to do (like make phone calls, or sync to your iTunes library), Apple would look at its own database and see that phone 321 is registered to doelcm82, and it would tell you that in order to activate it you need to enter the password for Apple ID doelcm82.

My iPhone is of very little use to you as a phone.

There have been hard-level jailbreaks in the past which give you complete access to the phones hardware. Tho Jailbreakers aren't creating jailbreaks for this reason anyway so it wont matter.
 

mrbyu

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2011
324
62
It won't stop theft. Thieves will just use the phones for parts then.

Nobody said it would actually stop theft. But it may significantly hinder it.
Or at least it will give you the satisfaction that nobody can happily use your stolen phone.
 

robsp2000

macrumors member
Jun 7, 2005
96
206
It's true. Apple actively resisted putting this feature in until they were treated with either legislation of being sued.

You see, Apple actually makes money on every iPhone theft because the victim buys another phone. Apple had no incentive to stop this.

And the person that bought the stolen iPhone is no longer in the market for an iPhone. It is partially offset.
 

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,489
4,376
long island NY
My friend got a used iPhone 4 that was locked to a carrier, and she thought it's possible to "unlock" it one way or the other. After weeks of googling to try to help her, I came to the conclusion that it is simply not possible to unlock her device, at all, no matter what we did. I was quite impressed, since I've never come across a system that can't be cracked. This doesn't apply to every iPhone or iOS version, but it shows that it is possible for Apple to make a system secure enough, if they really want to.

There was an unlock for the iPhone 4 tho.
 

Earendil

macrumors 68000
Oct 27, 2003
1,567
25
Washington
Immediately after reading the headline I just knew, without reading, that the politicians and lawyers were going to try and take credit for this, and sure enough...

"After months of pressure from a global coalition of elected officials and law enforcement agencies, we are pleased that Apple is set to release a new mobile operating system that includes a theft deterrent feature called Activation Lock."

I suppose technically they didn't claim it, but they heavily implied. As if Apple just decided to slap on such a deeply integrated feature in the last couple months of a multi year project :rolleyes:
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
Nobody said it would actually stop theft. But it may significantly hinder it.
Or at least it will give you the satisfaction that nobody can happily use your stolen phone.

I don't know. If my phone is lost or worse - stolen - I care more about the fact that I am without my phone more than someone is with it.

And if the nature of the crime is to use it for parts - the other party IS happily using my phone anyway...
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
The first thing a smart thief does is erase all content and settings and turn off the phone. If you have a passcode lock, they can't do this without wiping from iTunes. Hopefully this buys you enough time to report it lost/stolen; bricking the device until you enter your AppleID UN/PW.
I don't think it works that way. The apple ID will be associated to that specific ID through its serial number in Apple's database. If you wipe it from iTunes, at the time of activation, it will ask for the original Apple ID and password. You have to explicitly disassociate the iPhone from its original Apple ID for it to be used with another Apple ID. I think Apple's system works.

----------

I know this a silly question, but what about a DFU restore?
Still have to go through activation.

----------

also, i guess you have the same problem with someone sending you a rock in a box marked "eyephone."
lol
 

grockk

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2006
365
5
Oh politicians! Yes, this feature was magically created after your grand standing... no one ever thought it was a good idea before that or started all work necessary to bring it to fruition.

Talk about ego and self-aggrandising!

Yes and the months had nothing to do with Apple developing a robust and tested solution and everything to do with Apple dragging their feet kicking and screaming. Thank you so much mr politician.
 

bacaramac

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2007
1,424
100
This could make online sales more difficult--since to check for activation lock you need to examine the iPhone in person.

Not really, normally you purchase items online with a Visa or similar card. Credit Card companies have dispute processes for these situations. I would get written confirmation (through email) that device is not activation locked and not stolen, etc. Then if you get device and it is, Paypal or credit card company can assist with getting money back.
 

CGagnon

macrumors regular
Jun 24, 2007
200
0
When I lost my phone at Six Flags a couple of weeks ago, I was very glad I had taken the risk and put beta software on my primary device. At least I knew that nobody else was using it.. Now I just have to hope I eventually get it back.
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
Stolen phones can still be re-formatted and hacked.
Re-formating will do nothing to prevent activation from occurring. It's during the activation that Apple wins. I bet hacking will do nothing to it because jailbreaking occurs after activation.
 

musicianm

macrumors member
Sep 13, 2012
89
0
Minnesota
I thought all it does is brick the IMEI number so a carrier will not use it on their network?


I have a friend who lost his iPad on a plane. He had data service with it, and called AT&T. They new the IMEI number and marked it as "bad".

What is strange is the devices with bad IMEI numbers still sell on ebay... and why is that - can you pay to fix the IMEI number?
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
Honestly, the "kill switch" by itself doesn't worry me. However the kill switch in conjunction with all the NSA eavesdropping reports is somewhat disturbing.

We have no control over our own devices or privacy.
This has nothing to do with privacy. It's a mechanism against theft.
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
It won't stop theft. Thieves will just use the phones for parts then.
I don't think this is a very lucrative market. Try to take an iPhone apart and you'll break the parts. The only useful thing would be the screen - not worth for thieves.
 

gaximus

macrumors 68020
Oct 11, 2011
2,241
4,375
So, when confronted with this screen, there is no way a potential thief could restore the phone in iTunes somehow bypassing this?

As long as you have Find My iPhone turned on, it won't restore. It'll give you a message saying to disable it first. even if the phone is unlocked.
 

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,489
4,376
long island NY
Re-formating will do nothing to prevent activation from occurring. It's during the activation that Apple wins. I bet hacking will do nothing to it because jailbreaking occurs after activation.

Not always, you can make a custom ipsw already jailbroken and you can hacktivate.
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
This wont work on phones already stolen :confused:
Yes, it does. You might not get it back but it will make stealing an iPhone worthless. If Apple still create a mechanism to communicate with the phone at activation, they might be able to locate it and tell the police. That way you would have a chance to get it back.
 

tommyminahan

macrumors regular
Aug 16, 2008
183
139
Only this does not prevent theft for those that want to break down the phone and sell the screen or other parts - or to unauthorized repair shops...

It won't stop theft. Thieves will just use the phones for parts then.

I don't know. If my phone is lost or worse - stolen - I care more about the fact that I am without my phone more than someone is with it.

And if the nature of the crime is to use it for parts - the other party IS happily using my phone anyway...

I don't think this is a very lucrative market. Try to take an iPhone apart and you'll break the parts. The only useful thing would be the screen - not worth for thieves.

I may be out of touch- but has theft for parts really become that lucrative? when you can just as easily buy a factory new part from china for pennies on the dollar?
 

perealb

macrumors 6502
Oct 30, 2009
256
10
Not always, you can make a custom ipsw already jailbroken and you can hacktivate.
The hacktivation you are talking about is to circumvent activation towards a certain carrier. This is different and I bet Apple put a lot more thought to it than the carrier activation.
 

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
I may be out of touch- but has theft for parts really become that lucrative? when you can just as easily buy a factory new part from china for pennies on the dollar?

I have no idea.

But since when did that stop anyone? Not all thieves are of a brilliant mind ;)
 

Windlasher

macrumors 6502
Jan 11, 2011
483
111
minneapolis
In My Neck of the woods.

I don't think so, most of the thefts involved have some connections with the insiders in the apple store. I have personally seen how they work. They make the phone physically dead and then ask for a replacement. this way the TouchID was never used at all by them.

Here in Minneapolis the apple stores were told that if the customer could not physically unlock the phone, there were to be sent packing. They like this because all the cabbies come in with phones asking for them to be unlocked. Now they are told to just get lost.

I guess if its really your phone, you can prove that you bought it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.