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AT&T Unveiling New Blocking Service for Stolen Phones Next Week
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Trouble with that notion is that anything you can buy from said sources can be done with a computer and synced over. So blocking such access does nothing.
Renters insurance, home owners insurance, Private electronics insurance. Your options are virtually limitless but saying "whaaa my phone got stolen how can you help ME!??" after the fact is not one of them.
Apple will include an optical disc drive in the next generation of MacBook Airs before AT&T brings back unlimited data.
Actually, Apple all ready has an ODD in the MacBook Air. Apple has found a way to get the iSight camera to read the data of optical disks by holding them in front of the camera.
So yes, you're right.
Okay, looks like I won't be buying any phones off of eBay. I hope they at least require a police report.
I wonder if it would be possible for Apple to do something. Some special software on an iPhone, available to the police, that lets them contact a stolen phone, and then they both check out what WiFi hotspots are there and their relative strength. WiFi might not be enough to get your precise location, but it might be good enough to see if two phones are in the same location. Phone A has hotspots X, Y and Z at strengths 73%, 45% and 19%, while Phone B has the same hotspots at strengths 39%, 58% and 25%. First iPhone does some magic calculation, tells the cop which direction to walk, until both phones agree and the cop handcuffs the thief.
You should never ASSUME. The IMEI number can be black listed preventing the phone from being used on any GSM network.
Carriers in other countries do this all the time. It is just that the US is a little behind the times.
Who lives in this magical land where the police department sends cops out to investigate a phone theft? I've been burglarized and had items of significant value taken. I filled out a report, they told me to contact my insurance company and sent me on my merry way. No CSI team taking fingerprints or photos, no follow up calls or investigation. In my town (Chicago) we barely have enough police to handle violent crimes, but a single iPhone theft?
Not to mention the IMEI can also be used to block non allowed phones from joining a network.
Korea's networks use a IMEI whitelist to prevent non Korean residents from getting local SIM's. It can be done (for Foreigners) but it's a little tricky.
Even if it was available, the police wouldn't use it most of the time. It is not worth the effort. For the most part they will only get charged with a misdemeanor possession of stolen property.
The police would only be interested in phones that were taken during a robbery. With the vast number of phones taken on a daily basis, there is no way to filter it out.
What AT&T is doing is the right thing. When stolen phones can't get activated, those who are buying them won't want to risk purchasing a brick. Which reduces the value of the item. Once there is no value, the criminals will find something else to steal.
This has been done in other countries and it has worked very well.
Shameless plug, I brought this topic up on X3 a few months ago. http://media.podshow.com/media/26639/episodes/313814/x3show-313814-04-20-2012.mp4 Since then, phone thefts have only increased more drastically.
Hmmm...wonder if this can be retroactive. My iPhone was stolen late last year. They should have had this service all along.
My wife uses it constantly to track me - especially at lunch time. Don't get me wrong: I usually come home for lunch. If not, I usually cannot tell her in advance, so, she just checks if I'm on my way or 25 miles away.
Another application is my disorganization: I frequently forget my phone. I use that so I can see where I left it and pick it up.
Exactly. There are more important things like actual crimes
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I be damned if my woman was to keep tabs on me like that. Smh
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Can you still just sell your phone and the buyer just pop a SIM in and use it?
I wonder if my first 4GB iPhone (model 1) can now be officially banned on AT&T. It was stolen years ago, AT&T then said there was no policy in place on stolen phones. I still have the iPhone's serial # and such, it's worth a shot. I wouldn't be surprised if it was still being used.
I asked AT&T about this a few weeks ago. The answer is no. If someone already has the phone activated on an account, they are safe.
While I do not disagree with your statement, one of the first steps in getting a divorce is to get your own credit card and cell phone.
People bring this up all the time. What would be the purpose of this? I can't see this being a problem.
Right, like catching and imprisoning all yhose Marijuana users. The "War on Drugs" is a much more effecient use of the Police force.... Especially given that the prohibitions are directly responsible for the majority of actual crime. But hey, at least this gives a sustained employment model.
Not if the phone is active on someone's account. Even if it's not, I doubt it.
You tell us!
Yes, Telstra, Optus, Vodafone in Australia (With reasonable, but not perfect cross-carrier blocking)
so is a lost phone a stolen phone? some one loses a phone, reports it stolen.
what then? someone finds it...can't do anything with it...do they turn it in to apple, at&t?
what then? someone finds it...can't do anything with it...do they turn it in to apple, at&t?
It's long overdue, strongly needed, and welcomed!
This will make purchasing a phone on Craigslist quite interesting now. Hopefully AT&T can give you that information dialing 611 from the phone, so you can verify the phone is indeed legit before purchasing it from the seller. If not, this forum will be loaded with "I BOUGHT A STOLEN IPHONE! HELP!" threads.
This will make purchasing a phone on Craigslist quite interesting now. Hopefully AT&T can give you that information dialing 611 from the phone, so you can verify the phone is indeed legit before purchasing it from the seller. If not, this forum will be loaded with "I BOUGHT A STOLEN IPHONE! HELP!" threads.
It will be very interesting to see how the number of listings on eBay and CL are over the first few months of release. I suspect it will take a few months for the criminals to realize the phones no longer have a value.
I think you will also see a sharp jump in the number of complaints people have about buying a used phone on eBay.
I think you will also see a sharp jump in the number of complaints people have about buying a used phone on eBay.