iOS 7's 'Activation Lock' Delivers Cautious Optimism to Officials Concerned Over Mobile Device Thefts

finally somebody took the initiative about this. I hope more and more companies follow Apple and make this.

 

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This also benefits apple as people will be more cautious about buying used devices and once horror stories start circulating of people buying devices on craigslist/kijiji that won't activate it will effectively kill the used market quite likely

 

So do I now need to notify Apple whenever I intend to sell my iPhone?

 

Or just sign in with your Prism account.

 

No - this only happens when you remotely lock your phone. If they restore or delete your phone after that then an Apple ID will be needed. ;-)

 

So the Activation Lock still kicks in when the phone is wiped, if Find My iPhone is on but not in Lost mode?

 

I'd be really excited when it's possible to actually track a phone even after a clean install. I suspect a lot of thieves know to switch the phone right off and wipe the OS.

Just need a solution to the problem of legitimate second hand sales for this to work though.

 

My guess is that before you give the phone to someone else, you'd unlock it, and choose an option to 'transfer owner' or 'open phone for transfer'; enter your username and password, and then the phone would be totally unlocked. Obviously you'd only do this when you are about to sell it i.e. literally putting it in the envelope to send to the buyer.

By not enabling 'open mode' the phone should remain in a 'fixed to specific itunes account' state, preventing anyone else from resetting it, or wiping it.

I would like to see how this works though, surely it will be hacked very quickly.... Still if it stops casual thiefs that's great.

 

Do the new Control Center toggles from the Lock Screen require any password? This feature may not do much if the thief flips the phone into Airplane Mode before it gets wiped.

 

I don't think this will be much of a theft deterrent, because thieves will just visit the nearest basement where a big bearded nerd shorts this with that and the phone is fresh as new. Or just erase the chip storing AppleID information and the phone is again like new. Or replace the chip. They will find a way.

 

It's a start but how does it work? Will the user be able to do this or will it be something that has to be done by Apple.

My only concern is someone sells their iDevice to someone and then bricks it or what if the person who stole it got home and reloaded it before you could get home to brick it...

 

No, just turn off the feature. It is an option.

 

I think the master reset will be gated, but I don't the actual copy/verbiage will change. Fundamentally we're saying the same thing.

 

It is still active even after the wipe. I am sure it will be defeated but it will make it more of a hassle for many a petty thief.

 

I think the opportunistic thief looking for a quick buck is not in the market to start replacing chips on the iPhone's logic board....

 

Sure, my point is that I highly doubt this feature will be impenetrable.

 

So what if the phone is wiped and reactivated before the user gets the chance to do what ever is needed to prevent the reactivation?

 

Maybe, or maybe not. They just need to make it difficult enough to restore the phone to a sellable state that nobody is willing to go through the effort of stealing it, getting it back to a working state, and selling it for less than it could be gotten by legal means.

 

I've never understood why law enforcement was angry at Apple over iPhone thefts. Maybe they should do their freaking jobs and catch thieves? I'm all for Apple making their products harder to steal, but how lazy are cops anyway? Just goes to show you personal responsibility is always better than the police since they will do nothing to save you and your property.

 

There's some truth in this - I'm impressed, in an odd sort of way, how things eventually get hacked.

However, if the hack is complicated enough, then the barrier will be high enough to be a deterrent.

In addition, for a while, there won't be any hack at all, and any iOS7 phone will be viewed as non-resellable, both from the thief's POV and the buyer's POV.

If that time period is long enough, then the word will spread and the theft rate should, theoretically, go down.

Most thieves understand risk - if they're taking something for a possibility of no gain at all, they'll tend to avoid that.

 

I HATE thieves! I'm glad something is being done to prevent phone thefts or at least lessen the frequency.

 

Which will be, well, never.

 

I really like that this feature is controlled by us users, and not the carrier/Apple. I envisioned a real pain in the a$$ if Apple pulled the kill switch due to a mistake or whatever (disgruntled ex, previous owner?). Trying to fix it would be a nightmare. This way we control it. I am assuming there is a way to disassociate the device when selling so the buyer can then control it.



Michael

 

DFU mode... restore... bypassed