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General protect DFU mode or make it harder to access?

B

borgqueenx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jul 16, 2010
1,357
258
i mean its great and all to prevent thiefs from shutting it down...but they can always put the phone in dfu and then the anti thief software is still useless.
How can we make it harder for thiefs to get into dfu besides breaking the home or power button lol?
 
I'm sure that most most people who resort to stealing phones from people wouldn't know what DFU is. They're the type of people who put an ad on Craigslist for an iPhone for 50% of its value.
 
I have wondered this too.

As far as security, using FindMyiPhone is like shutting the screen door to your house, PowerGuard is like shutting the front door.

Both are better than NOTHING if your phone gets stolen, but I too would like at least the option to prevent the power/home button power off options. Something where only software (even in safe mode) would allow power cycling outside of a full-blown restore would be cool.

That would at least be a deadbolt on the door. Not completely theftproof, but it would at least buy you some time to track it before they figured out it had to be restored or dead to be shut off.

Only downside is that there would be the chance that once a thief realized it was set up that way theyd just smash the phone to stop from getting tracked... but who knows if they'd be smart enough to do that and not smart enough to take it to a laptop and restore it ASAP.

There does need to be a better solution. iPhone theft is pretty much my 4th greatest fear (besides harm to my family, self, and BEARS!!!).
 
The whole point isn't to get your phone back, its to make sure the thief doesn't get access to your personal information.
 
I doubt it's possible stuff dealing with firmware is on one of them fancy chips as is read only (for a good reason, if you mess that up a bootloop = bricked phone) so there's nothing the OS can do to change that and there is nothing you could run from iOS that could block DFU mode since iOS would never boot to load the DFU blocking app.
 
meh we could block DFU in springboard...and then use DFU while the iphone starts. takes 30secs and it takes 6 secs or so to power it down and then 5 secs more to get into dfu.
my point would be to get my iphone back not only deleting personal data. i want the iphone to make alarm sounds, display warning messages and make pictures. that nifty jailbreak app icoughtu allows that.

i just wish we could somehow edit DFU mode. i do not want to disable DFU mode completly that would be insane...but i want to make it harder to access.. for example hold volume key plus power makes the thief blind to the combination.
 
Agreed. The data on my phone is all well and good (and deleting it would be ok), but the #1 goal would be tracking down the phone.

Unfortunately, for the time being if someone gets ahold of the phone and knows how to shut it down (DFU or otherwise), it's pretty much gone forever (data included) anyway.

Gotta be a better way. I'm glad I live in a low theft area, but it's still something pretty hard to avoid 100% no matter where you are. And it only takes once.
 
In this town there is no theft practically.
But....i do go out alot to big cities and other stuff...

Maybe we should ask the jailbreak team to make this happen.
 
1. Bypassing DFU mode is absolutely impossible. It is 100% hardware-based and happens before even the bootrom is activated. Short of physically disabling the home or sleep button, there is simply nothing that can be done to stop it.

2. Even if it were possible to bypass DFU mode it would be a terrible idea. DFU mode is what makes it absolutely impossible to brick an iPhone.
 
thelatinist said:
2. Even if it were possible to bypass DFU mode it would be a terrible idea. DFU mode is what makes it absolutely impossible to brick an iPhone.
Click to expand...

Exactly. If it were possible to disable DFU, we would be flooded with posts like "Help! I disabled DFU and now my iPhone wouldn't start!!!!"

Or put it another way, getting rid of DFU is like sealing up your fire escape because you are afraid a thief could get in through it, and then when there is a fire, *you* are trapped in and unable to escape.
 
I have an idea. Get the dev of iCaughtU Pro to have an option to disable the home button entirely when locked so they can't enter dfu, restore mode, or even turn it off unless they unlock it.
 
thelatinist said:
1. Bypassing DFU mode is absolutely impossible. It is 100% hardware-based and happens before even the bootrom is activated. Short of physically disabling the home or sleep button, there is simply nothing that can be done to stop it.

2. Even if it were possible to bypass DFU mode it would be a terrible idea. DFU mode is what makes it absolutely impossible to brick an iPhone.
Click to expand...

Yes, what he said above.
Its not something that can be messed with or even if you could you wouldnt want to.
There would still be no way to disable dfu or password protect it or something.
Dont over think it. Its there for a reason.
There's no way to make it to something its not or as a security measure.
 
Like discussed it can be make harder to enter dfu mode.

Disabling home wouldnt work. You cant disable it. Dfu always listens on the background to be activated when you do the dfu combo.
 
I thought you could disable the power button after iOS starts. After all, when you hold down the power button, the screen displays a "slide to power off" screen.
 
DFU mode saved my butt today while messing around on a naughty repo...No way I'd give it up.
 
Ok genius here to the rescue, I need to get a job in this field if noone can figure out this solution. I can make a tiny relay that goes on the cable to the home button that will disable or enable the physical wired connection to the home button off of a signal from another relay off holding holding both volume buttons. Hold both volume buttons = home button physically disconnected, hold both again, home button enabled. Thank you for your time and I will be happy to install for whoever is interested. This is my first post and I look forward to helping with any other problems. "Impossible is my middle name" - Henry Visovski
 
Last edited:
Coper05 said:
Ok genious here to the rescue, I need to get a job in this field if noone can figure out this solution. I can make a tiny relay that goes on the cable to the home button that will disable or enable the physical wired connection to the home button off of a signal from another relay off holding holding both volume buttons. Hold both volume buttons = home button physically disconnected, hold both again, home button enabled. Thank you for your time and I will be happy to install for whoever is interested. This is my first post and I look forward to helping with any other problems. "Impossible is my middle name" - Henry Visovski
Click to expand...

W ios7 this problem has gone away. Thanks anyways.
 
Coper05 said:
Ok genious here to the rescue, I need to get a job in this field if noone can figure out this solution. I can make a tiny relay that goes on the cable to the home button that will disable or enable the physical wired connection to the home button off of a signal from another relay off holding holding both volume buttons. Hold both volume buttons = home button physically disconnected, hold both again, home button enabled. Thank you for your time and I will be happy to install for whoever is interested. This is my first post and I look forward to helping with any other problems. "Impossible is my middle name" - Henry Visovski
Click to expand...

Wow relays, you must be a hangover from the 60's. As already mentioned it has been solved by Apple in IOS7.
 
Also a cool idea I wanna try is activating the relay from far way by sending a text using activators message recieved function, not gonna respond to the posts about ios 7 bc someone else will tell them that what they are saying has nothing to do with anything and its not relevant at all whatsoever.

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Carlanga said:
W ios7 this problem has gone away. Thanks anyways.
Click to expand...
A thief can still go into DFU mode with ios 7 and have your phone erased so you cant track it anymore is what I am saying.
 
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