Q: Disappointed with Apple
I've used Apple iPods and iPhones for many years. I bought my wife a 1st Gen iTouch, my kids had 5th Gen iTouch's, and I've gone through iPhones from version 4 to version 6. Three weeks ago my daughter's iPhone 6 was stolen while we were in San Francisco - she was crushed. But I told her not to worry because we had locked it with iCloud Activation. We went on the iCloud website and I showed her the status was set to On and we would most likely be getting the phone back. I put it in Lost/Stolen mode that very day and it remained offline until yesterday. At 4:30 PM EST I was sent a message stating it was online. I quickly logged into Find My iPhone and it showed up under my daughter's account but showed as Offline. I checked Activation Lock and it still said On. Over the next hour, I tried numerous times to reach the phone with no luck and then it suddenly disappeared from my daughter's account. When I went to the iCloud site and entered the serial number of the phone it then said Activation Lock was Off and that the device could now be activated by a new user. I contacted Apple Support via telephone and they confirmed it had been tied to my daughter's account but now it was not - Apple claimed the only way that can happen is that they guessed her password and turned it off or they completely destroyed the phone.
I just don't understand how Apple can make a sweeping statement on their website that iCloud Activation Lock prevents anyone from using a phone that is stolen or found. Please don't post any replies saying I'm an anti-Apple troll - I'll most likely be getting a 6s to replace the stolen product because I do like the products but I'd like Apple to improve this tool to the point where it actually delivers what is advertised. My first suggestion to them is to force the user to enter the password before turning the device off - in this instance the criminal turned it off the second they stole it. My other recommendation is to put some sort of emergency sim card on the board so it can communicate with any tower even if the main sim card is removed. I honestly believe that if the criminal had to carry it around for a few hours with it still communicating its location then they will think much harder before grabbing it.
Has anyone else had an experience like this? Or does anyone else have other recommendations to make this type of theft a thing of the past?
Thanks!
iPhone 6, iOS 9.3.2, Activation Lock
Posted on Jun 26, 2016 8:11 AM