iPhone can be shut down with screen locked and passcode set

I don't think that iPhone owners are concerned as much about the data on their phone as most back up with iTunes . The question is regarding having a phone that u cannot remove the battery quickly , has software on it which helps locate it , but all any unscrupulous people have to do is turn it off. There is absolutely no reason why shut down cant be passcode locked and even the soft reset for that matter .

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The iPhone of my wife is stolen last week and didn't had a always online data plan. So there was in some way nothing we could do. For that reason I shut down the simcard and via icloud.com sent a message to the iphone and placed it in restore mode.

In this case the poweroff passcode requirement didnt had any use but it would be very much of use when someone has an always online connection. That way if it gets stolen its traceable as long as the battery lasts. Letting the iPhone reset itself after 10 false attempts to login is stupid. That way its not even traceable anymore.

As far as I know with iOS7 there will be a apple id login required before you can restore the iphone! I don't know what will hebben if the home and powerbutton will be used at the same time... But it makes it a little harder to steal a phone and sell it.

Also, if the iphone can be connected to an apple ID you could do a lot more, for instance:

Mark the iphone as stolen. When the phone is in some way restored, the imei number is marked in a database and the iphone will be traced through wifi or 3g without the new owner knowing. If you want you can send messages or shut it down. You can only mark a phone as stolen if it is connected to your apple ID. So if you sell the phone, you want to restore it, restoring it requires a login with your apple id, after it has been restored the iphone is "free of apple id" and cant be marked as stolen. When somebody, the new owner, connects it with his apple id, its his iphone.

Most people have data plans, so it's unfortunate your wife's phone didn't . My point is simple. You shouldn't be allowed to turn off or reset the iPhone without a code. This would make the phone traceable . If the battery runs out, the thief would try to recharge it. If your SIM card is left unlocked it should just turn on and activate without a code up to the lock screen stage. Another problem is that since they've stopped using google maps sometimes it takes ages to find your linked phones. It used to be much faster and reliable to find your iPhone in the past . I think they stopped the function of writing a message as well. Apple have to fix this . My children have turned off my phone in the past and my alarm didn't go off in the morning and I was late to work. No one should be able to turn off somebody else's phone. As I said most phones have a removable battery , do why not give the iPhone the ultimate anti theft feature since its battery is fixed????

Preventing power off without a password does not solve the problem of assuring the phone is traceable. There are many different ways to disable Find my iPhone; powering off the phone is just one of them. Wrapping in aluminum foil or putting in a metal box or foil-lined shoplifter's bag is another. Removing the SIM. Restoring the phone as new from DFU mode. Hacking with any of the available jailbreak tools. Draining the battery through the dock connector. Removing the battery (it isn't that hard to do; just requires the right screwdriver). Requiring a password to power off the phone will annoy a lot of users, without providing any real protection. In some ways it is worse, because it will give users a false sense of security.

Most people never turn their iPhone off so I don't think it is an annoyance. Most people aren't that savvy to know how to do those kind of things you mention. In the meantime you could be tracking them until they find a screwdriver , foil etc. I don't know much about jail breaking but I'm sure that some people would find a way around even locking a phone to a particular apple id. Simple you need a code to turn off, access dfu, reset. So until somebody finds a SIM card removal tool you can trace them. All other methods basically will guarantee your lost/stolen phone would be used as parts only.

I think you will find that 99% of people who steal cell phones know every way possible to disable Find my iPhone, and travel with the tools necessary. And the ones who don't won't think to turn it off either.

A SIM card removal tool is called a "paper clip". And thieves who steal iPhones will carry one.

I remember that there was alot of discussion going when there came an iPhone without a SIM card. That the check was done in another way. That sure does provide a solution but I don't know anymore wat the badside of that was.

The way I see it is that there have to be ways to sell the phone without that much fuzz, but it just should be hard te resell an iphone. If it's hard te resell one it's not worth the stealing accept for parts for example.

I wouldn't have problems with a simcard less iphone that can only be transferred to another person if there is need of the correct apple id + pass. After that is correctly given the iphone is "free" of any person. With the new installation it gets added to the apple id that is entered in the installation. It all shouldn't be that hard.

For the people who will find it annoying that they have to use a passcode to reset the phone? Then make it an option that can be turned off. Just like the passcode can be turned off. That way it's your own risk.

I think that everybody's overlooking something here. People don't want to worry about losing or having their phone stolen and apple with its hard wired battery has a slight advantage if only there was a lock preventing shutdown.

There is a reason though. If for any reason the display becomes unresponsive the only solution may be a full system reboot. Otherwise you get to sit there and wait for hours and maybe even a full 24 for the battery to die on its own. Plus even if power off was password protected SIM removal is still an option to keep the device undetected.

There is no perfect system for device recovery.

There are alarm apps that make your phone make a loud sound when picked up with pass codes but even they are useless as you can but simply turn the phone off without moving it. Gem phones in the past had locks to turn phones off , why can't an iPhone. Simple.

Yes, I've just read about this Activation Lock, but what if it isn't powered on after it's stolen? And of course by the time you've actually gained access to a computer to actually activate Lost Mode. 😕

With the millions of iOS devices out in the world it does need to happen. More often than most people know. Not being able to hard reset without a passcode would be a huge inconvenience. But we can agree to disagree 😀

Even if the SIM card is removed, assuming another one will at some point be put in, then internet access is likely and then it can be detected again, regardless of who's SIM card it is connected with.

Have you ever used this? Does it give the new "owner" a limited number of attempts or are they unlimited? Using this feature would mean that I would need to log into someone else's device or pic , use find my iPhone then activate the lock right? Can't they simply turn the phone off? Or can I activate the lock without the phone being discoverable? Sorry I've just bought myself a Samsung galaxy note 3 for Xmas( very happy so far excellent phone, when I pick up my old 4s it feels tiny) and I can't test till I get home.

Okay I thought it was like a 4 digit pin? I remember doing this once. It seems the only flaw from the link I read is that you cannot remotely turn on find my iPhone. I always have mine on but I imagine a lot of people don't.