ive my one reason why Apple would have a problem when the phone has been stolen !
How would Apple know with certainty that the iPhone has indeed been stolen? Unless the report came from an authorized law enforcement agency, Apple can have no such assurances. And if law enforcement does contact Apple on a matter of stolen property, Apple will cooperate with them. Few police departments, however, have the time to pursue such research for a single lost or stolen cellphone and hence only in rare circumstances, such as in the case of a threat to safety (a kidnapped child, for instance) or a theft ring will they take the initiative to contact a manufacturer for assistance.
if I buy a BMW and it gets stolen, BMW can, and do immobilize the car anywhere in the world they are "not an enforcement agency" but they do look after their customers.
I can find no evidence that BMW actually disables a car, they seem only track it, and then only if you 1) subscribe to the service, an extra cost option and 2) have filed a police report. And even then the service is, from all reports, quite easily disabled. So it's of little more value than Apple's Find My iPhone service, which is available to all iPhone ownsers at no extra charge.
As to the blocking by IMEI, again, Apple has no control over the cell networks and hence cannot block any iPhone from connecting to a cell network. This can only be done by the cell networks, and none cooperate to the extent that any phone can be blocked from all, or even several, different networks.
I understand the ire and frustration when something you own is lost or stolen, but there is again no practical way any cellphone manufacturer can block use of an phone permanently throughout the world or provide foolproof tracking capabilities.
'nuff said. Regards.
