Iphone Theft

Activation lock is not related to IMEI blacklisting. IMEI blacklisting is handled by carriers where they use a database of IMEI numbers that the refuse connection to their network, making the device useless in their network. Each carrier handles that themselves, as they own their network. In some places, like the USA and other countries, the carrier's work cooperatively to share the database and make a universal list of blocked devices. But the USA "universal" list has no affect on carriers in other countries, unless they choose to share in the USA database system. Simlarly, the USA database will not include phones reported stolen on other countries unless the USA carriers chose to be part of thaowe countries' lists.

if carriers did actually cooperate globally and set up a planet wide universal blacklist, there'd be no incentice to steal phones for resale for use, as they would be unable to connect anywhere. Nowadays, a cell phone stolen in the USA is just likely to get sold overseas, to get around the USA nationally-universal blacklist.

Activation lock by Apple is completely different. It links the hardware ID (and reportedly NOT the IMEI number) to a specific Apple users iCloud account and AppleID. Since an iPhone needs to be activated with Apples servers to be used, Activation Lock blocks that activation unless the user knows the AppleID password.

Apple provides the servers and the software, but other than that, they do NOT actively participate in the use of Activation Lock. They provide the means for the service to operate, but enabling it and disabling it are entirely up to device owners. As Rudegar pointed put, if Apple actively tracked devices for people, there could be serious privacy issues in many countries. They very deliberately do not actively track devices - they merely provide a system whereby owners can track their own devices and thus Apple is only a passive participant in the whole process (an enabler, if you like).

And the cornerstone to Activation Lock is the AppleID password. Use a strong password, use two-step verification and guard that password and Activation lock is very effective at rendering an iPhone or iPad useless to anyone but the owner, anywhere in the world.

I don't believe that anyone ever said that Activation Locked phones are "relatively secure from theft". What is being said is that with the implementation of Activation Lock, theft of iPhone has been reduced significantly. Thefts are going to occur. I spent 30 years in law enforcement, and no matter what you try to do, illegal things are going to happen. Why do people that know the devices are activation locked or IMEI locked still attempt to sell these devices on eBay, etc.? Why do people still by them? And as far as your comment regarding vehicle theft earlier, they still occur at rapid frequency, even without the "capital" you described. Nothing the electronics industry, Apple, or others, do is going to eliminate theft, but it has been reduced. As mentioned earlier, kill switches are being mandated in the US in many states, but many of the phone manufactures do not want to follow Apple's lead on this and are fighting having to add this to the devices. Because of the mentality of the market for devices, they will still sell, just not as many of them will.

Rudegar in the very first reply to you was nice enough to provide two links that explained Activation Lock before Michael's post. Did you not read them? Vehicles still do not have VINs on all parts and neither does the iPhone. It is also harder to track a part number on the iPhone as you would have to disassemble it. Apple will have to continually monitor Activation Lock to make sure it cannot be bypassed, that is probably the only thing they are doing. Consumers can also help by stop buying used iPhones from non-credible sources.

Gosh, folks, it appears I was wrong! This is a chat room! No one here is trying to provide help with a hardware problem. You're just blathering away on a design topic. And here I thought all of you higher level folks wanted something better for this forum...

RichmondDan wrote:

Gosh, folks, it appears I was wrong! This is a chat room! No one here is trying to provide help with a hardware problem. You're just blathering away on a design topic. And here I thought all of you higher level folks wanted something better for this forum...

If yo believe there has been a violation of the Terms of Use, feel free to use the "Report this post" button.

And this site is not just for hardware problems. It is a technical support site. It appears that the OP has, indeed, learned something about Activation Lock versus IMEI blacklisting.

You are not a deputy or a posse here. Quit trying to be a volunteer moderator, it isn't welcome by anyone. If you have a problem with my posts or anyone else then you have enough posts I believe to report us. Otherwise just stop.

This consumers report data is a couple of years old but drives home the point that much smart phone theft is driven in large part by the pratices of the owners:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/smart-phone-thefts-rose-to-3-1-m illion-last-year/index.htm

Note how many people surveyed don't even bother with a passcode (nor a backup either). I cannot find the article now, but the FBI website had a post discussing how smart phone theft is being increasingly driven by a desire for the contents of the device, not the device itself. Things like activation lock and ever broader blacklisting have made the resale of actual devices less of an incentive for theft. But all that lovely personal data on devices, often wide open and readable to anyone with hands on access to the device is a huge incentive. No technological fix will ever prevent that theft incentive if people don't use the tools already available. As technology advances make the physical value of stolen devices less and less to the thieives, the increasing amounts of personal and financial data on peoples mobile devices creates a whole new incentive for theft. Apple already provides strong hardware enhanced encryption of data but it is dependent on using the passcode features of iOS. If people cannot be convinced to use at least a simple passcode, then the consequences of theft fall squarely on them personally, IMO.

One correction I'd make to the article I linked would be to the passage below. While you must enable location services for Activation Lock to work, that does not mean that anyone other than you need be able to track your location. You can alter settings so that no other person, app or company (including all Apple location services other than Find my iPhone) has any access to your location information. Only Apple's servers themselves would track it, and only give up that information to you (or someone with your password and account access). The article makes it sound like anybody else can then track you, and that simply is not true - only those you allow access to your location information can do so. Find my iPhone and Activation Lock send your location over a secure Internet connection to Apple's servers only.

<quote from article>

"The closest thing to a kill switch already in the market is Apple’s Activation Lock feature. Available with iOS 7, it requires the user’s Apple ID and password before Find My iPhone can be turned off or the device can be erased and reactivated. Law-enforcement officials are generally happy with it, with one exception. “The only problem with Activation Lock is it’s not pre-enabled,” Gascon said. It also requires that location services be turned on, and many users don’t want their location tracked, so they leave those services disabled."