So people are saying "It's about time!" but I have a strong feeling if not for the iPhone's existence this would still not exist.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StephanJobs
It would be an emmense help if Apple added a "enter security code to power off" feature. This way we could track and send messages to the device as long as there is battery power.
I like this idea but I wonder if there is a technical issue since turning your phone on and off is one way to resolve any issues. To wit, if you are having issues then perhaps being able to input your passcode or the system getting secure access to it for the verification could be a hurdle.
I'd suggest having a dual option, one to turn off that requires a PIN and one that will power cycle (i.e., restart) that doesn't require a PIN but just seems convoluted and kludgy.
I'd also like to see an option to passcode protect your Settings, or at least the part of Settings that allows you disable the Find My iDevice feature.
Its too easy for you to say it was stolen when you are just pissed at the person you gave your old phone or whatever to. That's one reason. So they would have to require you to file a police report etc to back up the claim and then you'd have to go through some proper set up channel to send them the info.
And too easy for the guy that stole your phone to say that he bought it from you, second hand, for cash and you didn't give him any kind of receipt so he can't prove it but he's going to sue Apple blah blah.
How many other phone makers block a stolen phone from use? Probably none. So why does Apple get called out as having this duty to do so while everyone else gets a pass. ATT etc will freeze service off that phone as they should, Apple will block it from using your Apple ID in case they guess your password but really how much more than that should they be doing. Should they just give you a free replacement because poor baby someone took your phone. That would cause all kinds of fraud so of course they won't do it.
yeah that's right, I was asking for a replacement phone... If I've used my find my iphone feature within hours of my block request, remote wiped my phone, filed a police report, and send it to them, as well as my purchase receipt, they should damn well block the serial from accessing itunes. I can't think of any possible resale scenario that this sequence of events precedes it, unless the iphone is stolen property.
Timely reminder for ignore list time btw, been meaning to do this for a while.
Indeed. I 've sent them feedback myself on this, the very same. Since find my iphone is by now so well established and known, it's even more important that they implement it.
This isn't meant to protect the consumer, it's meant to protect the carriers from people who DON'T buy expensive new phones.
If you stole my phone and tried to activate itt and they told you sorry no can do. What good is that going to do me?. It's not like they are going to raise a red flag and send the information to authorities which could result in me possibly gaining back my property.
They are just gonna say sorry bud, it's flagged as stolen but hey you're in luck cause we got the new iPhone here on sale for 199$ with a two year contract!
If you report it as stolen and it's flagged by all means great. The GSM spec should now include the requirement that the headset banner states "Unauthorized! Do not buy!" on the headset as well.
Every shmoe out there wants to power up the device to make sure it works before purchasing but not everyone is smart enough to phone home to the carriers to check the status of the device prior to buying.
Also what's not to stop someone from just stealing something and making a quick sale before the device hit's the database?
If this database records IEMIs then thieves can just use one of the several tools to change the IEMI being presented when it boots up. This is hardcoded into the HW like the burned-in address is usually the same as the MAC address but it can be changed. What the US government might have to do is make it a federal crime to alter the IEMI like it is in a few other countries. There is no solution, but it could deter all but the most desperate or organized criminals.
If this database records IEMIs then thieves can just use one of the several tools to change the IEMI being presented when it boots up. This is hardcoded into the HW like the burned-in address is usually the same as the MAC address but it can be changed. What the US government might have to do is make it a federal crime to alter the IEMI like it is in a few other countries. There is no solution, but it could deter all but the most desperate or organized criminals.
This would certainly be required if carrier are obligated to use a IMEI Database. I think this is why moding IMEIs is illegal in the UK and other countries where EIR registries are mandated.
Of course without manufacturers like Apple on board, then all one would have to do is walk in and exchange your phone to get a new IMEI.
Do you understand the person who "bought" the phone perhaps wasn't the criminal, imagine a store selling stollen phones? Before saying to blow up the person ears, please investigate in each case!
For example, some old phones that you give to the store for a discount are sold by the telephone company to other markets in the world, so things are not that simple, I guess you can't prohibit a foreigner to get into your country with his/her phone.
That's a little to violent, I would however be up for a die pack exploding. Even that though could be potential nightmare. Can you imagine your in a meeting and your phone goes off spraying blue die all over your coworkers and potential customers.
I'd also like to see an option to passcode protect your Settings, or at least the part of Settings that allows you disable the Find My iDevice feature.
You effectively CAN through Settings, General, Restriction. If you set Location Services to "Don't Allow Change", then anyone wishing to make ANY changes to Location Services has to know and enter the Restrictions Passcode (separate from general iPhone passcode) before changes to any location services can be made.
I would really like a bit more granularity so that certain app's location services could be made available for change while protecting the location service settings for other apps (i.e. some might be set to off while others set to on).
Having had an iPhone stolen a couple of years ago and finding that the police, AT&T and APPLE had no system or apparent desire to track or disable stolen iPhones left me really disgusted and disappointed. Apple was more than happy to take my IMEI number and enter it into their database as reported stolen, but when I asked if they would activated it under a different account ,if such was attempted, they answered yes. The police (Dallas) actually accused us of just reporting it stolen to cover loosing it (the fact that several credit cards and driver license were also stolen and actually used fraudulently didn't seem to matter to them (the old, don't confuse us with facts). This was before APPLE added the Find my Phone feature.
You effectively CAN through Settings, General, Restriction. If you set Location Services to "Don't Allow Change", then anyone wishing to make ANY changes to Location Services has to know and enter the Restrictions Passcode (separate from general iPhone passcode) before changes to any location services can be made.
I think you also need to restrict changes to Mail options. I know that when Find My iPhone was first implemented you had to have a MobileMe account enabled and it couldn't be set to Push disabled with Manual selected.
Comments
It would be an emmense help if Apple added a "enter security code to power off" feature. This way we could track and send messages to the device as long as there is battery power.
I like this idea but I wonder if there is a technical issue since turning your phone on and off is one way to resolve any issues. To wit, if you are having issues then perhaps being able to input your passcode or the system getting secure access to it for the verification could be a hurdle.
I'd suggest having a dual option, one to turn off that requires a PIN and one that will power cycle (i.e., restart) that doesn't require a PIN but just seems convoluted and kludgy.
I'd also like to see an option to passcode protect your Settings, or at least the part of Settings that allows you disable the Find My iDevice feature.
Its too easy for you to say it was stolen when you are just pissed at the person you gave your old phone or whatever to. That's one reason. So they would have to require you to file a police report etc to back up the claim and then you'd have to go through some proper set up channel to send them the info.
And too easy for the guy that stole your phone to say that he bought it from you, second hand, for cash and you didn't give him any kind of receipt so he can't prove it but he's going to sue Apple blah blah.
How many other phone makers block a stolen phone from use? Probably none. So why does Apple get called out as having this duty to do so while everyone else gets a pass. ATT etc will freeze service off that phone as they should, Apple will block it from using your Apple ID in case they guess your password but really how much more than that should they be doing. Should they just give you a free replacement because poor baby someone took your phone. That would cause all kinds of fraud so of course they won't do it.
yeah that's right, I was asking for a replacement phone...
Timely reminder for ignore list time btw, been meaning to do this for a while.
Great points.
Indeed. I 've sent them feedback myself on this, the very same. Since find my iphone is by now so well established and known, it's even more important that they implement it.
If you stole my phone and tried to activate itt and they told you sorry no can do. What good is that going to do me?. It's not like they are going to raise a red flag and send the information to authorities which could result in me possibly gaining back my property.
They are just gonna say sorry bud, it's flagged as stolen but hey you're in luck cause we got the new iPhone here on sale for 199$ with a two year contract!
If you report it as stolen and it's flagged by all means great. The GSM spec should now include the requirement that the headset banner states "Unauthorized! Do not buy!" on the headset as well.
Every shmoe out there wants to power up the device to make sure it works before purchasing but not everyone is smart enough to phone home to the carriers to check the status of the device prior to buying.
Also what's not to stop someone from just stealing something and making a quick sale before the device hit's the database?
If this database records IEMIs then thieves can just use one of the several tools to change the IEMI being presented when it boots up. This is hardcoded into the HW like the burned-in address is usually the same as the MAC address but it can be changed. What the US government might have to do is make it a federal crime to alter the IEMI like it is in a few other countries. There is no solution, but it could deter all but the most desperate or organized criminals.
This would certainly be required if carrier are obligated to use a IMEI Database. I think this is why moding IMEIs is illegal in the UK and other countries where EIR registries are mandated.
Of course without manufacturers like Apple on board, then all one would have to do is walk in and exchange your phone to get a new IMEI.
What about a little C4 in each phone!
Do you understand the person who "bought" the phone perhaps wasn't the criminal, imagine a store selling stollen phones? Before saying to blow up the person ears, please investigate in each case!
For example, some old phones that you give to the store for a discount are sold by the telephone company to other markets in the world, so things are not that simple, I guess you can't prohibit a foreigner to get into your country with his/her phone.
That's a little to violent, I would however be up for a die pack exploding. Even that though could be potential nightmare. Can you imagine your in a meeting and your phone goes off spraying blue die all over your coworkers and potential customers.
I'd also like to see an option to passcode protect your Settings, or at least the part of Settings that allows you disable the Find My iDevice feature.
You effectively CAN through Settings, General, Restriction. If you set Location Services to "Don't Allow Change", then anyone wishing to make ANY changes to Location Services has to know and enter the Restrictions Passcode (separate from general iPhone passcode) before changes to any location services can be made.
I would really like a bit more granularity so that certain app's location services could be made available for change while protecting the location service settings for other apps (i.e. some might be set to off while others set to on).
Having had an iPhone stolen a couple of years ago and finding that the police, AT&T and APPLE had no system or apparent desire to track or disable stolen iPhones left me really disgusted and disappointed. Apple was more than happy to take my IMEI number and enter it into their database as reported stolen, but when I asked if they would activated it under a different account ,if such was attempted, they answered yes. The police (Dallas) actually accused us of just reporting it stolen to cover loosing it (the fact that several credit cards and driver license were also stolen and actually used fraudulently didn't seem to matter to them (the old, don't confuse us with facts). This was before APPLE added the Find my Phone feature.
davidt
You effectively CAN through Settings, General, Restriction. If you set Location Services to "Don't Allow Change", then anyone wishing to make ANY changes to Location Services has to know and enter the Restrictions Passcode (separate from general iPhone passcode) before changes to any location services can be made.
I think you also need to restrict changes to Mail options. I know that when Find My iPhone was first implemented you had to have a MobileMe account enabled and it couldn't be set to Push disabled with Manual selected.