Apple releases iCloud tool to check device Activation Lock status
Adding to its collection of Web-based security tools, Apple on Wednesday published a webpage that allows users to check a device's Activation Lock status, ensuring safe and smooth transfer of ownership for used iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models.
The new iCloud tool, first spotted by iDownloadBlog, is part of Apple's Find My iPhone service and comes presented as a dedicated page on the company's iCloud.com website.
Users are asked to enter an iOS device's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or serial number, which is then cross-checked against an internal database to ensure Activation Lock is not currently turned on for that unit. The process is useful for those purchasing secondhand iPhones, iPads or iPod touches, who need the security feature disabled to gain access to the device.
As a side note, Apple has opted to use a CAPTCHA phrase to protect the site from bots.
Introduced as part of iOS 7, Activation Lock prevents theft and protects lost iOS devices by locking out users who do not know the Apple ID and password registered to that specific device. When activated, the feature prevents nefarious users from disabling Find My iPhone, performing a data wipe or reactivating the device under a different name.
Metropolitan law enforcement agencies have lauded the security feature, saying its implementation contributed to a noticeable drop in iPhone thefts over the first five months of 2014.
As a precautionary measure, Activation Lock is turned on by default with Apple's latest iOS 8, as is a new feature called "Send Last Location," which pushes out an iPhone or iPad's last known coordinates before its battery dies.
The new iCloud tool, first spotted by iDownloadBlog, is part of Apple's Find My iPhone service and comes presented as a dedicated page on the company's iCloud.com website.
Users are asked to enter an iOS device's International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) or serial number, which is then cross-checked against an internal database to ensure Activation Lock is not currently turned on for that unit. The process is useful for those purchasing secondhand iPhones, iPads or iPod touches, who need the security feature disabled to gain access to the device.
As a side note, Apple has opted to use a CAPTCHA phrase to protect the site from bots.
Introduced as part of iOS 7, Activation Lock prevents theft and protects lost iOS devices by locking out users who do not know the Apple ID and password registered to that specific device. When activated, the feature prevents nefarious users from disabling Find My iPhone, performing a data wipe or reactivating the device under a different name.
Metropolitan law enforcement agencies have lauded the security feature, saying its implementation contributed to a noticeable drop in iPhone thefts over the first five months of 2014.
As a precautionary measure, Activation Lock is turned on by default with Apple's latest iOS 8, as is a new feature called "Send Last Location," which pushes out an iPhone or iPad's last known coordinates before its battery dies.
Comments
Nice of them to add this, but these lookup pages are all over the web. I think most of the carriers have a lookup page as well.
No they are not.
This doesn’t check to see if the phone is blacklisted with the cell carriers.
It checks Apple’s database to see if the iPhone Activation lock/FindMyiPhone has been turned off.
The benefit would be in knowing the seller actually has the ability to turn off the activation lock. If they stole the device they wouldn't be able to turn off the lock at all.
Sure if you were buying from someone in person you wouldn't need to use it but if you were buying online you would. This is a tool that really should have been available when Activation Lock first rolled out.
Sure if you were buying from someone in person you wouldn't need to use it but if you were buying online you would. This is a tool that really should have been available when Activation Lock first rolled out.
Who in their right mind would buy a used iPhone without actually seeing it work first?
Who in their right mind would buy a used iPhone without actually seeing it work first?
Likely hundreds (thousands?) do it on eBay and similar sites all the time…]
I don't follow. As far as I know SIM locking takes place solely on the device in the baseband components, whereas Apple's activation locking requires access to Apple's servers for authentication.
Actually, wireless carriers that authorize a SIM-unlock send the information to Apple where it gets unlocked through the iTunes app, so Apple does have a database that knows what iPhones are locked and unlocked to a specific carrier.
Breaking Apple rumor!
According to Chinese website Feng, the three carriers registered 2 million iPhone pre-orders in just 6 hours.
That sounds insane!
And I just happened to pick up some AAPL today, let's see it rise tomorrow! Oh yeah!
http://www.phonearena.com/news/2-million-iPhone-6-units-already-pre-ordered-in-China-in-just-6-hours_id61273
Yuck, captcha. There must be a better way, Apple.
Okay, but if you don't have the phone in your hands, you don't even know if the serial # given to you is the actual serial # of the phone being shipped to you. This whole tool just seems rather silly and pointless to me.
Wow, I can't believe I hadn't thought of that. You're right. If someone's going to try and sell you a stolen iPhone they will have no issues providing you with a serial number for a different phone. Of course they would need to have access to a serial number for a phone that has the activation lock turned off but that's certainly possible.
How is this sale going to go down? Sure, they can give you a fake serial number but that serial number will need to match the unit you want to buy and, assuming you buy it from a place like eBay and not some underground marketplace (which should already send up red flags) you can check out their sale history and leave your own bad feedback if you get screwed. You could also get screwed by receiving a lump of coal instead of the phone. Either way you're not getting what you want.
From what I've seen it's the local sales where someone might check out a great looking but stolen device and not realize until it's too late that it's stolen. As always it's education that needs to be done. People buying a used iDevice need to be educated more than anything else. Apple can only do so much.
The benefit would be in knowing the seller actually has the ability to turn off the activation lock. If they stole the device they wouldn't be able to turn off the lock at all.
Okay, but if you don't have the phone in your hands, you don't even know if the serial # given to you is the actual serial # of the phone being shipped to you. This whole tool just seems rather silly and pointless to me.
No what's silly is buying a phone that doesn't list the serial number or EMEI number. If they don't list it; then the phone is 'hot', or seller is clueless.
I can't say I've ever previously bought any used CE after first looking at their SN or IEMI to verify it's hasn't been stolen. Where would I have used that information previously to verify it was legitimate? Because of that I don't think you can say it's silly or the seller is clueless when this is now just becoming a feasible option that all iPhone owners and buyers should get very familiar with. In fact, previously removing the SN from an image has been commonplace.
That fact that this doesn't work in Mobile Safari is all kinds of fail.