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How could it be possible with my stolen iPhone?

lukasmmm

lukasmmm

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 3, 2016
10
4
Hi, I had a bad day and it happened so that my iPhone 5S with ios 9.3.1 slipped out of my pocket somewhere in the city. When I found out that I'm missing my device (max 10 minutes since last seen in my palm) it was already turned off which means no use of "Find my iPhone" app. My device had Touch ID activated + immediate passcode required. I had all possible stock security options up and running, and finally there is no way to use it since my device is offline. Why on earth Apple let's one to turn off the device without passcode requirement etc. The first thing after stealing an iPhone, that he will turn the device off, then there is no use of all that fancy "Find my iPhone" stuff. ITS TURNED OFF.... Ugh I'm frustrated.. Anyway, what occurred strange to me is that right now when I log on to my iCloud and check my devices, there is no sign of my iPhone?!?! Well, how could it be possible??? It had all the security stuff so no way that someone could have just deleted it from the list and turn off the tracking... Or could he?? Please tell me. Should I be concerned that all my stuff that was securely locked now is exposed to risk?
TIA guys..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When it's turned off, Find My iPhone cannot report it's location. Thieves have gotten smart to this which is why it was turned off.

If it's eventually turned on the thief will have to either have your fingerprint to unlock it or your passcode if they reboot the phone. It can be DSU restored, at which point the thief will be presented with iCloud Activation lock. Unless the thief knows your Apple ID and password they won't get any farther than that.

Report it to the police.
 
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There is no way to prevent a phone from being turned off. If your phone freezes you would want to be able to turn it off without pass code.
 
eyoungren said:
When it's turned off, Find My iPhone cannot report it's location. Thieves have gotten smart to this which is why it was turned off.

If it's eventually turned on the thief will have to either have your fingerprint to unlock it or your passcode if they reboot the phone. It can be DSU restored, at which point the thief will be presented with iCloud Activation lock. Unless the thief knows your Apple ID and password they won't get any farther than that.

Report it to the police.
Click to expand...

Yeah i get that, but my point is that it has completely vanished from the list with no sign like i've never had one.
 
lukasmmm said:
I think that you are not right, because I have multiple older devices that are turned off but still shows up every time I look into iCloud
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Ah ok. Then I have no idea what's going on. If it's supposed to be in the list even when off I have no explanation for that.
 
I feel bad for your situation, but your phone wasn't stolen you lost it, theres a big difference. its not like someone held you up and stole your iphone or lifted it from a locker or bag. you lost the phone and someone found it.
 
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Your devices should be listed on icloud.com under Find My Phone, Devices. Almost like you are logged into the wrong account...

Hopefully you are using two step verification.​
 
bigjnyc said:
I feel bad for your situation, but your phone wasn't stolen you lost it, theres a big difference. its not like someone held you up and stole your iphone or lifted it from a locker or bag. you lost the phone and someone found it.
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which is equal to stealing in my country :) if i find your car with keys in it? can i take cuz i found it :D ? don't be ridiculous
[doublepost=1462292349][/doublepost]I am worried because maybe there is some new passcode bypassing technology that i cant find by simply googling it?
 
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lukasmmm said:
Hi, I had a bad day and it happened so that my iPhone 5S with ios 9.3.1 slipped out of my pocket somewhere in the city. When I found out that I'm missing my device (max 10 minutes since last seen in my palm) it was already turned off which means no use of "Find my iPhone" app. My device had Touch ID activated + immediate passcode required. I had all possible stock security options up and running, and finally there is no way to use it since my device is offline. Why on earth Apple let's one to turn off the device without passcode requirement etc. The first thing after stealing an iPhone, that he will turn the device off, then there is no use of all that fancy "Find my iPhone" stuff. ITS TURNED OFF.... Ugh I'm frustrated.. Anyway, what occurred strange to me is that right now when I log on to my iCloud and check my devices, there is no sign of my iPhone?!?! Well, how could it be possible??? It had all the security stuff so no way that someone could have just deleted it from the list and turn off the tracking... Or could he?? Please tell me. Should I be concerned that all my stuff that was securely locked now is exposed to risk?
TIA guys..
Click to expand...

this has been discussed for the millionth time here as well as many other forums. nothing can be done, apart from a jailbroken phone with "icaughtu" installed. It's just Apple.... "it just works" :) (sometimes for the thief)
 
Sure you weren't pick-pocketed? Possibly by someone who had seen you enter the pin a few minutes earlier?
 
mw360 said:
Sure you weren't pick-pocketed? Possibly by someone who had seen you enter the pin a few minutes earlier?
Click to expand...
Assuming that is the case, turning off Find My iPhone requires entering your Apple ID and password though doesn't it?
 
OP - maybe the person immediately removed your SIM - and put it into their phone - so they could start making calls with it? Hope you've contacted your carrier.
 
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I wouldn't think that there is a means to remove passcode/Apple ID. Afaik the passcode and fingerprint info are all stored within the secure enclave which is physically separated within your device, for any criminal to break it, they'd have to turn your phone on first (which would trigger find my iPhone as unless they put it on airplane mode, it still would be giving off its location) inside a radio wave proof box to prevent it from connecting and physically access the information within the enclave. And then crack your Apple ID.

It could very well be that someone saw your pin, and has target you with a phishing attack? Which is highly unlikely unless you're a high level govt/business official that has access to sensitive info.

Having had my phone stolen before as well, I can verify that it will stay on your list until you 'erase iPhone'. If you erase it and the erase order goes through, then afaik it becomes free for the culprit to use.
 
Even if they make you put in a passcode to turn it off thieves will just evolve. They will carry tools to take out the battery in seconds. Or if they want to sell it for parts they will just submerge it in water.
 
what you all always speak about is hi end thieves.. In my case it was a dropped phone sitting on the grass waiting for some 70 yo granny to pick it up and give it to her grandchild to play some angry birds on airplane mode... all that stuff with some restrictions to turn off the device would remove all those random guys and gals from picking my or yours phone when its calmly resting on the pavement waiting for me to find it... Which part dont you understand :D ?
 
There are jaikbreak options that prevent you from turning the phone off without a passcode. One could still enter dfu but that requires more hardware on hand. Usually when you lose your phone on the bust or something (and notice right away), the their wouldn't have the means of entering dfu. Requiring a passcode before slide to shut off makes a whole lot of sense to me and am unsure why it's not at least a stock option.

There's also jailbreak options that both send a photo of the person that turned off the device last along with a last known location. This is another very easy step (particularly the last know location coordinates) that Apple could handle but chooses not to.

The reality insid someone knows what they're doing they'll turn it off and hit crags idiot with a claim they forgot their password. Tons of phones are sold like this around here on the daily. Sometimes uninformed buyers will even pay much more than a "for parts" phone is worth.

One of my final thoughts on the matter is that you can set some smart watches (and I imagine Apple Watch, wife has one I do not) to ping you when the phone is out of range (or turned off) as an anti loss or theft measure. Just throwing that out there for those who don't know.
 
lordofthereef said:
There are jaikbreak options that prevent you from turning the phone off without a passcode. One could still enter dfu but that requires more hardware on hand. Usually when you lose your phone on the bust or something (and notice right away), the their wouldn't have the means of entering dfu. Requiring a passcode before slide to shut off makes a whole lot of sense to me and am unsure why it's not at least a stock option.

There's also jailbreak options that both send a photo of the person that turned off the device last along with a last known location. This is another very easy step (particularly the last know location coordinates) that Apple could handle but chooses not to.

The reality insid someone knows what they're doing they'll turn it off and hit crags idiot with a claim they forgot their password. Tons of phones are sold like this around here on the daily. Sometimes uninformed buyers will even pay much more than a "for parts" phone is worth.

One of my final thoughts on the matter is that you can set some smart watches (and I imagine Apple Watch, wife has one I do not) to ping you when the phone is out of range (or turned off) as an anti loss or theft measure. Just throwing that out there for those who don't know.
Click to expand...
I think generally a reset (which is designed to work whether or not the phone is responsive, the screen is on, etc.) would still be available and could be used to turn the phone off. And that's aside from removing the SIM and basically accomplishing the same thing more or less, aside from happening to be in some area that has WiFi that the pone previously connected to.
 
C DM said:
I think generally a reset (which is designed to work whether or not the phone is responsive, the screen is on, etc.) would still be available and could be used to turn the phone off. And that's aside from removing the SIM and basically accomplishing the same thing more or less, aside from happening to be in some area that has WiFi that the pone previously connected to.
Click to expand...
It could easily be written into code that a reset cannot be done without at least being plugged into power first. Or perhaps an error code is generated (as does happen) and said error code must xist before a reset is allowed. As far as sim removal, this is a matter of telcos working with smartphone manufacturers. Everything needed to send and receive information is still there, the telco just has to agree to it actually sending that "emergency info.

In any case, Apple seems to be behind jailbreak offerings that date back many years. Their concern seems to be 100% on content security and not really on theft. This isn't as much a criticism as an observation.
 
lordofthereef said:
It could easily be written into code that a reset cannot be done without at least being plugged into power first. Or perhaps an error code is generated (as does happen) and said error code must xist before a reset is allowed. As far as sim removal, this is a matter of telcos working with smartphone manufacturers. Everything needed to send and receive information is still there, the telco just has to agree to it actually sending that "emergency info.

In any case, Apple seems to be behind jailbreak offerings that date back many years. Their concern seems to be 100% on content security and not really on theft. This isn't as much a criticism as an observation.
Click to expand...
While all that is feasible in geneal, I'm not sure how it fits in with some established universal practices when it comes to a hardware ability to easily reset an electronic device that might be stuck or misbehaving (kind of at least at least an equivalent to unplugging it or pulling the battery, neither one being a practical option for a sealed mobile device like an iPhone or an iPad).
 
C DM said:
While all that is feasible in geneal, I'm not sure how it fits in with some established universal practices when it comes to a hardware ability to easily reset an electronic device that might be stuck or misbehaving (kind of at least at least an equivalent to unplugging it or pulling the battery, neither one being a practical option for a sealed mobile device like an iPhone or an iPad).
Click to expand...
I can agree to that. I could be completely wrong in my assumptions but I feel the bottom line is this isn't something Apple is interested in Pershing right now, for various reasons, not the least of which being they don't want to be responsible for helping locate hardware. As infrequently as these devices seem to need a legitimate reset, it seems like there are some relatively small sacrifices to be made in order to make great gains in locating phones. This could even be solved as easily as allowing for a user editable options of NOT allowing an easy refresh (in the same way we are able to decide not to use a passcode or Touch ID in initial setup). But alas, it's not a top priority.

Anyway, there are viable reasons for the exclusion of these measured, but I think we can agree there are equally good arguments for exploring them.
 
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