Not your normal iPhone hack... Camera removal?

[SnowLeopard2008]

Instead of going through all that trouble, why not just sell the iPhone WITH a camera, buy a refurbished iPod touch for $149 and pocket the extra cash? That way, you will never get caught or questioned since iPod touches don't have cameras to begin with. You also have extra cash which is always good in these poor economical times and a new shiny tech toy to place around with at work?

 

[Dr Kevorkian94]

like the other guy said break the cameras glass and fill it with epoxy and then level it with the casing and paint it. then just hide the camera icon.

 

[pcs are junk]

You can't remove the physical camera with software. And the thread starter already outlined a better method for physically disconnecting the camera. He just wants to know if the phone will still function.

But yeah, curse that Obama for single-handedly and unilaterally implementing these brand-new security regulations!

with ssh'ing you can, i removed my music app on my ipod touch by doing this. lol

 

[thelatinist]

good luck and i hope obama doesnt screw u over with his government....like he did with everything else.

1) The President doesn't personally determine security policy.

2) These policies have been in place for decades, probably in some form since before President Obama was born.

with ssh'ing you can, i removed my music app on my ipod touch by doing this. lol

Removing the camera app is not physically removing the camera. You don't seem to understand the difference between reality and software, just like you don't understand the difference between an exploit and a file. It it the actual physical camera (lens, CMOS, etc.) that the OP can't have, not the camera software.

 

[wRek]

Instead of going through all that trouble, why not just sell the iPhone WITH a camera, buy a refurbished iPod touch for $149 and pocket the extra cash? That way, you will never get caught or questioned since iPod touches don't have cameras to begin with. You also have extra cash which is always good in these poor economical times and a new shiny tech toy to place around with at work?

I really don't want to have to carry a cell phone and an iPod when I could just carry an iPhone without a camera.

1) The President doesn't personally determine security policy.

2) These policies have been in place for decades, probably in some form since before President Obama was born.



Removing the camera app is not physically removing the camera. You don't seem to understand the difference between reality and software, just like you don't understand the difference between an exploit and a file. It it the actual physical camera (lens, CMOS, etc.) that the OP can't have, not the camera software.

Yep. Obama has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that I can't have a camera phone at work. They have never allowed general employees to bring cameras into where I work.

...and exactly. I don't have to worry about getting rid of the camera software, I need to get rid of the actual camera and then just hide the camera app. The point is that IF they had any questions about the phone, it needs to be so that they can see for themselves that there is no physical camera.

 

[Penguissimo]

Just wondering if you ever went through with this, and if so, how it worked out!

Did you ever find the software that could remove a physical device from the phone?

 

[B737]

familiar with marine epoxy? 5200 holds entire boats together, like tower legs on fly bridges and stuff where they join at the fiberglass deck... Why not carefully put that over the camera lens, sand it smooth, paint it with a touch of high gloss paint, remove the camera app.

your phone will fall apart before the 5200 comes off the camera lens.

 

[JackMaurer]

I did the same with my old iPhone when the camera broke and wanted to customize the rear case..still works fine

 

[TheEngineer]

familiar with marine epoxy? 5200 holds entire boats together, like tower legs on fly bridges and stuff where they join at the fiberglass deck... Why not carefully put that over the camera lens, sand it smooth, paint it with a touch of high gloss paint, remove the camera app.

your phone will fall apart before the 5200 comes off the camera lens.

I used to work in a secure facility as well. If he gets caught with that, he'd certainly get fired and he could possibly go to jail. Bringing a functioning camera into this environment, even if covered, is really not an option.

 

[TheEngineer]

http://www.iresq.com/iphone/detail.php?prodID=P011036

A simple Google search probably would have returned that this company has been offering an iPhone camera removal service for $99 since July 2007.

This.

I don't know why OP said it's not what he wants, as surely a repair company that charges $99 will return the phone in functioning order. One hopes they'd either replace the back or fill in the hole (OP can call and ask). And, he'd have paperwork to prove the camera was removed.

 

[wRek]

This.

I don't know why OP said it's not what he wants, as surely a repair company that charges $99 will return the phone in functioning order. One hopes they'd either replace the back or fill in the hole (OP can call and ask). And, he'd have paperwork to prove the camera was removed.

Why would I want to pay over $100 for something I could do myself?

 

[TheEngineer]

Why would I want to pay over $100 for something I could do myself?

I guess it depends on if you can do it, if you can do it professionally, and if you can do it quickly enough so you don't wind up spending more than a few hours on it.

What you should really do, IMO, is contact your security department and ask them for guidance. They may tell you it's fine just to break out the lens, thus disabling the camera hardware, and epoxy over it. OTOH, they may ban your phone by model name and have no procedure to permit it.

 

[Jasonbot]

what kind of work place bans camera phones?

Black Mesa research facility

 

[BittenApple]

The iPhone can run without the camera component inside of it (you can take it out if you open the case, pretty simple.). When you open the Camera app it just doesn't recognize the camera and you pretty much can't do much with it.

Hope that helps.

 

[MistaBungle]

OP, will this go over well?

I ask because won't security be aware of what the iphone can do? If they see you with it, won't they assume that you are carrying a camera-enabled device and won't they "shoot" first and ask questions later? It seems like a headache. And it also seems as if you will carry two devices because you will opt for the 2G iPhone instead of the 3GS?

 

[TheEngineer]

OP, will this go over well?

I ask because won't security be aware of what the iphone can do? If they see you with it, won't they assume that you are carrying a camera-enabled device and won't they "shoot" first and ask questions later? It seems like a headache. And it also seems as if you will carry two devices because you will opt for the 2G iPhone instead of the 3GS?

+1

I'd NEVER take anything like this into a secure area without clearing it with security first.

 

[MAC4CAL]

So, I work somewhere that I am not allowed to carry a camera phone. I currently have an iPhone 3gs that I use outside of work, and inside of work I use a crappy Nokia pay-as-you-go phone that I got from Wal-Mart with my AT&T SIM in it.

I work somewhere that it'd be nice to have music, movies, games, on my down time/lunch and breaks, or even music while I work. I don't want to buy another iPod touch, since I sold mine when I got my iPhone. BUT, I have a spare jailbroken 2g iPhone that is just sitting around waiting for me to do something with it.

I have been contemplating opening up the phone, removing the camera, smoothing out the camera hole in the back of the case and spraying the back solid black. Then using SBSettings to hide the camera app so it no longer shows up. Essentially... I would like to turn my iPhone 2g into a non-camera iPhone. This way I could still have all the functionality of an iPhone, and be able to bring it into work. I would still have my 3gs for outside of work.

NOW... I've read through some posts I found in search and other people have asked the question, but no one ever gave a real response.

Will removing the camera by simply popping it off cause the phone to have problems booting when it cannot find it? Will it simply overlook it? Will it notice it at all if I never try to open the camera app?

To answer your question "Will removing......have problems booting......"
No, you will not have problem booting your phone.

I work in a similar environment like yours which does not allow device with imaging function. It needs to be physically removed.

I am using a iPhone 3G (camera physically removed). We have in our midst 2 other iPhone 3G and 2 other iPhone 3GS (1 jail broken using blackra1n) with their camera physically removed.

We covered the camera with a company issued tampered proof security label.

Hope this answer your query.