Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

hajime

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
8,098
1,383
If they do, how do they access the device without thumb of the original users?
 
After they stole the items, what do they do as they cannot user the devices since they are touch id protected? Sell the components?

One thing to remember. Many people steal consumerables like smartphones with zero concern as to what to do next. Fencing the stolen item comes a distant second to the act of theft. This is especially true when it comes to thefts made to simply provide money to purchase drugs. It's not unheard to steal an iPhone then fence it for just a few bucks. It used to be a thing for theives to then act as 'good Samaritans' and get some reward money for 'returning' the device.

As for what happens next - you guessed it - spare parts.
 
If they do, how do they access the device without thumb of the original users?
Most common thieves don't want to keep items they stole for long, let alone care what's in them. Most stolen iPhones usually got sold quickly on ebay (as a scam as the phone would be locked) or behind the alley to unsuspecting buyer.
 
you can erase the device and remove the prints and passcode. and if the owner didn't have iCloud and find my iThing turned on there's nothing stopping them from selling or using it.

Your sentences are a little mixed there. Assuming iOS is up to date it should really read, ‘if the owner didn't have iCloud and find my iThing turned on you can erase the device and remove the prints and passcode and there's nothing stopping them from selling or using it’.
 
you can erase the device and remove the prints and passcode. and if the owner didn't have iCloud and find my iThing turned on there's nothing stopping them from selling or using it.


How does one accomplish what the FBI couldn’t without hackers? I had a person I tried to help reset her iPad 2, but since she forgot her Apple ID we couldn’t erase her security info so we couldn’t use the iPad at all.


Kallum.
 
How does one accomplish what the FBI couldn’t without hackers? I had a person I tried to help reset her iPad 2, but since she forgot her Apple ID we couldn’t erase her security info so we couldn’t use the iPad at all.

You can factory reset locked devices. The FBI was trying to gain access to the user's data in the device. There's a big difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RevTEG
How does one accomplish what the FBI couldn’t without hackers? I had a person I tried to help reset her iPad 2, but since she forgot her Apple ID we couldn’t erase her security info so we couldn’t use the iPad at all.


Kallum.
You are assuming that the FBI was being truthful about not being able to crack iOS devices. They can crack them, but it is in their best interest to lead the public to believe that they can't. iOS devices, even with all of the security precautions can be cracked. It is in Apple's best interest as well to lead people to believe that they can't.
 
You can factory reset locked devices. The FBI was trying to gain access to the user's data in the device. There's a big difference.

Correct. I travel to the Philippines multiple times each year for work. In Metro Manila there’s a shopping center called Green Hills. They sell a ton of cloned tech and probably stolen tech. There’s an entire area of the shopping mall set up for unlocking and resetting iPhones and iPads. I’ve personally seen them take an iPhone and factory reset it completely passing the passcode and figure print. The “former users” data is lost but the phone or iPad will still work for the “new user”. Stealing phones and iPads is still a pretty large market in some places.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cwerdna
Your sentences are a little mixed there. Assuming iOS is up to date it should really read, ‘if the owner didn't have iCloud and find my iThing turned on you can erase the device and remove the prints and passcode and there's nothing stopping them from selling or using it’.

no my sentences are not. you can erase the device regardless of having iCloud or not (you might just have to do a little research on how). so it would be erased and no passcode or prints or user data. iCloud, if properly set up, merely prevents you from using the device at that point.

You can factory reset locked devices. The FBI was trying to gain access to the user's data in the device. There's a big difference.

exactly.
 
no my sentences are not. you can erase the device regardless of having iCloud or not (you might just have to do a little research on how). so it would be erased and no passcode or prints or user data. iCloud, if properly set up, merely prevents you from using the device at that point.



exactly.

There are umpteen threads on here about the same thing. The conclusion is always the same. If iOS is up to date, ‘no you can’t’ and anywhere advertising otherwise are scammers.

There were some holes in years gone by but they got patched long ago.
 
Last edited:
You can factory reset locked devices. The FBI was trying to gain access to the user's data in the device. There's a big difference.
But don’t you need to enter an iCloud password to factory reset the phone?

If I want to restore my phone to factory settings I am asked to enter my iCloud password before I can proceed.
 
You are assuming that the FBI was being truthful about not being able to crack iOS devices. They can crack them, but it is in their best interest to lead the public to believe that they can't. iOS devices, even with all of the security precautions can be cracked. It is in Apple's best interest as well to lead people to believe that they can't.

So the FBI was like, “Hey Apple, we’re in the midst of investigating a terrorist suspect here, but let’s spend some weeks putting on a little show where we pretend that we can’t crack your phone and you pretend like we’re pressuring you to help us but you refuse, and so forth.”

It seems to me like if they could crack the phone they would have just done so. I’m pretty sure they don’t have to tell anyone except the judge and the defence attorneys where or how they obtained evidence, so they never had to tell the public anything about cracking an iPhone. The first rule of good lying is to not tell a lie when you don’t have to say anything at all.

I’m not saying that an iPhone can’t be cracked though. No security is perfect.
 
  • Like
Reactions: steve62388
Your subject line is misleading. It's NOT required. You're not required to enroll any thumbs or fingers in Touch ID.

I have a ton of Touch ID equipped iPads and iPhones at work. None are locked w/that since we sometimes have to borrow/exchange devices at work for testing and development purposes.
[doublepost=1529738267][/doublepost]
After they stole the items, what do they do as they cannot user the devices since they are touch id protected? Sell the components?
That's possible. At
, at around 1:54, the guy goes to a back alley in Shenzhen selling all sorts of stuff like phone backs.

He also later buys other stuff he needs to build his own iPhone, including a motherboard.
 
Last edited:
To answer your question directly, yes. Bad people steal thumbs all the time. Sometimes people don’t even notice it. They just glance at their hand later and are like “whoa! My thumb. It gone”
 
But don’t you need to enter an iCloud password to factory reset the phone?

If I want to restore my phone to factory settings I am asked to enter my iCloud password before I can proceed.

if you are doing a standard iTunes restore yes it asks for your iCloud password. but if you are doing what's known as a DFU or recovery backup it doesn't. you can google and find 100s of sites that will tell you have to put an iPad into that form of recovery and restore it despite the presence of a thumb print, passcode or iCloud.
[doublepost=1530579408][/doublepost]
But what about all these stories of people buying iCloud locked iphones on places like eBay and not being able to use the devices?

an icloud lock is not the same as a passcode/touch id lock. the iCloud lock is on the server that has to be accessed to active the device. a passcode is not.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.