Buying a second-hand iPhone

[Gixxer1000]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2371391/Apple-launch-kill-switch-stolen-iPhones-Boris-Johnson-calls-mobile-phone-manufacturers-to-curb-thefts.html

 

The new software will have a Kill Switch that allows the owner to remotely shut the phone down if it is stolen. According to the article, the GPS locator can't be switched off, except for the person who originally set it up (via internet).

 

I wonder how this will sit with buying a used phone, which is quite common in Thailand.

 

Just a thought.

[Scumbag]

Nothing new with the ability to lock a phone over the internet after it has been stolen. Third party programs have been available for Android devices for years. Each time I change the SIM in my phone I have to put my passwword in or it will not work. Don't know if not being able to easily turn the GPS on and off is a good feature.

[PBRHotelier]

Yes, you can wipe clean, lock or locate an iPhone remotely. Even if the person turns off the power and removes the SIM, the first time they turn on the phone with the new SIM, the lock or wipe clean commands will still execute.

 

The problem is the police in most countries don't want to deal with all the phone theft/losses, so locating the phone via GPS doen't really mean anything unless you want to go and try and get it back yourself !!!

[brutox]

... interesting stuff ... does anyone know within what radius the GPS can cite the phone's location?

 

... depending upon that location, I guess the question is how many other iPhones would be located within that radius? ... if it is cited in an upscale urban commerical establishment, there are probably many ... if it is cited in the middle of a rice farm, a better probability of identifying it.

 

... and then, of course, collecting the iPhone (probably many are resold to an unsuspecting buyers) is an entirely different issue.

 

... great technology and all, but executing on the information might be impractical.

[LRanger]

I wouldn't buy a second-hand IPhone, and especially not from TukCom or MBK in Thailand

[Tmoney]

I have two iPhones & they both work well in Thailand.  Both were bought in the US & unlocked in Bangkok.  MBK Mall, 5th floor for 1200THB.  No issues whatsoever....

[Woofiee]

I believe what LRanger means is that the second-hand iPhones bought in Thailand (at TukCom or MBK), and I would add without boxes, are almost certainly stolen. There's a high incidence of pickpocketing and iPhones are the most sought-after. 

 

Alternatively, I think this new "Find My iPhone" lockdown, where you can't even activate it without the old user's iCloud account name and password, is an iOS 7-forward option. Whether it is made available for the 3GS (not iOS7 compatible) or before is yet to be seen. 

[DaffyDuck]

Alternatively, I think this new "Find My iPhone" lockdown, where you can't even activate it without the old user's iCloud account name and password, is an iOS 7-forward option. Whether it is made available for the 3GS (not iOS7 compatible) or before is yet to be seen.

 

Yes. People that claim the same feature exists for Android, as usual, don't know what they are talking about. Activation lock actually prevents activation of the phone on the firmware level, if it is declared stolen. Reformatting (or jailbreaking) the iPhone won't change that.

 

This feature is iOS 7 only, so only will affect iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and 5S.

 

3GS will not receive that feature. Then again, as iOS 7 is turning out to suck big time, most people will probably remain on iOS 6, so all those nifty new features won't be an issue.

[Woofiee]

Yes. People that claim the same feature exists for Android, as usual, don't know what they are talking about. Activation lock actually prevents activation of the phone on the firmware level, if it is declared stolen. Reformatting (or jailbreaking) the iPhone won't change that.

 

This feature is iOS 7 only, so only will affect iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and 5S.

 

3GS will not receive that feature. Then again, as iOS 7 is turning out to suck big time, most people will probably remain on iOS 6, so all those nifty new features won't be an issue.

 

I don't follow how you can say that. I've been using iOS 7 beta for 2+ weeks now and I appreciate a lot of the new features. Sure, the 3GS will get left behind but there's no horsepower in that model - everything has its time and is left behind. I can't see how that's v7's fault. 

 

For the people complaining about 7 - fuck 'em. They hate change, and change is good. It's great to seem them sweeping the floorboards and starting from scratch, although if I had to put money on it, the UI is still going to change a lot. I'd almost say the flatness is a macguffin. Something tells me we"ll see the real UI pop up closer to the launch...