Hooray for Apple - NOT!

[PeterAit]

Seems that if you have your iPhone repaired at a non-Apple shop, they can (at least sometimes) detect it and will remotely disable your phone permanently.

[stamper]

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Care to elaborate?

[Rob C]

Hey, they also appear to think terrorist sanctity is more important than community safety!

Some guys think themselves greater than God. That's how it always begins... beware the absolute power of the industrial giant.

No, no smiley; it's for real.

Rob C

[Rory]

Hey, they also appear to think terrorist sanctity is more important than community safety!

Some guys think themselves greater than God. That's how it always begins... beware the absolute power of the industrial giant.

No, no smiley; it's for real.

Rob C

I think there are a lot of different slippery slopes involved in this issue Rob.

[Rob C]

I think there are a lot of different slippery slopes involved in this issue Rob.

The first one, which we usually negotiate quite well, is birth.

I expect no less with others - ¡f we are aware.

Anyhow, the very idea of using a cellphone for something 'important' seems daft to me. That's what pigeons are for.

;-)

Rob

[SZRitter]

Seems that if you have your iPhone repaired at a non-Apple shop, they can (at least sometimes) detect it and will remotely disable your phone permanently.

To elaborate on this, basically, there is an ID on your screen and thumb print scanner. If the ID of the installed screen/scanner doesn't match the ID that the phone has stored, it bricks itself as a security precaution.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The assumption, however, is that the owner unlocks the phone before giving it for repair. Unless, of course, the very reason for repair is that the phone is locked and the owner does not remember the code or has never set the thumb lock in the first place.

My reading of what Peter was trying to say is that Apple is pissed off the phone is at a non-Apple shop and disables it as a punishment. Then again, I might be wrong.

[PeterAit]

Care to elaborate?

http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/18/apple-apologizes-and-updates-ios-to-restore-iphones-disabled-by-error-53/

[SZRitter]

The assumption, however, is that the owner unlocks the phone before giving it for repair. Unless, of course, the very reason for repair is that the phone is locked and the owner does not remember the code or has never set the thumb lock in the first place.

My reading of what Peter was trying to say is that Apple is pissed off the phone is at a non-Apple shop and disables it as a punishment. Then again, I might be wrong.

Yeah, the ID I am referring to is an ID for the hardware, nothing to do with a user unlocking their phone or their passcode. It is about following the proper procedure more than who does it. There have been cases of it happening with repairs done at Apple Stores and approved Apple techs.

[Nelsonretreat]

I  might have read the articles about this incorrectly but the issue seems to revolve around the need to preserve the security of the finger print unlocking system. In theory, without this bricking feature, the thief who stole your phone can unlock it with no unhappy consequences.