undefined | Better HN

0 pointsaphextron5y ago0 comments

>I think apple products can be locked remotely if they are known to be stolen.

Doesn't really matter. They can still be flipped for a few hundred bucks for the components.

0 comments

canucker20165y ago

Yes, Apple can remotely disable phones stolen from Apple stores.

see https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/06/02/apples-software-tr... and https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8380857/Apple-Store...

For recent iPhones (11+), batteries and screens are tied to the original iPhone. You can't swap out a battery/screen from a spare iPhone 11 to a non-functioning iPhone 11 and resurrect the dead iPhone.

see https://www.ifixit.com/News/32343/apple-is-locking-batteries... and https://www.ifixit.com/News/33147/apple-is-discouraging-scre....

For iPhone 12, Apple expanded the locked-to-device components to the camera module. see https://www.ifixit.com/News/45921/is-this-the-end-of-the-rep...

The iPhone 12 behaviour is sneaky - it looks like the transplanted component works, but it slowly malfunctions.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse