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iPhone remains findable after power off

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Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#121

Post by avianlyric »

hyperstar wrote: post #58
pfranz wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a hardware component required. Unless it's only in a beta OS, I have and Xs and I see a different wording for that setting. Mine omits "and powered off."

Why? wouldn't it just be a matter of activating a low-power mode and turning off the screen? It's been said a long time that this is done by certain malwares.

Your hardware needs a low-power mode to activate, before you can activate it.

All of the iPhone “off” features, like express transit cards and find my use dedicated low power hardware that seems to be capable of running the feature without an active CPU telling it what to do.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#122

Post by sbuk »

TillE wrote: post #103
ceejayoz wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Head to the "Find My" section in the settings, click into "Find My iPhone", and see if "Find My network" is on or off. If it's off, you won't get the disclaimer, because it's not active.

That setting is enabled for me on iOS 15, and yet I have no such message on the power off screen. slide to power off, Emergency SOS, Cancel That's it. Nothing appears after I turn it off either.

Look at the text under "Slide to power off"...

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#123

Post by roywiggins »

AniseAbyss wrote: post #63
madeofpalk wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, there's a reasonably visible message "warning" you of this, which has a prompt to turn it off. I actually thought this was very old, added a year or so ago. I guess it got delayed? I've had two phones stolen (right out of my hands) that were immediately shut down and sim cards ejected to prevent them from being tracked. While I'm sure this feature wouldn't help me get back a phone, I hope it does deter this. Ed…

The police in my country wouldn't even bother to check, they have rapists and drug dealers to deal with.

Your police investigate rapes? Ours don't.

https://www.wnyc.org/story/nypd-misled-public-about-response...

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#124

Post by sbuk »

bowmessage wrote: post #73
lucideer wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. For example, when you're a phone thief.

Won't phone thieves just have some faraday bags to pop their winnings into?

You can remotely brick it. The minute that the thief tries to do anything with the device, it's functionally useless. It needs to be online to be reactived, and if the device is marked stolen, it won't activate.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#125

Post by avianlyric »

serf wrote: post #102
ArchOversight wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Either way I don't want it spying on me. It literally isn't spying on you, it's allow you to find your after you've lost it.

>It literally isn't spying on you, it's allow you to find your after you've lost it. almost no mobile device has a feature that is 'literally spying on you'. the problem is when the devices have so many features that they can be easily turned into a consummate spy device by any nearby paying agency. in other words : no mobile device is spying on you, but the people who control them definitely do, and they're often wi…

I’m not entirely sure what your point is here. Clearly an sophisticated electronic devices full of sensors and radios can be used to track you, I don’t think anyone on HN disputes that. But that issues seems rather orthogonal to topic at hand.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#126

Post by rurp »

AniseAbyss wrote: post #63
madeofpalk wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, there's a reasonably visible message "warning" you of this, which has a prompt to turn it off. I actually thought this was very old, added a year or so ago. I guess it got delayed? I've had two phones stolen (right out of my hands) that were immediately shut down and sim cards ejected to prevent them from being tracked. While I'm sure this feature wouldn't help me get back a phone, I hope it does deter this. Ed…

The police in my country wouldn't even bother to check, they have rapists and drug dealers to deal with.

Yeah I'm baffled by all of the comments saying that this is great as an anti-theft feature. I don't know where people live that that's the case, but I sure as heck have never known police in the US to give a damn about $1000 property crimes. They don't care about $20000 home robberies and car thefts, even with strong video or other evidence. I can't imagine they're going to start chasing down criminals to get a used phone back unless it's for the mayor's kid or something.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#127

Post by avianlyric »

kennywinker wrote: post #106
wlesieutre wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

14.8 won't be findable after power off, it's an iOS 15 feature. When "turned off" it can maintain an occasional bluetooth beacon like AirTags which other iPhones pick up.

Running 14.7.1 and the Find My network setting says that it will enable my iphone to be found when turned off, but the power off screen does not say anything about that.

You might want to double check the text under that toggle in 14.7. I’m pretty sure it says:

“Participating in the Find My network let’s you locate your phone even when it’s offline”

It don’t it says anything about what happens if your phone is off.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#128

Post by dunham »

wlesieutre wrote: post #55
hungryforcodes wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, first I've heard of it. Seems to be enabled by default too -- I think users definitely are not "clear" about it.

The "slide to power off" prompt literally says "iPhone Findable after Power Off >" right under it every time, but 99% of users will never see it or care about this feature because no one ever turns their phone off. But if you're one of those few people who does turn the phone off, it says right there, and you can tap on it to shut down to unfindable state this time instead. Note that it requires a passcode to disable…

Which model? I don't see this on my XR (iOS 15), maybe it doesn't have the hardware for it?

> If someone steals your phone it will remain findable unless they open it up and pull the battery.

Or drop the phone into a faraday bag?

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#129

Post by avianlyric »

exabrial wrote: post #4
AndrewStephens wrote: post #2

Umm, isn’t this, like maybe, a good thing? If I want my very expensive iPhone found, I want it found whether it is on or off. If people are worried about being tracked maybe they should carry around a device that is always broadcasting radio signals to third party towers.

No. A device thats "off" should be "off" 100% of the time. When the device wakes it realizes it's been stolen, only then should it reach for home. This behavior can/will only be exploited by hostile nations and other bad actors.

Most devices never “wake up” after being stolen. Apple’s activation lock means that most stolen iPhone are only good for parts.

If your threat model includes nation state actors, then you should probably be putting electronics in faraday bags if you don’t want to be tracked. For everyone else, the design of the Find My network provides significant protection against misuse.

Re: iPhone remains findable after power off

#130

Post by gremloni »

roywiggins wrote: post #123
AniseAbyss wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The police in my country wouldn't even bother to check, they have rapists and drug dealers to deal with.

Your police investigate rapes? Ours don't. https://www.wnyc.org/story/nypd-misled-public-about-response...

This comment could not be anymore hyperbolic.
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