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iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

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Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#181

Post by acchow »

gnicholas wrote: post #153
kaba0 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Find My is bluetooth-based, which is fine to use on airplanes as well.

I feel like the BT behavior varies when I activate airplane mode. If I am currently connected to my BT headphones, they stay connected. If I am not, then activating airplane mode appears to turn off BT (pulling out my headphones and trying to connect doesn't work). But I would be surprised if the Find My functionality didn't work in airplane mode, given how Apple set it up to work even when turned off (you must manua…

I imagine airplane mode turns off regular Bluetooth, but Bluetooth Low Energy meant for “Find My” is still allowed.

The same behavior as turning off the phone.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#182

Post by masklinn »

rekoil wrote: post #166
imgabe wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's crazy to me that the phone hasn't locked automatically. Do people really walk around with their phones set to never lock and turn the screen off? Mine times out after 5 minutes.

The fact that it was pulled out of the plane (and didn't stay snug in its owners pocket) suggests it was being used at the time, and thus unlocked. And yeah, I tend to set my phone to never lock at times, probably not while traveling I guess, but it absolutely happens.

> it was being used at the time, and thus unlocked

Although it may well have been reconfigured, by default iPhones will lock up after a short inactivity.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#184

Post by kalleboo »

gnicholas wrote: post #153
kaba0 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Find My is bluetooth-based, which is fine to use on airplanes as well.

I feel like the BT behavior varies when I activate airplane mode. If I am currently connected to my BT headphones, they stay connected. If I am not, then activating airplane mode appears to turn off BT (pulling out my headphones and trying to connect doesn't work). But I would be surprised if the Find My functionality didn't work in airplane mode, given how Apple set it up to work even when turned off (you must manua…

When I turn on Airplane mode on my iPhone, it switches bluetooth into that "not quite off" mode that you get if you just tap the Bluetooth button in the control center (the icon goes white rather than a cross through it like if you turn it off completely in Settings). The Not Quite Off mode IIRC allows stuff like Apple Watch, Apple Pencil, Handoff, Find My, etc[0] to use Bluetooth but it disconnects all the paired Bluetooth devices you are using (basically it solves that "damn my phone is still connected to the headphones in the other room!" problem that 90% of people turning Bluetooth off are trying to fix)

[0] Full list https://support.apple.com/en-au/102412

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#185

Post by herewulf »

ta1243 wrote: post #159
ant6n wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder whether there a California, Ontario.

Apparently so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanark_Highlands No airport, so no planes from California Ontario to Ontario California

California Dreamin' of -15°C ..

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#186

Post by NolF »

paulddraper wrote: post #180
xivzgrev wrote: post #113

This isn’t surprising - there was a wired story about phones surviving from planes back in 2011 (1) The gist is that it’s a light object and due to that + broad shape, its terminal velocity is not very high. Coupled that with the mass and there’s not a lot of force on landing. Of course the phone itself is fragile so it might not take a lot of force to break. Still, as long as it lands on something soft it might be o…

Then why does my phone break when I drop it?

Because there isn't much difference in the force between a 1m and a 8000m drop due to the above. So it really comes down to case, angle, and material onto which it was dropped with corners being more vulnerable.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#187

Post by throwaway2037 »

elzbardico wrote: post #12
aurareturn wrote: post #2

A lot of things went into my head: * The iPhone owner didn't put a password/passcode? * Damn, he paid Alaska $70 for baggage fee? * Now we know an iPhone will survive falling from the sky

Non technical users do some things that we don't even dream about doing, like setting auto-lock to "Never". EDIT: I see some people got offended with the bit about Non-Technical users and downvoted me to Hades. I apologize. Not everyone is paranoid like me.

I am technical, and I have no phone security (screen lock). I am sure that professional hackers can more easily steal my credentials remotely (phishing, etc) than from physical possession of my phone.

That said, I understand why most people want to use a phone screen lock.

I am sure this post will be downvoted.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#188

Post by byhemechi »

paulddraper wrote: post #180
xivzgrev wrote: post #113

This isn’t surprising - there was a wired story about phones surviving from planes back in 2011 (1) The gist is that it’s a light object and due to that + broad shape, its terminal velocity is not very high. Coupled that with the mass and there’s not a lot of force on landing. Of course the phone itself is fragile so it might not take a lot of force to break. Still, as long as it lands on something soft it might be o…

Then why does my phone break when I drop it?

because you’re dropping it on tiles or pavement which are a lot less squishy than the grass it landed on

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#189

Post by throwaway2037 »

dgrin91 wrote: post #6
aurareturn wrote: post #2

A lot of things went into my head: * The iPhone owner didn't put a password/passcode? * Damn, he paid Alaska $70 for baggage fee? * Now we know an iPhone will survive falling from the sky

Doing a bit of research I found a few sources that say that the terminal velocity for a generic smartphone is ~20-40mph, which isn't that much. Lots of phones survive car crashes with higher speeds than that. Add to that landing on softer soil and maybe even breaking fall with branches and I'm not shocked it survived. No screen crack is pretty good though. Smartphone screens have gotten crazy good recently

First, hat tip for terminal velocity research. That is a nice addition to this discussion.

I was thinking exactly the same about the landing. If it lands in a soft place, like tall grass, most phones should be fine. Most phones are broken by falling onto hard surfaces.

Re: iPhone that fell from hole in Alaska 737 MAX flight is found, still open to Mail

#190

Post by saiya-jin »

paulddraper wrote: post #180
xivzgrev wrote: post #113

This isn’t surprising - there was a wired story about phones surviving from planes back in 2011 (1) The gist is that it’s a light object and due to that + broad shape, its terminal velocity is not very high. Coupled that with the mass and there’s not a lot of force on landing. Of course the phone itself is fragile so it might not take a lot of force to break. Still, as long as it lands on something soft it might be o…

Then why does my phone break when I drop it?

No protection? I drop mine from time to time and never experienced any damage
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