Stolen iPad with iOS 9
Oct 31, 2016, 3:37 pm
#1
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Stolen iPad with iOS 9
My mom's iPad got stolen. It's iOS 9 with iCloud/find my iPhone enabled and passcode lock. My assumption is there's no way for the thief to unlock or wipe the iPad. The iPad should be a brick at this time. Is my assumption correct?
Btw, The iPad has gps, however it doesn't have a sim card inside. Unfortunately, I can't track it since it doesn't have internet connection.
Btw, The iPad has gps, however it doesn't have a sim card inside. Unfortunately, I can't track it since it doesn't have internet connection.
Oct 31, 2016, 3:54 pm
#2
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If Find My iPhone is enabled and there's a passcode lock, the thief won't be able to use the iPad without knowing your mom's AppleID username and password.
If your mom had the setting enabled to erase all data after ten incorrect passcode attempts, then the iPad may already be erased if the thief has sat there for the ~2 hours it would take to enter ten incorrect passcodes (iOS enforces successively longer delays between attempts if you enter the wrong code more than 5 times).
If she did not have the erase-after-10-tries setting enabled,then the iPad is still locked and the thief can presumably not get in, but can keep trying.
One thing you should do is sign in to icloud.com/find and click the Lost Mode button for the iPad. If it does connect to the internet somehow, it will put a message on the lock screen that it's in lost mode.
Do not click the Remove From Account button on that page, as that will allow it to be wiped and activated with someone else's Apple account - in other words, it turns off Find My iPhone on it.
Rotten luck, sorry.
If your mom had the setting enabled to erase all data after ten incorrect passcode attempts, then the iPad may already be erased if the thief has sat there for the ~2 hours it would take to enter ten incorrect passcodes (iOS enforces successively longer delays between attempts if you enter the wrong code more than 5 times).
If she did not have the erase-after-10-tries setting enabled,then the iPad is still locked and the thief can presumably not get in, but can keep trying.
One thing you should do is sign in to icloud.com/find and click the Lost Mode button for the iPad. If it does connect to the internet somehow, it will put a message on the lock screen that it's in lost mode.
Do not click the Remove From Account button on that page, as that will allow it to be wiped and activated with someone else's Apple account - in other words, it turns off Find My iPhone on it.
Rotten luck, sorry.
Oct 31, 2016, 4:25 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2015
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Short answer: wipe it.
Long answer: You have two options
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
Long answer: You have two options
- Locking it, isn't very safe. If the thief has the passcode, he will simply enter the passcode and continue using it.
- If you wipe it, you're still able to display a contact phone number and a message on the device, but your data is gone (along with the ability to locate and follow the device).
Your phone however remains locked. After erasing the phone is completely reset with the difference that it features an Activation lock (it only unblocks with the paired apple ID).
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
Last edited by WorldLux; Oct 31, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Oct 31, 2016, 4:57 pm
#4
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Short answer: Swipe it.
Long answer: You have two options
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
Long answer: You have two options
- Locking it, isn't very safe. If the thief has the passcode, he will simply enter the passcode and continue using it.
- If you swipe it, you're still able to display a contact phone number and a message on the device, but your data is gone (along with the ability to locate and follow the device).
Your phone however remains locked. After the swipe, the phone is completely reset with the difference that it features an Activation lock (it only unblocks with the paired apple ID).
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
You should always have a passcode lock on the device. What do you mean it's not secure?
Oct 31, 2016, 5:17 pm
#5
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I thank autocorrect for that (and the fact that it's already late here). Obviously I meant wipe.
If by any chance, the thief has the passcode, he can simply unlock the device and continue using it. That's what I meant by not secure.
After wiping (or erasing) the device, unlocking the device will require the correct apple ID and the matching password.
If by any chance, the thief has the passcode, he can simply unlock the device and continue using it. That's what I meant by not secure.
After wiping (or erasing) the device, unlocking the device will require the correct apple ID and the matching password.
Oct 31, 2016, 5:24 pm
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I thank autocorrect for that (and the fact that it's already late here). Obviously I meant wipe.
If by any chance, the thief has the passcode, he can simply unlock the device and continue using it. That's what I meant by not secure.
After wiping (or erasing) the device, unlocking the device will require the correct apple ID and the matching password.
If by any chance, the thief has the passcode, he can simply unlock the device and continue using it. That's what I meant by not secure.
After wiping (or erasing) the device, unlocking the device will require the correct apple ID and the matching password.
The OP said he couldn't lock the iPad because it's not connected to the network. So there's not much he can do in any case.
Oct 31, 2016, 5:26 pm
#7
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One thing you should do is sign in to icloud.com/find and click the Lost Mode button for the iPad. If it does connect to the internet somehow, it will put a message on the lock screen that it's in lost mode.
Do not click the Remove From Account button on that page, as that will allow it to be wiped and activated with someone else's Apple account - in other words, it turns off Find My iPhone on it.
Rotten luck, sorry.
Do not click the Remove From Account button on that page, as that will allow it to be wiped and activated with someone else's Apple account - in other words, it turns off Find My iPhone on it.
Rotten luck, sorry.
Oct 31, 2016, 5:44 pm
#8
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It won't do anything if the iPad doesn't connect to the internet. As WorldLux mentioned above, it's better to click the Wipe button to ensure they can't get your mom's data. It won't matter unless it connects to the internet, of course.
Oct 31, 2016, 9:15 pm
#9
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Short answer: wipe it.
Long answer: You have two options
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
Long answer: You have two options
- Locking it, isn't very safe. If the thief has the passcode, he will simply enter the passcode and continue using it.
- If you wipe it, you're still able to display a contact phone number and a message on the device, but your data is gone (along with the ability to locate and follow the device).
Your phone however remains locked. After erasing the phone is completely reset with the difference that it features an Activation lock (it only unblocks with the paired apple ID).
PS: I just tried with an iPhone 5 (10.1.1 - the find my iPhone feature didn't change compared to iOs 9).
Nov 1, 2016, 3:23 am
#10
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Yeah, but I still prefer that nobody has access to my data. You won't see the device again, might as well delete your content.
BTW: Locating a phone is all nice and good, but thieves know that too. A relative got her handbag stolen. By the time the Find my phone website was opened, they had switched the phone off.
BTW: Locating a phone is all nice and good, but thieves know that too. A relative got her handbag stolen. By the time the Find my phone website was opened, they had switched the phone off.
Nov 1, 2016, 7:15 am
#11
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I would be shocked if Apple didn't enforce certificate pinning and TLS on the connection to the activation server. I think the fake DNS approach worked initially, when they first rolled it out, but surely they'd have fixed it by now.
Nov 1, 2016, 9:50 am
#12
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Use Find my iPhone to wipe data and lock the device.
What thieves usually try to do is, they'll put it in recovery mode, restore an IPSW through iTunes, the iPad will boot up, then whoever has it will connect to WiFi and think everything is going all good, until the setup screen comes up where the iPad will display the message and the phone number if you chose to display that. It's impossible to get past that screen without the login credentials of the original user.
My friend's iPhone 5 got stolen, it had Find my iPhone enabled, and the thief did try to restore it through iTunes, and one day in school, a few days after it got stolen, a friend of mine got a message on WhatsApp saying 'Can u give me the apple ID to unlock iphone', so to fool him, we said yeah we'd unlock it, we told him to connect it to WiFi and then we remotely wiped the phone and blocked his number. This is actually true, and I still laugh about it even now as to how stupid that guy was.
What thieves usually try to do is, they'll put it in recovery mode, restore an IPSW through iTunes, the iPad will boot up, then whoever has it will connect to WiFi and think everything is going all good, until the setup screen comes up where the iPad will display the message and the phone number if you chose to display that. It's impossible to get past that screen without the login credentials of the original user.
My friend's iPhone 5 got stolen, it had Find my iPhone enabled, and the thief did try to restore it through iTunes, and one day in school, a few days after it got stolen, a friend of mine got a message on WhatsApp saying 'Can u give me the apple ID to unlock iphone', so to fool him, we said yeah we'd unlock it, we told him to connect it to WiFi and then we remotely wiped the phone and blocked his number. This is actually true, and I still laugh about it even now as to how stupid that guy was.
Nov 1, 2016, 12:19 pm
#13
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I lost an iPhone 5S a few years ago in Amsterdam. I think it was iOS8 and they had just rolled out carrier lock activation (and Apple hyped up how thefts of iOS devices went way down afterwards, because it couldn't be reset without AppleID credentials).
It never showed up on Find My iPhone. But I put my email address on it.
After I returned home, got an email from "Find my iPhone Service" or something like that. It was obviously fake, with typos and some Eastern European domain. When I clicked on the link, it put up a fake iCloud page, again with Eastern European domain for the URL, prompting for my AppleID login and password. The page looked exactly like iCloud.
Verified that iCloud doesn't use different domains for different countries. It's the same URL worldwide.
They sent several more emails which I ignored.
It never showed up on Find My iPhone. But I put my email address on it.
After I returned home, got an email from "Find my iPhone Service" or something like that. It was obviously fake, with typos and some Eastern European domain. When I clicked on the link, it put up a fake iCloud page, again with Eastern European domain for the URL, prompting for my AppleID login and password. The page looked exactly like iCloud.
Verified that iCloud doesn't use different domains for different countries. It's the same URL worldwide.
They sent several more emails which I ignored.
Nov 1, 2016, 2:11 pm
#15
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What do you mean, trying to locate where the email came from?
Like I said it seemed to be from Eastern Europe.
Thing is, homeowner's insurance deductible wouldn't have even covered the cost so I kind of dropped it, not bothering to file a police report for an insurance claim.
It sucked not having a phone for the rest of the trip, which continued another 1-2 week.
Like I said it seemed to be from Eastern Europe.
Thing is, homeowner's insurance deductible wouldn't have even covered the cost so I kind of dropped it, not bothering to file a police report for an insurance claim.
It sucked not having a phone for the rest of the trip, which continued another 1-2 week.