[olliej]

Activation lock for phones was demonstrably effective at reducing theft of the products it was applied to, so _if_ theft of tractors is an issue this seems like a good thing, _if_ JD is also willing to commit to/legally required to maintain the activation service.

[gommm]

My phone (a samsung s21 ultra) was snatched from my hand while I was using it to check google maps in Barcelona. I tried to remote wipe it 5 minutes later at my hotel but it had already been disconnected. So the thief was very quick at removing the sim card.

I checked online since and it seems that even with the advent activation lock, there's still a lot of phone thefts in some countries. They just sell the spare parts and can make 100 to 200 euros between the screen and battery.

I'd imagine with John Deere tractors, there's quite a few parts that could be resold so an activation lock wouldn't necessarily reduce the value by that much.

[sirdvd]

I'm not sure is the best analogy. Perhaps it wouldn't reduce the value, but I don't see how you move a tractor that wont start (unless you want the owner standing beside you while you hack).

[tommica]

Damn, stolen while using it, that is quite brazen :(

[wkat4242]

Unfortunately commonplace in Barcelona. A thief that is caught will only get a small fine for thefts under 400€ even if it's the 1000th time. So the chance of a fine is just taken as the cost of doing 'business' by these professional pickpocketing gangs.

If there's violence involved it's another story but if a victim initiates it, they themselves can get into trouble. So these thieves are trained to be ultra passive.

I've seen it myself. Other source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/14/woman-defends-...

[HPsquared]

That's probably the best time to steal it: the device is unlocked, giving access to the data and settings etc. Also the owner is distracted looking at the screen, and it's held in a position conducive to snatching. In short I'd expect this to be the main mode of phone theft directly from the owner.

[petepete]

It's a fairly common tactic in the UK. I've seen plenty of CCTV clips where kids cycle past people on their phones and snatch them. The thief is 10m away before the person's even reacted.

[mnd999]

Very common. Much easier and less dangerous to snatch it when someone has it out quickly than to hold someone up.

[Gigachad]

iPhones are a bit more theft resistant as the parts are tied to the main board.

[8organicbits]

I thought phone theft was still fairly common, although I have a hard time understanding how it's profitable.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/04/bathroom-tunneling-b...

[14]

If you look at the cost of a new screen or battery you can see that parts do have some value. For a thief even $50 is a score.

[Xylakant]

Apples lockdown even includes hardware such as screens. You can’t just transplant an iPhone screen from one phone to another.

[ris58h]

> You can’t just transplant an iPhone screen from one phone to another.

Why so? May be I can't but how difficult it for a repair shop?

[shortcake27]

Because all the parts are paired. Hugh Jeffreys has an interesting series where he buys two new phones and swaps the parts. Basically nothing can be swapped without breaking core functionality. Swapping a screen, for example, loses true-tone and auto brightness.

This can be fixed by replanting a tiny chip from the old screen to the new screen, requiring extremely precise micro-soldering skills that the average repair shop doesn’t possess.

[cryu]

Yep, absolutely true -- I worked on the project ("FDR / New Deal").

It was originally supposed to prevent a repeat of the Hon Hai Zhengzhou incident where a team of line workers mixed/matched parts from units that failed QC and sold the Frankensteined units on the grey market. (Massively oversimplified, but that's the general gist)

The resulting near-total inability to swap screens/buttons without knowing someone with FDR update access was seen as acceptable collateral damage.

[expertentipp]

I don't see exactly how it happens. The first guy cuts the security cables, the second guy collects the devices?

[aikinai]

Those are new in-box unactivated phones, completely unrelated to personal theft and activation lock.

[Xylakant]

It’s not related to personal theft, but to activation lock. Apple can (and will) lock these phones as well.

[olliej]

Is that something that is happening? I would have thought it would have been in the news before if apple had been doing that.

[aikinai]

Oh yeah, good point. I can’t imagine how that’s worth it then…

[Xylakant]

They will sell the hardware to unwitting victims as new via eBay, Craigslist, … and disappear before the victim figures it out. It is a new iPhone in the original shrinkwrap - who’d become suspicious?

[olliej]

A cheap sealed boxed iPhone off craigslist or eBay seems like something I'd be suspicious of.

[makeitdouble]

I'm not sure we have proof it's that effective. Recently 400+ phones were stolen from a store in a well prepared way, so I assume there's plenty of ways to work around or get value from the stolen phones despite whatever Apple is doing:

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/04/06/washington-apple-store-...

[shortcake27]

I wouldn’t be surprised if activation lock causes _more_ theft. If stolen devices are worth less due to activation lock, thieves need to steal more phones to make up the lost profits.

Also, the data on a phone is almost always far more valuable than the phone itself. If a thief steals my phone, it’s much better for me if they erase it. But they can’t do that, so my stolen phone with all my data just sits there one exploit away from being exposed.

Activation lock only serves to benefit the manufacturer as they get to sell more phones. It doesn’t benefit the consumer at all.

[setr]

> thieves need to steal more phones to make up the lost profits.

Unless these thieves were rolling in money previously, I would imagine they maximize theft as much as they possibly can — why would they leave money on the table? I don’t think they’re stealing to meet some monthly quota like hired hands on a farm; they should just be acting on a risk/reward function.

And as such, I think the more likely scenario as phones decrease in value per theft, other objects are made relatively more valuable (per risk/reward), and theft would transition elsewhere.

[olliej]

Why would activation lock prevent stealing a new phone? Definitionally a phone that has not been sold doesn't have an account tied to it.

[flangola7]

Apple can still lock those phones. They track what is in stock and what has been sold

[coldtea]

Doesn't need an account. It just needs to not be able to be activated anymore, because the serial number is "marked" as stolen.

[15155]

Under normal, non-war circumstances, tractor theft isn't a thing.

[dsfyu404ed]

Random disputes over the details of lease and service contract terms however...