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I think the (valid if cynical) implication is that a large number of those "trashed and recycled" phones were trashed and recycled by people who are...not the o

I think the (valid if cynical) implication is that a large number of those "trashed and recycled" phones were trashed and recycled by people who are...not the owners.

retrac 7y ago
Perhaps. Thieves don't strike me as the type to be more eco-conscious than average, though. I'm betting they're mostly just thrown out. Many people can't be bothered with the hassle of trying to sell a used device.
- aroch 7y ago
  They "recycle" them by going to Walmart and putting them into a recycling kiosk like [1] and get cash/gift cards instantly. They're not recycling so much as fencing.... [1]: https://us.ecoatm.com https://us.ecoatm.com
- threeseed 7y ago
  Not the thieves themselves but buyers. Used to be very common for someone to buy an iPhone on eBay, realise it was activation locked and then see comments everywhere on how to remove it. My guess is many of those people would end up just throwing the phone away.
  - FireBeyond 7y ago
    Hah. I had the buyer of my stolen iPhone 8 on eBay contact me and say "Hey, it says this phone is yours - since you've probably already replaced it, can you help me unlock it so I'm not -also- getting ripped off?". Pretty ballsy.
    - lonelappde 7y ago
      Maybe for a fee it's worth it.
shkkmo 7y ago
Which is why a system that allows recyclers to verify if a device was stolen and return stolen devices and get locked non-stolen devices would be good?
- soraminazuki 7y ago
  Or maybe recyclers should verify that the devices they get are unlocked before asking Apple to insert security backdoors.
  - shkkmo 7y ago
    How would that help people whose devices were stolen? What would be the "backdoor" of allowing recyclers to prompt users to remotely unlock or authorize apple to issue a signed unlocking code for that particular device? Based on the anecdotal commentary, it seems like many recyclers and refurbishers do attempt to educate users that devices should be unlocked. It also seems like this doesn't always happen for sundry reasons so there is still a lot of waste.
    - soraminazuki 7y ago
      > How would that help people whose devices were stolen? Remote unlocking won't help people whose devices are stolen either. Worse, recyclers would have very little incentive to help because they paid for the device. > What would be the "backdoor" of allowing recyclers to prompt users to remotely unlock or authorize apple to issue a signed unlocking code for that particular device? You'd need to store the encryption key somewhere and make it available for remote use. This is scary enough IMHO. > it seems like many recyclers and refurbishers do attempt to educate users that devices should be unlocked. This is not about user education. Recyclers should not accept locked devices in the first place.

I think the (valid if cynical) implication is that a large number of those "trashed and recycled" phones were trashed and recycled by people who are...not the owners.

retrac 7y ago

Perhaps. Thieves don't strike me as the type to be more eco-conscious than average, though. I'm betting they're mostly just thrown out. Many people can't be bothered with the hassle of trying to sell a used device.

aroch 7y ago
They "recycle" them by going to Walmart and putting them into a recycling kiosk like [1] and get cash/gift cards instantly. They're not recycling so much as fencing.... [1]: https://us.ecoatm.com https://us.ecoatm.com
threeseed 7y ago
Not the thieves themselves but buyers. Used to be very common for someone to buy an iPhone on eBay, realise it was activation locked and then see comments everywhere on how to remove it. My guess is many of those people would end up just throwing the phone away.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Hah. I had the buyer of my stolen iPhone 8 on eBay contact me and say "Hey, it says this phone is yours - since you've probably already replaced it, can you help me unlock it so I'm not -also- getting ripped off?". Pretty ballsy.
  - lonelappde 7y ago
    Maybe for a fee it's worth it.

shkkmo 7y ago

Which is why a system that allows recyclers to verify if a device was stolen and return stolen devices and get locked non-stolen devices would be good?

soraminazuki 7y ago
Or maybe recyclers should verify that the devices they get are unlocked before asking Apple to insert security backdoors.
- shkkmo 7y ago
  How would that help people whose devices were stolen? What would be the "backdoor" of allowing recyclers to prompt users to remotely unlock or authorize apple to issue a signed unlocking code for that particular device? Based on the anecdotal commentary, it seems like many recyclers and refurbishers do attempt to educate users that devices should be unlocked. It also seems like this doesn't always happen for sundry reasons so there is still a lot of waste.
  - soraminazuki 7y ago
    > How would that help people whose devices were stolen? Remote unlocking won't help people whose devices are stolen either. Worse, recyclers would have very little incentive to help because they paid for the device. > What would be the "backdoor" of allowing recyclers to prompt users to remotely unlock or authorize apple to issue a signed unlocking code for that particular device? You'd need to store the encryption key somewhere and make it available for remote use. This is scary enough IMHO. > it seems like many recyclers and refurbishers do attempt to educate users that devices should be unlocked. This is not about user education. Recyclers should not accept locked devices in the first place.