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As an iOS user it’s a bit shocking to hear that Android hasn’t had a functional activation lock. iPhone has had that for almost 11 years. I suppose this is a ca

As an iOS user it’s a bit shocking to hear that Android hasn’t had a functional activation lock. iPhone has had that for almost 11 years. I suppose this is a case where Apple’s hardware and software integration is especially notable.

cantSpellSober 2y ago
Android has activation lock. This announcement is about FRP.
- hedora 2y ago
  What's the distinction? On iOS, if the device is stolen, after a reset, you can't set the phone up (and it's been like that for over a decade). Google says that's exactly what FRP does.
- vlovich123 2y ago
  No an Android user, so I'm not sure what distinction you're making. On iOS there's not really a distinction between the two [1]. > Activation Lock is an Apple feature designed to prevent the unauthorized transfer or use of Apple devices. Built into Apple’s Find My system, it’s Apple’s implementation of factory reset protection, which manufacturers are legally required to include in order to sell smartphones in the US. Given that it's been legally required since 2015 to sell smartphones, this must be something else. [1] https://www.kandji.io/definitions/what-is-activation-lock https://www.kandji.io/definitions/what-is-activation-lock EDIT: Looking at the actual announcement. > Factory reset upgrade prevents a reset by a thief. For some criminals, the goal is to quickly reset your stolen device and resell it. We’re making it more difficult to do that with an upgrade to Android’s factory reset protection. With this upgrade, if a thief forces a reset of the stolen device, they’re not able to set it up again without knowing your device or Google account credentials. This renders a stolen device unsellable, reducing incentives for phone theft. > More steps for changing sensitive device settings to protect your data. Disabling Find My Device or extending screen timeout now requires your PIN, password or biometric authentication, adding an extra layer of security preventing criminals who got a hold of your device from keeping it unlocked or untrackable online. > When enabled, our new enhanced authentication will require biometrics for accessing and changing critical Google account and device settings, like changing your PIN, disabling theft protection or accessing Passkeys, from an untrusted location. AFAIK this has always been true for iOS, or true for as long as I can remember at least. The rest is pretty neat & unique to Android though (e.g. a separate PIN-required space for certain apps like bank or health data, automatic protection on snatch, fast-lock using very low-overhead authentication mechanism).
- shuckles 2y ago
  Perhaps you are using "activation lock" to mean the carrier imposed requirement that some mobile phones are restricted to their network? On iOS, it seems like activation lock refers to exactly the feature that Android is touting finally works with new updates to FRP.
  - daghamm 2y ago
    Are you thinking of sim lock? Android and ios boot mechanism are pretty identical: secure boot -> unlock modem -> unlock user area. There are some differences in where in the CPU this happes and how it is protected but Pixel phones are pretty close to iPhone even if we look at such details.
    - shuckles 2y ago
      No I’m not. So if what you say is correct, why does this announcement have a section for “Factory Restore Protection” as a new feature if Android phones have already worked this way?
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - daghamm 2y ago
        FRP was introduced in Android 5, this announcement is about improving it.
        shuckles 2y ago
        The “improvement” it describes involves taking it from being nonfunctional to functional. The original comment I responded to suggested that it was previously a client side validation that could be easily bypassed.

cantSpellSober 2y ago

Android has activation lock. This announcement is about FRP.

hedora 2y ago
What's the distinction? On iOS, if the device is stolen, after a reset, you can't set the phone up (and it's been like that for over a decade). Google says that's exactly what FRP does.
vlovich123 2y ago
No an Android user, so I'm not sure what distinction you're making. On iOS there's not really a distinction between the two [1]. > Activation Lock is an Apple feature designed to prevent the unauthorized transfer or use of Apple devices. Built into Apple’s Find My system, it’s Apple’s implementation of factory reset protection, which manufacturers are legally required to include in order to sell smartphones in the US. Given that it's been legally required since 2015 to sell smartphones, this must be something else. [1] https://www.kandji.io/definitions/what-is-activation-lock https://www.kandji.io/definitions/what-is-activation-lock EDIT: Looking at the actual announcement. > Factory reset upgrade prevents a reset by a thief. For some criminals, the goal is to quickly reset your stolen device and resell it. We’re making it more difficult to do that with an upgrade to Android’s factory reset protection. With this upgrade, if a thief forces a reset of the stolen device, they’re not able to set it up again without knowing your device or Google account credentials. This renders a stolen device unsellable, reducing incentives for phone theft. > More steps for changing sensitive device settings to protect your data. Disabling Find My Device or extending screen timeout now requires your PIN, password or biometric authentication, adding an extra layer of security preventing criminals who got a hold of your device from keeping it unlocked or untrackable online. > When enabled, our new enhanced authentication will require biometrics for accessing and changing critical Google account and device settings, like changing your PIN, disabling theft protection or accessing Passkeys, from an untrusted location. AFAIK this has always been true for iOS, or true for as long as I can remember at least. The rest is pretty neat & unique to Android though (e.g. a separate PIN-required space for certain apps like bank or health data, automatic protection on snatch, fast-lock using very low-overhead authentication mechanism).
shuckles 2y ago
Perhaps you are using "activation lock" to mean the carrier imposed requirement that some mobile phones are restricted to their network? On iOS, it seems like activation lock refers to exactly the feature that Android is touting finally works with new updates to FRP.
- daghamm 2y ago
  Are you thinking of sim lock? Android and ios boot mechanism are pretty identical: secure boot -> unlock modem -> unlock user area. There are some differences in where in the CPU this happes and how it is protected but Pixel phones are pretty close to iPhone even if we look at such details.
  - shuckles 2y ago
    No I’m not. So if what you say is correct, why does this announcement have a section for “Factory Restore Protection” as a new feature if Android phones have already worked this way?
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - daghamm 2y ago
      FRP was introduced in Android 5, this announcement is about improving it.
      - shuckles 2y ago
        The “improvement” it describes involves taking it from being nonfunctional to functional. The original comment I responded to suggested that it was previously a client side validation that could be easily bypassed.