I see you guys talk about a locked iphone or apple device. What does these mean? Is this exclusive to apple? My android phone does not have a lock or does it? Curious. Thanks

It means a device locked to a specific cellular carrier. (Locked to a specific plan on a specific carrier, sometimes.)

Usually when one acquires a new mobile device as part of a cellular plan, the device being either free or deeply-discounted, what's happening is the cellular provider is building the cost of the device into the cellular service fee.

To make sure the customer doesn't sign up, get the device, then dump the plan before the carrier has had the opportunity to recoup their investment, they lock the mobile device to their service.

Once the minimum service period has been satisfied one can request of the carrier the lock be removed.

As long as the carrier lock is in place one cannot get the device re-provisioned on any carrier.

No, it is not exclusive to Apple devices.

I don't think that is what I am asking about? But maybe, don't really know.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I don't think that is what I am asking about? But maybe, don't really know.

Actually it's exactly the answer to the question you asked.

"Carrier locking" phones was more of a thing in the early 2000's when the phones were "free". Now, they're so expensive, the carriers usually discount "locked" phones - that makes it a much smarter decision to just buy a phone outright and buy the plan separately.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I don't think that is what I am asking about?

I suspect it is. See additional info in my original response.

The other lock - common to all cellphones - is the ability to 'lock' the home screen or keypad so it cannot be used without a pass code, password, Face ID, fingerprint scan or some similar method.



.

If by "locked" you're not talking about a cell phone whose service is "locked" to one cell carrier, you must be talking about a cell phone that cannot be accessed without putting in a passcode or using a biometric key like a fingerprint or facial recognition.

It's something that's available on basically all smartphones, so it's not exclusive to iPhones. Your Android can be set up to require a passcode or biometric before anyone can get into the phone's home screen/menu or view any of the phone's notifications.

Look in the Security menu.

https://support.google.com/and...answer/9079129?hl=en

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
The other lock - common to all cellphones - is the ability to 'lock' the home screen or keypad so it cannot be used without a pass code, password, Face ID, fingerprint scan or some similar method.

I assumed he knew about that

Heck, even many (older) "dumb" phones could have the keyboards locked to prevent unauthorized use.

There are two different meanings. One meaning is locked to a carrier, as discussed above.

Another meaning is that the phone is displaying a "lock screen" and is basically locked from being used for most purposes, unless / until the user unlocks it by entering a password or biometric unlock (thumb print, face ID, etc.).

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Edit: in the time that it took me to type this, several other people posted similar information.

my daughter's phone came from here, as a refurbished:

https://buy.gazelle.com/collec..._v_model=iPhone%2013

Note it is either listed as "UNLOCKED" or as "T-MOBILE" or "AT&T"

the price on unlocked is normally a bit higher.

I bought an "AT&T" LOCKED phone from the same place. I can still use it, but attempts to unlock it has been futile, so I just live on the AT&T network. I have all the features, I just can't move to another carrier like T-Mobile, etc.

If you buy a used phone this becomes even more important to double check.

I've also heard "locked phone" in reference to the automatic lockout that can happen after too many failed unlock/password attempts.

Thank you guys, that was helpful and I appreciate it.

This is precisely why when my wife and I bought new phones a few months ago, we made sure to buy them unlocked directly from the manufacturers so that we could install an e-sim in them while in France recently. If we bought the phones through Verizon, they would be locked--even if bought outright--for a minimum of 60 days and we'd not be able to use them on a different carrier in France.

I agree with the poster above-possibly referring to a "jailbroken" iPhone-where one can install apps that apple doesn't necessarily want one to install or doing things with the iPhone apple doesn't necessarily want one to do.

As usual, ensigmatic nails it in his first post above. That is the usual meaning attached to the commonly-used phrase "locked mobile phone."

Now there is another usage, not so common, among the mobile hackers out there. More often termed a "jailbreak" on Apple devices or "rooting" on Android devices. The former is a term for bypassing Apple-implemented protections against the installation of "unapproved" software onto a device via "sideloading" techniques. The latter is a much more fundamental bypass of system security by allowing the user to perform as the "root" user (AKA superuser). This is a legacy Unix concept adopted by Linux (which emulates Unix) and Android (based on Linux source code). A root user can, theoretically, do anything they want to do on the system, and bypass all security restrictions. Android phone vendors work hard to prevent this from happening, some people find it immoral to deny the owner of a device they paid hard-earned money for the ability to fully use said device, and so work even harder to enable it, usually through a security vulnerability.

Ironically, even if you manage to jailbreak or root your phone, that does not necessarily give the ability to unlock it in the first sense. This is because the lock status is not maintained on the phone itself, but in a (secret) shared database and associated with the SIM installed or assigned to the phone's MEIN.

So how to interpret the term "locked phone" depends on the context, and what actions might be enabled by doing so. You want to switch to a different carrier? Apply the first meaning. You want to delete "bloatware" installed on the phone by the vendor? You are looking at rooting it. I am unaware of any legal or contractual requirement that vendors adhere to this practice, I am betting that there are carriers out there, perhaps illegitimate, that do not do so. Seems like a perfect avenue for a wide-spread compromise, "your new low-cost mobile carrier is Slacker Telecommunications, please click 'yes' to confirm."

Note that I am intentionally omitting other avenues of gaining privilege on an Android phone such as (in increasing level of difficulty) via ADB (Android Debug Bridge - a software developer's tool), installing a custom boot loader, or making modifications to a phone's circuit board (e.g. cutting traces, and replacing SMDs).

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
[FLASH_VIDEO]<iframe frameborder="0" height="370" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMko8DlY9IA" title="Jailbreak" width="640"></iframe>[/FLASH_VIDEO]

nice, I haven't listened to Thin Lizzy since my last road trip
great album

I assumed he just got done reading the Liberty Safe thread. Keeping people out or your device w/ no help from the manufacturer.

Since we are talking about locked phones, and in light of the Liberty Safe viasco; here is an interesting article anyone using biometrics to lock their phone should read.
Does the 5th Amendment Protect Biometrics?