[NEWS] Smartphone Kill Switch July begins 2015

drago10029 · Apr 16, 2014

So it's been announced. The Kill switch will be implemented July 2015 KILL SWITCH

For starters this has existed with iPhones for a while and honestly, it seems good but is a wildly suspect move! Why? Because I clearly remember Carriers being against it the idea! EL EVIDENCE. On top of that, the implementation being over a year from now?!?!

Well I said my piece, what are you guys thoughts on this? Good? Bad? Unsure? Complicated? Turkey Sandwich? :laugh:

GTMoraes · Jan 29, 2015

drago10029 said:
So it's been announced. The Kill switch will be implemented July 2015 KILL SWITCH

For starters this has existed with iPhones for a while and honestly, it seems good but is a wildly suspect move! Why? Because I clearly remember Carriers being against it the idea! EL EVIDENCE. On top of that, the implementation being over a year from now?!?!

Well I said my piece, what are you guys thoughts on this? Good? Bad? Unsure? Complicated? Turkey Sandwich? :laugh:

They don't like the Kill Switch because it would directly affect their insurance profits.
I've heard from thieves that Android phones are prefered to be chosen for stealing, because iPhones are easily traceable and they lock down in a way that's too hard to workaround, and you'd only need to hard-reset an Android to get it fresh for you.

So, yes, I like the kill-switch

techacker007 · Jan 29, 2015

GTMoraes said:
They don't like the Kill Switch because it would directly affect their insurance profits.
I've heard from thieves that Android phones are prefered to be chosen for stealing, because iPhones are easily traceable and they lock down in a way that's too hard to workaround, and you'd only need to hard-reset an Android to get it fresh for you.

So, yes, I like the kill-switch

Exactly! Its a great idea for consumers but a hole in the pocket for the phone carriers. I hope we win

TryHardBlueonMac · Jan 30, 2015

The unintended costs when implementing a kill switch is astronomical which is why the carrier's analysis's are telling them no don't do it. Why? Money for most obvious reason and also Stupidity. A decent percentage would be of people who simply lost their phone in their house or car and report it stolen and then brick it via the kill switch... instead of them finding it later it's just money down the drain. Insurance premiums would actually be higher as the property which they are insuring doesn't have a high enough risk mitigation by the kill switch to prevent theft over the cost of having a completely bricked phone. The PR and customer service policies and security protocols are expensive.
I would say a better alternative should exist... eg biometrics so ONLY YOU can operate your phone.

GTMoraes · Jan 31, 2015

TryHardBlueonMac said:
The unintended costs when implementing a kill switch is astronomical which is why the carrier's analysis's are telling them no don't do it. Why? Money for most obvious reason and also Stupidity. A decent percentage would be of people who simply lost their phone in their house or car and report it stolen and then brick it via the kill switch... instead of them finding it later it's just money down the drain. Insurance premiums would actually be higher as the property which they are insuring doesn't have a high enough risk mitigation by the kill switch to prevent theft over the cost of having a completely bricked phone. The PR and customer service policies and security protocols are expensive.
I would say a better alternative should exist... eg biometrics so ONLY YOU can operate your phone.

Kill switches aren't actually meant to "kill" the phone. It locks up, and if you recover it, you can unlock it.
Nobody else is able to unlock it using conventional means.

Tapatalked thru my CM12 G3!

drago10029 · Feb 4, 2015

GTMoraes said:
Kill switches aren't actually meant to "kill" the phone. It locks up, and if you recover it, you can unlock it.
Nobody else is able to unlock it using conventional means.

Tapatalked thru my CM12 G3!

Actually the company can unlock it I believe. But no security is full proof!

GTMoraes · Feb 4, 2015

drago10029 said:
Actually the company can unlock it I believe. But no security is full proof!

Sure they aren't! Bulletproof vests have limited capacity and only protects a certain region, but it's better to go in a shooting wearing one rather than not!
Catch my drift? =P

blackjaxx360 · Feb 4, 2015

techacker007 said:
Exactly! Its a great idea for consumers but a hole in the pocket for the phone carriers. I hope we win

Somehow, I think that cost will find its way to the user. I don't know about you but I pay enough for service, even with a company discount. I'm not interested in soaking up more costs.

drago10029 · Feb 5, 2015

GTMoraes said:
Sure they aren't! Bulletproof vests have limited capacity and only protects a certain region, but it's better to go in a shooting wearing one rather than not!
Catch my drift? =P

I get it but the analogy doesn't make too much sense, no offense. a kill switch is ideally supposed to be full proof and not a vest, more like a secret underground lair no one knows about.

GTMoraes · Feb 5, 2015

drago10029 said:
I get it but the analogy doesn't make too much sense, no offense. a kill switch is ideally supposed to be full proof and not a vest, more like a secret underground lair no one knows about.

Using my analogy, a bulletproof vest will hold most of the bullets that might hit you
But if the guy -really- want to get you, you're screwed.

Same thing. This kill switch only prevents the phone from booting or wiping the ROM using conventional methods, but if the thief -really- wants you phone, he can crack directly at the internal memory using.. Idk forgot the tool, but it's pretty expensive and mostly used to replace internal memories.

But I doubt there will be a robber/tinkerer willing to go all this way for your phone..
So, is it crackable? Yes.
Is it feasible? No.

But if you mean a kill switch, like to really break the phone circuitry.. That wouldn't make sense. Locking the hell out of it renders the phone mostly useless, and if you ever recover it, you can unlock it.
(Also, imagine this button in a country that Apple products have to say they aren't edible..)

Tapatalked thru my CM12 G3!

aFaridun · Jul 12, 2015

GUYS how to disable this Kill Switch, it's not allowing me to enter to download mode.
"Download mode is disabled by Kill Switch"

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[NEWS] Smartphone Kill Switch July begins 2015

Smartphone Kill Switch

The Kill switch is a good idea for anti-theft?

The Kill switch is a bad idea for anti-theft?

I agree with the OP! something is fishy.

I think we need an alternative to the Kill Switch?

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