Stolen Device Protection May Protect You From Accessing Your Own Device
Note that this remains an iPhone-only feature, even though an iPad could be exploited the same way. I have to infer either that Apple has had almost no reports of exploitation via iPad passcode theft, or that they are balancing the needs of the average iPad user who is out and about with that device against the complexity of managing Stolen Device Protection.
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Once enabled, you see two options: Away from Familiar Locations and Always. Familiar Locations ostensibly leans on Significant Locations, but I’ll warn you that I have, on multiple occasions, been in my home, a place I spent a significant majority of my time, and was told by Stolen Device Protection that I wasn’t in a familiar location.
Stolen Device Protection will require that you erase and restore your phone to be able to regain full access to it should FaceID fail to recognize you (surgery, injury, shaving a beard, broken eye glasses, etc…)
Previously:
- iOS 26.4.1 and iPadOS 26.4.1
- iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4
- iOS 26.4: Stolen Device Protection Enabled by Default
- iOS 17.6 and iPadOS 17.6
- Janky Apple ID Security
Update (2026-05-06): Gregatron5:
I’m in a park (Gravelly Point) and I rebooted my phone because the camera started acting up.
Upon restart I get a “Software updated” screen and then a screen that REQUIRES a WiFi network to continue.
[…]
It turns out this was that Stolen Device Protection thing @mjtsai likes to complain about and that I was silently opted in to.
[…]
If I had been camping or something I would have been completely without recourse. I should be able to reboot my phone and still have a working phone. This was borderline unconscionable. 😡
2 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
I resent the fact that the iOS 26.4.2 setup process required me to turn it on with no option of setting it up later, so that I had to go into Settings and wait the 1 hour delay to turn it back off. And, yes, I was home at the time, but my phone apparently hadn't worked out that I was here most of the time. When the first test of its efficacy is turning it off, and it fails to work as designed, you know you've got a problem. I doubt Apple will improve it, though, so I'm leaving it off.
@Sebby Yup, I was surprised too that it was mandatory to turn it on after the update was done. Really bad call by Apple. Luckily I could turn it off in settings immediately without any wait time.
I mostly work from home so this is not a feature that’s something I feel is useful for me. But turning it off after very update if Apple does not change tack will get pretty tiring.
PS: I hope they are not A/B testing how many people keep it on and how many people turn it off.
