this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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How the fuck does this go on for 40,000 phones? Are phones in China not like in the western world where they're effectively bricks without the ability to unlock them? Does nobody have FindMy or similar?
The stolen phones can be broken up for parts. They probably aren’t just reselling the devices whole.
As far as I know recent iPhones all have parts pairing, so you can’t swap parts between phones unless Apple authorises it. Absolutely sucks ass for repairability, but it’s supposed to help in the context of stolen phones.
I guess thieves found a way to circumvent it, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense
Even if they haven’t (yet), it’s still a recent development. There are plenty of old models out there without it, not to mention Android phones which hold the majority market share in the UK.