Yup. I assume there is plenty of value to be found selling donor boards and other parts of the iPhone. Not saying it's a repair shop's fault if they end up with motherboards of a stolen phone, but if I were a thief dealing with an activation-locked phone, my first idea would be a jailbreak, and if that fails, then disassemble the phone and sell the parts.

Presumably thieves already do these things (and more sophisticated things) to extract value out of stolen iPhones.

You really have to be careful with third-party iPhone repairs, especially in China. I had my phone repaired once, and when I got it back...it kind of worked, but they swapped out another part for something that was broken to ensure repeat business. That was in the iPhone 1 days though.

Its been about 17 years since the iPhone 1 days...

Yes, I'm old. This was in 2009 I think (I bought it in 2007). The e-markets are a lot different now (you can still find obscure shady offices repairing older hardware), and iPhone repairers that were scamming people are probably long gone.

What is on the board that can be used? Obviously the SOC is out. Maybe just the RAM or Flash? Is there really anything else?

> Clearly this isn't true, as her phone got stolen

Older iPhones are still in the wild. I wouldn't expect every pickpocket to be adept at differentiating them at a glance.

But that still has the same result, doesn't it? "Anti-theft" measure doesn't prevent the theft, only prevents third party repairs.

The average thief probably doesn't even distinguish between Apple and Android phones. A literal pickpocket is only going to have as information the outline of a phone-shaped thing in your pocket. If they lift it off of you and can't use it, they've still stolen it.

> still has the same result, doesn't it?

I can tell at a glance if someone's on an iPhone or not. I can't as similarly which generation they're on.

The FCC, at the very least, seems to find merit in the deterrence value of such measures [1]. (From a purely-retributive standpoint, I find some satisfaction in knowing someone stole a brick that needs to be parted out, versus getting a working device.)

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-39237

> I can tell at a glance if someone's on an iPhone or not.

How? Most people have a phone case and then all you can see is the case. Pretty much all modern phones are the same shape.

> The FCC, at the very least, seems to find merit in the deterrence value of such measures

People don't like it when someone steals their phone, so they demand the government Do Something, so the government proposes to Do Something, regardless of whether the something is effective. Classic politician's syllogism.

> From a purely-retributive standpoint, I find some satisfaction in knowing someone stole a brick that needs to be parted out, versus getting a working device.

The modern world isn't any fun. "I willingly compromised my own ability to repair my phone so a hypothetical thief might be put out."

People should be carrying around decoy phones that are full of sticky glitter and skunk scent, boobytrapped with blasting caps. If you're going to take revenge then do it well.