Galaxy S4 and Lojack

[Wild Cobra]

Thinking of buying a Galaxy S4 just because the phone has a built in protection for tracking. It doesn't get wiped, and can be accessed with Lojack for about $30/yr. I have used a free app before on a phone, but it could be wiped and the phone resold. i have had two stolen smart phones over the years. My own some time back, and my 5th line that my lady friends daughter uses last year. Her phone stopped working, and i started looking at options. i was going to buy one under $200, but now that I see the S4 is Lojack ready, I'm thinking of buying two, or four of them

Thoughts?

[TeyshaBlue]

I hadn't heard that LoJack had a mobile app. Interesting.

I know some of the carriers have this type of service that reads the device IME, which cannot be wiped. I think Sprint does this.

[TeyshaBlue]

LoJack's probably cheaper by far tho.

[leemajors]

I hadn't heard that LoJack had a mobile app. Interesting.

I know some of the carriers have this type of service that reads the device IME, which cannot be wiped. I think Sprint does this.

IMEI! Forgive the correction, I stare at these and serials all day.

[TeyshaBlue]

lol...Doh!

[leemajors]

So, thief takes phone, removes battery. If they wait a week or two before reinserting battery, what does Lojack do? Do they persistently send the wipe/brick codes?

[ElNono]

The "you can't wipe the IMEI" is a urban legend. Not only providers wipe the IMEI as part of bricking the phone, there's tools to restore the IMEI after it's been wiped.

This is also a software solution. The odds of the phone being rooted and the lojack daemon being disabled are probably close to 100%.

[Wild Cobra]

The odds of the phone being rooted and the lojack daemon being disabled are probably close to 100%.

Yes, but the chances of someone going that far is reduced from someone taking any smartphone, and wiping it.

Would you agree?

[ElNono]

Yes, but the chances of someone going that far is reduced from someone taking any smartphone, and wiping it.

Would you agree?

Once a peep or two gets busted, and some "lojack cracker" patch starts making the rounds in the underground, it's just going to be cursory.

While there's always the 'naive kid stealing a phone', there's also a pretty savvy underground market for stolen high tech.

Things like that lojack and the new iOS 7 activation of stolen/missing devices are a step in the right direction, but far from a real solution.

Personally, I think paying a monthly fee for that is not worth it though.

[Wild Cobra]

Personally, I think paying a monthly fee for that is not worth it though.

It's a small annual fee. I believe their policy is they will replace it if not recovered.

The tracking might be in ROM, rather than NVRAM. I was under the impression it is persistent, and cannot be disabled. I'll have to do some more reading.

[ElNono]

I believe their policy is they will replace it if not recovered.

That might make it worth it.

[Wild Cobra]

That might make it worth it.
That's my thought. The only cell phone they currently offer that guarantee for is the newer S4. I'm sure new models will be included as the market demands such things. These $400+ phones are a bummer to lose.

You decide:

link: LoJack launches phone recovery service, Galaxy S4 first supported device (http://www.androidcentral.com/lojack-launches-phone-recovery-service-galaxy-s4-first-supported-device)

snippet:


Unlike other services that can pretty easily be removed when a phone is factory reset, the LoJack system is embedded at the firmware level and will survive any tampering or attempts to remove it by a criminal.

[spursncowboys]

Let me know how you like it. I have a S3 and love it but have an upgrade coming up.

[Wild Cobra]

Let me know how you like it. I have a S3 and love it but have an upgrade coming up.
I'm mixed right now about doing it. My current phone does just fine for me, and I want to be more certain about it first.