# Is Apple being sneaky or am I just paranoid?



## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

My perfectly-working iPhone4s suddenly started glitching, dropping calls and today, my SIM card appears "invalid", meaning no calls, texts or internet, just whatever I can get with WiFi...

Is Apple trying to tell me something? haha 

BTW, as a kid in Soviet Union I used to stand in line for everything from toilet paper to socks being sold by shady guys off a truck, there is no way I would humiliate myself by standing in line in front of Apple store for a new iPhone 
No, not switching to Android either


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

I thought it was a law in Canada that you had to use a Blackberry.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Inor said:


> I thought it was a law in Canada that you had to use a Blackberry.


Very funny


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Yep, get a Trac phone at Wally world.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Chipper said:


> Yep, get a Trac phone at Wally world.


What does this mean?


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

This is only a possibility, but your phone might have been hacked. I'd take it into a store.
If you didn't drop it or submerge it, they should help you to get it working, or a replacement.

The Trac phone idea is a pay-as-you-go cell phone.

Or, if your iPhone has an accessible SIM card, like for AT&T, you can buy a "Go-phone" and just put your SIM into it.
Tada, new phone!


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Ahah! Thanks for explaining, Kauboy


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

Tracfone is a Dumb phone,voice,text,not much else.$25.00 usd.no plan,we pay abt $20.00 usd each for minutes for two of them per month.un registered.throw away when done,had ours for 6 years,no complaints.just a phone,nothing special.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

Wally world = WalMart
Trac Phone = trash phone. Criminals use them and throw them away. You can spend $9 US up to $199 US on a phone.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

TorontoGal said:


> No, not switching to Android either


Hey, if you don't want to upgrade, we can't help ya.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

dannydefense said:


> Hey, if you don't want to upgrade, we can't help ya.


Too easy to hack into, too vulnerable to viruses and malware also Apple has much better customer service, in my experience.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Android is way better.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

A few years ago I was checking people's insurance as a job. I had about 325 people's social security numbers and birth dates in an excel document on my micro sd. Thought I got hacked and went into the at&t store. No help there. Huh? Would you like to but a phone?


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## Dalarast (May 16, 2014)

Do a reset - hold power button and your home key. If that doesn't do it when it comes on remove your sim card (you will see a little hole the size a paperclip will fit in on your right side of your phone) pop a paperclip in and it should pop that dime size area out.. pull out and push back in... if that doesn't work you probably just have a bad sim card. They do go bad. 

I personally think all Iphones and Android phones start crapping out soon as a new phone comes out (not all of them but a good batch). And I also think Android - Galaxy to be specific is a better phone. Unless your international and have to change sims and facetime with family.. then its IPhone. 

(At one time I worked with cell phones.. can you tell)


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

If you do a reset don't you lose data?


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

James m said:


> Would you like to but a phone?


What does this mean? I'm not having a lot of luck comprehending English-speakers in this forum lately.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

TorontoGal said:


> My perfectly-working iPhone4s suddenly started glitching, dropping calls and today, my SIM card appears "invalid", meaning no calls, texts or internet, just whatever I can get with WiFi...
> 
> Is Apple trying to tell me something? haha
> 
> ...


A few weeks ago the story broke on the news that whenever Apple is ready to bring out a new phone they start slowing down the existing phones, hoping people will upgrade to the new one.

I paid $9.95 at Walmart for a Samsung/AT&T Go-Phone. All it does is send and receive voice transmissions - no text, no internet, nothing. I pay $25 every few months for air time. I don't talk much, and the only people that know my number is my wife and kids.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

TorontoGal said:


> What does this mean? I'm not having a lot of luck comprehending English-speakers in this forum lately.


It was a mistake it was supposed to be "buy"


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

Dalarast said:


> Do a reset - hold power button and your home key. If that doesn't do it when it comes on remove your sim card (you will see a little hole the size a paperclip will fit in on your right side of your phone) pop a paperclip in and it should pop that dime size area out.. pull out and push back in... if that doesn't work you probably just have a bad sim card. They do go bad.
> 
> I personally think all Iphones and Android phones start crapping out soon as a new phone comes out (not all of them but a good batch). And I also think Android - Galaxy to be specific is a better phone. Unless your international and have to change sims and facetime with family.. then its IPhone.
> 
> (At one time I worked with cell phones.. can you tell)


Thanks, I forgot to reboot, will try that after I finish with the iOS 8.0 upgrade..
I tried Galaxy, so not for me, I only use Apple.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

My 4s worked perfectly fine through all the following new iPhone releases, I must have dropped it and forgot


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

Steve jobs is controlling your iPhone from beyond the grave and that is why it is messing up. Hes trying to send you a message to avenge his death.


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

James m said:


> Steve jobs is controlling your iPhone from beyond the grave and that is why it is messing up. Hes trying to send you a message to avenge his death.


That was my first thought


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

TorontoGal said:


> Thanks, I forgot to reboot, will try that after I finish with the iOS 8.0 upgrade..
> I tried Galaxy, so not for me, I only use Apple.


I upgraded this past weekend. Gave me fits. Added three more apps I'll never use. Not even sure why I bothered.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

TorontoGal said:


> Too easy to hack into, too vulnerable to viruses and malware also Apple has much better customer service, in my experience.


I was being tongue in cheek, definitely don't want to start a what's better war; however, none of the above is fully true. Androids aren't being hacked on any kind of regular basis, and I've yet to see a virus that wasn't an app inserting notifications (which get removed regularly for policy violation). In rebuttal, Apple's iCloud has been hacked, and Apple has been notorious for privacy violations. There are pros and cons to either platform.


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## James m (Mar 11, 2014)

Siri finds out Steve Jobs died: 




Ask siri?


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

dannydefense said:


> I Apple's iCloud has been hacked, and Apple has been notorious for privacy violations


I'm not worried, I don't have any nude photos haha :lol:


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Question: What is the one thing an Android user can do that an iPhone user cannot?

Answer: SHUT THE HELL UP!!!


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

TG, 
Its not just you...
Apple pulls iOS update after widespread reports of disabled phones


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

MI.oldguy said:


> Tracfone is a Dumb phone,voice,text,not much else.$25.00 usd.no plan,we pay abt $20.00 usd each for minutes for two of them per month.un registered.throw away when done,had ours for 6 years,no complaints.just a phone,nothing special.


I went 1 step higher with Net10, still a tracphone


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Inor said:


> Question: What is the one thing an Android user can do that an iPhone user cannot?
> 
> Answer: SHUT THE HELL UP!!!


Install my own OS.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Kauboy said:


> Install my own OS.


And write applications without buying a big expensive developer kit from Apple.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Inor said:


> Question: What is the one thing an Android user can do that an iPhone user cannot?
> 
> Answer: SHUT THE HELL UP!!!


Swap batteries!!!


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## TG (Jul 28, 2014)

False alarm, I installed the iOS 8.0 upgrade and everything works perfectly again, thanks everyone


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

TorontoGal said:


> False alarm, I installed the iOS 8.0 upgrade and everything works perfectly again, thanks everyone


Sounds like your upgrade went well; congratulations!


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

*Apple pulls iOS update after widespread reports of disabled phones:*
Apple pulls iOS update after widespread reports of disabled phones


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## cdell (Feb 27, 2014)

I vote BlackBerry, and not just because I'm Canadian. BB10 is actually a very good OS. It doesn't have as many apps but I find that I don't miss too much all of the major ones are there.


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

cdell said:


> I vote BlackBerry, and not just because I'm Canadian. BB10 is actually a very good OS. It doesn't have as many apps but I find that I don't miss too much all of the major ones are there.


I have done some work with Balckberry over the years. They are a VERY bright company. Their encryption is better than Apple and Android combined. I wish they would open up their API to third parties more. If they would do so, I think they could be a major competitor. They are certainly doing well in the automotive market, displacing Microsoft.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

I refuse to buy any Apple products because they refuse to play well with others, chargers, apps, even music downloads from the i-store are a pain in the ass to make work on other devices.


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## hansonb4 (Aug 17, 2014)

I highly doubt you were hacked. I work for a mobile security company that focuses specifically on iOS and Android. Apple's iOS 8 is very buggy and has caused the security solution that F500s buy from us to have issues. Furthermore, Apple quickly pushed out an update (8.0.1) which caused even more issues. It was so faulty that they removed 8.0.1 from the market until they can fix it.

Apple will get it together quickly. Once all of the known bugs are fixed, then shortly thereafter someone such as "Justin Case" will release a jailbreak. Upon jailbreaking, that is when you have to worry about your phone being hacked because you then break the containerization of apps (think of apps running in individual silos). Once that containerization concept is broken via a jailbreak, individual apps can then begin monitoring what other apps are doing, provided a hacker is able to get his / her app approved by Apple (sneaking in an app with bad stuff in it).

The bigger risk, whether iOS or Android, is connecting to open WiFis such as a coffee shop or restaurant where no username or password is needed. Once you do that, if a hacker is sniffing your traffic via a man-in-the-middle / evil twin attack and you type in credentials for a bank account, then you are in trouble.


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## hansonb4 (Aug 17, 2014)

TorontoGal said:


> Too easy to hack into, too vulnerable to viruses and malware also Apple has much better customer service, in my experience.


This isn't necessarily true. If you stick with the official Android app stores (Google Play and Amazon), your chances of getting infected are almost nil. Less than 1% of apps in either of those that are malicious. I know because we are constantly testing those. Here are our security guidelines:

1. Use a pin code with 6 digits (rather than the standard 4). We are ethical hackers (white hats) that use the same tools and processes that black hats do and we can get into any phone in a matter of minutes that use a 4 digit code. Also have the screen time out / locking set to a smaller time interval say, 5 minutes,

2. If Android, do not check the box under options that say "Allow apps from unknown sources." Along those lines, stick with either Google Play or iTunes.

3. If Android, do not check the box that says "enable debugging."

4. Enable device encryption

5. Never, ever, if possible, connect to open WiFi. It might not be bad if you are alone and in a coffee shop and there are no cars outside, but in a metropolis it is not recommended.

6. Do not "piggy back" on some neighbor's WiFi. You never know if they are monitoring your traffic.

Those steps are much more effective than anything else.


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## hansonb4 (Aug 17, 2014)

dannydefense said:


> I've yet to see a virus that wasn't an app inserting notifications (which get removed regularly for policy violation). In rebuttal


Usually it isn't an app that contains malware. It is the advertising library. Here is what happens - apps that you have to pay for are "monetizing" their app. In other words, their revenue stream is the money you fork over, up front, when you buy the app. Free apps need to figure out a way to make money off of it, so they insert "Ad Libraries" into their apps. An ad library basically is an add that pops up at the bottom of the screen, or on top of the content that you are trying to read. By getting users to click on that ad library, you get sent to the website of that ad and the ad library company then pays the app developer for steering traffic to his site, vis a vis the Ad library company. If you google "ad libraries malware," you will see what I mean.

Your bigger concerns are apps that leave you susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks, poor encryption implementation (think of your banking user name and password being sent mistakenly in clear text), or your username and password stored in clear text in device memory or application files. In these cases, you have to hope that the security teams at the companies that develop those apps are fully testing them before pushing them out to Google Play or iTunes. This is what you need to worry about, not malware.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

AquaHull said:


> I went 1 step higher with Net10, still a tracphone


I thought those were $45.00 a month flat fee and you lose your minutes after the month was up?.


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