I know it’s an odd question, but where I live phones get stolen often. My phone doesn’t have the option for an eSim, which is a problem because 90% of the time when a thief steals a phone they take out the SIM card immediately, meaning I wouldn’t be able to remotely lock or wipe my phone.
Should I consider glueing the SIM tray shut? Or are there alternative less permanent measures I can take to keep my device secure?
Don’t glue it shut, paint it shut with an acrylic paint or nail polish. Try to stick to the surface with the paint - you could even paint it to cover it/obscure it’s location as well.
This way, if you ever need to remove it you can delicately dab acetone over it to dissolve the acrylic and it will open once again!
This is amazing! Thank you, I will definitely be painting it closed.
Get a metal case, weld it shut. Connect it to a long chain and a 25kg dumbbell. Guaranteed they won’t rob you of your phone.
This is the best tip so far. Thank you so much!
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Ahh imagine carrying on one side for too long, the back pain…
Maybe I could also look into hiring someone to carry the setup for me, that way I can have even more peace of mind knowing I’m protecting my health and my data! /s
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There isn’t really a point to that. The very first thing thieves do is turn off the phone so you can’t track it. They’ll then usually format your phone and sell it. Best you can do is set up a secure password and not show any info on the lock screen so they at least wouldn’t be able to access your stuff.
True, but in my country and in my experience the first thing they do is remove the SIM card so that you can’t track it, if it’s an android which it is in my case.
I’ve got a secure password and no details on the lock screen but I’d just like to try protect myself even more
Samsung devices require the unlock pattern/code to be shut down.
Umm… no they don’t? You need a password to unlock it after restarting it but you absolutely can turn the phone off without a password. I’m on my 3rd Samsung device and have never entered a password to shut any of them off.
Every Samsung device I was handed over the last few years required to enter the unlock code for it to be shut down. Maybe it is a dedicated setting or something?
Amd what do they do if the battery runs out? Suspend to disk?
and thiefs will just throw it into a faraday cage to block the signal immediately.
Not in my country lol, they’re not that smart
Not in my country lol, they’re not that smart
Depending on how they get stolen, I’d carry a decoy.
That actually worked for me once. Handed over my old Nokia brick phone and kept my Motorola flip lol.
Not a bad idea actually. I do have a work phone which I could hand over but if I get frisked they’ll find the personal phone anyways
…What awful country is this, that your phone gets stolen?
Some phones including Samsung are encrypted by default.
Don’t keep data on your device you don’t need and use the encryption.
that doesn’t help with sim removal. sim swaps are stuff are a thing and honestly more of a concern than data exfiltration.
“meaning I wouldn’t be able to remotely lock or wipe my phone”. The original post indicated data was the issue. If they want to get the sim out and wipe it, they will. Need to solve the problem (data loss).
To actually answer your question:
Super glue would be a decent option. You should only need one drop to secure the tray.If you ever need to open the tray again, wet the area with isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes, and it should pop right open without damage. If you get too much resistance, add more alcohol and wait a little longer.
There is also a 2-part epoxy with similar performance called “Doubkr Bubble” that also dissolves with alcohol, but it’s definitely overkill for a SIM tray.
If you can open it, they can open it. There’s not much of a point if it’s something you can undo.
It at least provides resistance to the immediate removal of the card. I doubt most thieves are running around with readily available solvents. Could provide enough time to remotely lock or wipe as OP said
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Amazing, thank you! I think the super glue option will be best. The phone is water resistant as well so I don’t see the isopropyl being an issue to try loosen the super glue.
With the phone off, the isopropyl should be safe. It’ll dry quick, too.
A better option would be to use a good password generally and the built-in lost device functions like Find my iPhone, Google Find my Device or Samsung Find my Mobile.
If you’re using Android, and want a separate app that can lock down your device outside of the built-in functionality, among a ton of other features:
I used to use Cerberus years ago for that security before that functionality was really built in. It is a side loaded app that allows remote tracking, lockdown, etc. and functions as a system app. They have a version of the apk that is listed as “System Framework” with a stock Android icon and as well to hide in the app listing. You can have it hide the app and access it via a dialer code as well for added security. When I used it, you could have it take photos to send to your email with location data for incorrect login attempts, send messages to the device to display while lost, etc. www.cerberusapp.comHot glue can be undone with heat
It would give me enough time to remotely wipe the device before they can remove the SIM would it not?
Have you thought about using a strong unlock method, so they can not gain access to your data in the first place (if all you want to do is wipe it)?
I’m on a Samsung A34 using a passphrase to unlock, I’m not sure it gets stronger than that? Unless there’s something I’m missing
having proper hardware security like is present on pixels would help a lot. if you can, look into a pixel and put grapheneos on it. I know it doesn’t solve your sim removal issue but the documentation can walk you through a lot of that.
I’m on a Samsung A34 using a passphrase to unlock, I’m not sure it gets stronger than that? Unless there’s something I’m missing
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Uhm, I don’t care about the device or the SIM card?.. I care about my data, and I care about remotely wiping the device before they can try access the device if they are even trying to access it in the first place?
Sure they can turn it off, but if I activate the command to wipe the device the command will execute as soon as the device is powered on.
This is not the case if they remove the SIM. If they remove the SIM the connect is lost and the device can remain on and be tampered with, with my data still entact.
I don’t “keep asking for proof” I literally asked in one comment? You seem very angry about people asking questions online, maybe you should do some introspection or something idk
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This is unfortunately how a lot of online privacy communities feel. Like it’s mostly performative privacy fan service. Often with a weird martyrdom thread running through it, almost as if people are mixing up the ideas of privacy, with simple rebellion against modern technology.
If I really had such a concern I’d use a Linux phone, e.g PinePhone or PinePhone Pro, and I would program it so that unless a certain command has been ran, if it boots or stay too long (e.g 1s) without a SIM then it deletes sensitive data.
Or a rooted android.
1 second?
Thiefs just throw phones into faraday cages to block all access immediately, then they fiddle with it at home. You’re pretty much screwed either way.
Do you have any sources for this? Or is this something people in the suburbs tell each other over a campfire.
Source? Because I have seen many videos showing thieves throw SIM cards out of the window of their escape vehicle, so that seems to be the common one here
Source? Because I have many videos as evidence showing thieves throw SIM cards out of the window of their escape vehicle, so that seems to be the common one here
