User Panel
Quoted:
ABC news drove around with a cell phone "off" and it was still tracked. "Sources and methods" issues guarantee that the fact it can be tracked will be met with "tin foil conspiracy" allegations in any such thread. View Quote I wouldn't bet anything more than a few bucks on the "off is off and on is on" certainly but not much at all. I think there's a pretty good chance there's layers of back doors. I'd would bet that Black Hat/Defcon as already tampered and tested the hypothesis and have published their findings. |
|
If I was hiding this inside a phone I'd give each phone a unique ID - done.
When the phone is off it remains in a low power listen only state listing for it's "door bell" - a unique combination of bits a few thousand bits long. After being awoken by the door bell the phone reports in and can be interrogated and controlled silently. After the data is transferred the phone goes back to sleep. Alternately it sends a data burst every XX number of minutes/hours/days. The remote control connects in as the system owner and allows a remote user full access to the file system - applications, data like audio, video, and photographs ... everything. |
|
Quoted: I might or might not be the smartest RF engineer in the room depending on how large the meeting is or isn't but .... I wouldn't bet anything more than a few bucks on the "off is off and on is on" certainly but not much at all. I think there's a pretty good chance there's layers of back doors. I'd would bet that Black Hat/Defcon as already tampered and tested the hypothesis and have published their findings. View Quote I'd bet a tasker like utility would be able to measures the delta without RF signal and then wipe the device. It's just an ITTT gate...on/off isn't the issue. The assumption of "always available" is as much a strength as a weakness until the next mouse trap |
|
|
Quoted:
Agreed I'd bet a tasker like utility would be able to measures the delta without RF signal and then wipe the device. It's just an ITTT gate...on/off isn't the issue. The assumption of "always available" is as much a strength as a weakness until the next mouse trap View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: I might or might not be the smartest RF engineer in the room depending on how large the meeting is or isn't but .... I wouldn't bet anything more than a few bucks on the "off is off and on is on" certainly but not much at all. I think there's a pretty good chance there's layers of back doors. I'd would bet that Black Hat/Defcon as already tampered and tested the hypothesis and have published their findings. I'd bet a tasker like utility would be able to measures the delta without RF signal and then wipe the device. It's just an ITTT gate...on/off isn't the issue. The assumption of "always available" is as much a strength as a weakness until the next mouse trap |
|
Just pull the battery out of the phone if you want to be 100% sure that the phone can't ping a tower(s). You can also wrap the phone with several layers of aluminum tin foil. It's cheap and it works.
All of these "RF signal blocking" devices don't completely block RF. They decrease the RF strength. It's called - attenuation and usually measured in decibels (db) on a logarithmic scale. I would suggest to get a "Faraday bag" with at least 50 db of attenuation at 1 GHz. A bag with 20 db rating may also block enough of the RF to disable your phone from communicating if the phone is located relatively far from a nearby tower. It may not provide enough attenuation if the phone is near a tower. |
|
Quoted:
You're entitled to your own opinion. Mine is that you are wrong. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
The "off" button works pretty well for me. No bag required. Unless you're the tinfoil hat-type that believes your phone can still be tracked and is never truly off. If you're using a regular commercially available smartphone in the US, you are most likely being tracked even when the phone is powered off, so long as the battery is in it. This isn't some sort of secret-squirrel stuff, it's for commercial purposes. The phone is not sending anything - it's listening, and sending that information later when you fire it up again. What it is listening to is generally not the cell towers. I would say it's a poorly kept secret, but most people still don't seem to get it. |
|
Quoted:
Just pull the battery out of the phone if you want to be 100% sure that the phone can't ping a tower(s). You can also wrap the phone with several layers of aluminum tin foil. It's cheap and it works. All of these "RF signal blocking" devices don't completely block RF. They decrease the RF strength. It's called - attenuation and usually measured in decibels (db) on a logarithmic scale. I would suggest to get a "Faraday bag" with at least 50 db of attenuation at 1 GHz. A bag with 20 db rating may also block enough of the RF to disable your phone from communicating if the phone is located relatively far from a nearby tower. It may not provide enough attenuation if the phone is near a tower. View Quote Someone should make a mod for this though. I bet you'd be steadily busy. |
|
Quoted: Majority of Samsung phones and all? of Apple phones you cannot drop the battery without taking the phone apart. That covers like 87% of the US market. Someone should make a mod for this though. I bet you'd be steadily busy. View Quote I really love the power saving feature. The power saving mode switches off all non-essential apps and features. The screen goes black and white and the battery will last at least a week without recharging (with moderate use). Charging ports went to crap on all of my previous phones. This phone takes a much wider plug and it's hard to damage. |
|
Cheap/easy and I’ve heard basically foolproof Faraday cage for larger than a cell phone. Also suitable for long term storage, think dropping your NODs or electronic optics if you’re really paranoid about EMP (yes I know EMPs can’t really screw up small electronics but whatevs):
Take a 30 or 50 call ammo can that’s in good shape with good rubber seal. Cut down a cardboard box and make ‘panels’ to completely line the inside of the box with. Tape them into the box. This creates an electrically decoupled assembly. Drop your phone in and close the lid. Because the cardboard insulates the phone from the actual metal can, waves hit the box and are stopped from traveling further. Nothing can go in or out. If you really wanna go bananas, put the phone in a Faraday pouch first, THEN put it in the ammo can. |
|
People who claim phones can be tracked while off usually are not very technical and don't understand how they work.
That said, it's not impossible to have this "feature". But to do so, the phone has to communicate with cell towers. To do that the phone has to emit a signal while off to connect to a tower. This is *easily* detectable if one were to check. I have not personally checked, but given the enormous activity in people legitimately scrutinizing every wireless device imaginable out there (look up defcon talks on wireless hacking on youtube) I am going to assume somebody out there would have proof of this if it happens. I have seen nobody, nada, not one single person show a phone emitting RF while turned off. Now, let's say a bad actor with CIA level access to anything were to want to do this. They could push an update to your phone that causes it to appear to shut down when you turn it off. The display turns off, almost everything powers down. Periodically the code would power up the cell tower RF chips and phone home, without appearing to do anything. You're not gonna want to do much or you'll drain the battery which would make it obvious the phone is doing something. You could record audio as well. Issues here would be you have to store the audio temporarily because it's not being streamed in real time, and battery usage over time. You could record audio for a certain period of time, assuming people would turn the phone off immediately before having a private discussion. |
|
Out of curiosity I did some quick research and found this, which seems to say they are doing exactly what I would suspect to monitor a "turned off phone" (i.e. it's hacked to not really turn off).
It is not explained in the report exactly how this technique worked. But to spy on phones when they are turned off, agencies would usually have to infect the handset with a Trojan that would force it to continue emitting a signal if the phone is in standby mode, unless the battery is removed. In most cases, when you turn your phone off—even if you do not remove the battery—it will stop communicating with nearby cell towers and can be traced only to the location it was in when it was powered down. In 2006, it was reported that the FBI had deployed spyware to infect suspects’ mobile phones and record data even when they were turned off. The NSA may have resorted to a similar method in Iraq, albeit on a much larger scale by infecting thousands of users at one time. Though difficult, the mass targeting of populations with Trojan spyware is possible—and not unheard of. In 2009, for instance, thousands of BlackBerry users in the United Arab Emirates were targeted with spyware that was disguised as a legitimate update. The update drained users’ batteries and was eventually exposed by researchers, who identified that it had apparently been designed by U.S. firm SS8, which sells “lawful interception” tools to help governments conduct surveillance of communications. View Quote Note the title of the article - "NSA can track cellphone even when they're turned off!" Most people don't read past the headline. Now the big question is - is your phone compromised? |
|
Quoted:
People who claim phones can be tracked while off usually are not very technical and don't understand how they work. That said, it's not impossible to have this "feature". But to do so, the phone has to communicate with cell towers. To do that the phone has to emit a signal while off to connect to a tower. This is *easily* detectable if one were to check. I have not personally checked, but given the enormous activity in people legitimately scrutinizing every wireless device imaginable out there (look up defcon talks on wireless hacking on youtube) I am going to assume somebody out there would have proof of this if it happens. I have seen nobody, nada, not one single person show a phone emitting RF while turned off. View Quote The big players - commercially - don't need cell towers to track phones, and you don't need to transmit anything as long as real-time tracking isn't a requirement; the devices can simply send data later. All you need to do is listen to other other things that are transmitting - available wifi networks is a big one, and maps of these have been made and are updated frequently enough to be of use. You can also take advantage of things visible to bluetooth, etc, on other devices that *are* on and being tracked. Those Google street view cars aren't just taking pretty pictures. The primary issue is that "off" isn't always actually off. Removing the battery solves that problem neatly for regular nobodies that have no reason to expect anyone would tamper with their hardware. |
|
Quoted:
Wouldn’t this work? https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/421435/5493D851-34C4-478E-AEC7-69A478801F8A_jpeg-938519.JPG View Quote |
|
Quoted:
This! Simplest and cheapest solution for a small item. Any Mylar bags work as well and I bet a coffee Mylar bag would work as long as you put aluminum tape on the plastic breathing plug. View Quote from thread years ago: |
|
|
Quoted:
Try your Cheetos bag if it's lined with aluminum. View Quote the particular Cheetos bag you have may provide just enough attenuation AT THE YOUR PHONE'S OPERATING FREQUENCY to decrease the currently available signal below the receiver's signal to noise threshold. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOUR PHONE WILL NOT WORK IF YOU ARE CLOSER TO A CELL TOWER or if you walk outside and take the building attenuation out of the equation or if you are in an environment with less RF noise such as a park. IT ALSO DOES NOT MEAN THAT FREQUENCIES HIGHER OR LOWER THAN WHAT YOUR CELLPHONE IS CURRENTLY OPERATING AT ARE NOT PENETRATING THE BAG. so, you bought a shiny new 5G phone? |
|
|
Quoted: I want proof because that poster is making an ridiculous and illogical claim. If I say the sky is blue (the generally accepted wisdom), and you say the sky is purple with pink polka dots (an off-the-wall assertion), I think it is incumbent on you to provide proof of your outlandish claim. Ditto with claiming "off" means "on." So now we delve into the dark world of conspiracies. Can we agree that just about every adult has a smart phone? And maybe, just maybe, some of those people might have access to RF/EM measuring equipment, and maybe, just maybe, they might just experiment on their phone, and maybe, just maybe, post a video of their "off" smartphone registering EM/RF on a meter? Or is it just such an overarching conspiracy that any videos showing this are squelched before they see the light of day? So which is more likely?: 1) no one has ever experimented on their phone, or that people have and the videos have been squelched, and any and all posts describing such behavior have also been squelched anywhere and everywhere 2) "off" means off View Quote https://video.foxnews.com/v/5731183327001/#sp=show-clips |
|
Quoted:
This is ALL you need to know. No power source, Nothing can work. View Quote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification |
|
Quoted: You are wrong, and this is in my lane on the business end of it. The big players - commercially - don't need cell towers to track phones, and you don't need to transmit anything as long as real-time tracking isn't a requirement; the devices can simply send data later. All you need to do is listen to other other things that are transmitting - available wifi networks is a big one, and maps of these have been made and are updated frequently enough to be of use. You can also take advantage of things visible to bluetooth, etc, on other devices that *are* on and being tracked. Those Google street view cars aren't just taking pretty pictures. The primary issue is that "off" isn't always actually off. Removing the battery solves that problem neatly for regular nobodies that have no reason to expect anyone would tamper with their hardware. View Quote |
|
Would using lead sheet, instead of aluminum foil make a difference?
|
|
|
Quoted: You are wrong, and this is in my lane on the business end of it. The big players - commercially - don't need cell towers to track phones, and you don't need to transmit anything as long as real-time tracking isn't a requirement; the devices can simply send data later. All you need to do is listen to other other things that are transmitting - available wifi networks is a big one, and maps of these have been made and are updated frequently enough to be of use. You can also take advantage of things visible to bluetooth, etc, on other devices that *are* on and being tracked. Those Google street view cars aren't just taking pretty pictures. The primary issue is that "off" isn't always actually off. Removing the battery solves that problem neatly for regular nobodies that have no reason to expect anyone would tamper with their hardware. View Quote If the phone is in an RF tight, highly attenuated enclosure, there won't be any GPS data to store. Also, what is to stop [besides, likely solvable, space issues] an actor from placing a small second battery in a phone to allow interesting functions, if the primary battery is removed??? |
|
|
You can get a small microwave for $35
Won’t fit in your pocket, but solid faraday cage |
|
|
Quoted:
Phones can be pinged to life by remote. This is a real thing, it has been used. Does your local PD have the ability? Almost assuredly no. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Phones can be pinged to life by remote. This is a real thing, it has been used. Does your local PD have the ability? Almost assuredly no. If a cell provider can't ping their own turned off phone, then they can't. Its as simple as that. Quoted: The issue is, is it really off or in some kind of low-power sleep mode where it is still xmit/recv every few seconds or minutes or something else? For example, airplane mode on an iPhone no longer means the phone is not transmitting. It can still xmit/recv on WiFi and Bluetooth. It isn't "off". Quoted:
Find my phone doesn't even work when the phone is off, much less dead. Where did you find that "Fact"? We'll humor them and sometimes go with them to the location, but if the phone was turned off, that's simply the last place the phone was on. |
|
Quoted:
LE isn't the one pinging a phone. Its the cell provider. If a cell provider can't ping their own turned off phone, then they can't. Its as simple as that. A simple answer. Airplane mode is simply a battery saving mode so the phone isn't looking for towers that aren't there. It isn't "off". This is true. We've had many people insist that their stolen phone or tablet was at a certain public place because that's where the app shows it to be. We'll humor them and sometimes go with them to the location, but if the phone was turned off, that's simply the last place the phone was on. View Quote |
|
|
I was munching on some Nabisco Simply Salt, round rice crackers while reading this thread. I noticed that inside the box, the crackers came in a very heavy mylar plastic bag. I washed it out with hot soapy water, tossed my cell phone inside it, and tried to call my cell from the land line. The phone didn't ring, and no attempted call ever even registered on the phone.
It appears I found a very durable, (and best of all free) Faraday bag. If you open the bag up and tape it over your head, the alien's mind probe rays have trouble getting through. |
|
Quoted:
I was munching on some Nabisco Simply Salt, round rice crackers while reading this thread. I noticed that inside the box, the crackers came in a very heavy mylar plastic bag. I washed it out with hot soapy water, tossed my cell phone inside it, and tried to call my cell from the land line. The phone didn't ring, and no attempted call ever even registered on the phone. It appears I found a very durable, (and best of all free) Faraday bag. If you open the bag up and tape it over your head, the alien's mind probe rays have trouble getting through. View Quote |
|
Quoted:
I’m Just looking for anyone that has bought one, if it works what is the brand . View Quote Make sure you put the phone in the middle if you want to completely block the signal and on the side if you want to allow one side to receive signals while blocking the other (like if you're concerned about the radiation exposure). I've tested it several times and it's been 100% effective. |
|
Quoted:Spy type software installed surreptitiously and a factory original cell phone are not the same thing. A unmolested cell phone that is turned off cannot be tracked. View Quote I am impressed. Don't install any apps that ColtRifle hasn't also inspected and is willing to vouch for here. |
|
Quoted:
I was munching on some Nabisco Simply Salt, round rice crackers while reading this thread. I noticed that inside the box, the crackers came in a very heavy mylar plastic bag. I washed it out with hot soapy water, tossed my cell phone inside it, and tried to call my cell from the land line. The phone didn't ring, and no attempted call ever even registered on the phone. It appears I found a very durable, (and best of all free) Faraday bag. If you open the bag up and tape it over your head, the alien's mind probe rays have trouble getting through. View Quote BACK_DOOR Having likely been made in China... |
|
your phone can not only be tracked while off, the camera and mic can also be activated and monitored remotely while "off". i know for a fact federal and state law enforcement have access to those tools. i am sure bad guys with malware do as well. That said it requires a LOT of paperwork to get such things approved for use. it's not something the gov is going to do unless they are looking at you already. if the battery is in and charged it is never truly "off".
power it off and let it sit for a few days. you will notice the battery has dropped a minor amount while powered off. |
|
Quoted:
I was munching on some Nabisco Simply Salt, round rice crackers while reading this thread. I noticed that inside the box, the crackers came in a very heavy mylar plastic bag. I washed it out with hot soapy water, tossed my cell phone inside it, and tried to call my cell from the land line. The phone didn't ring, and no attempted call ever even registered on the phone. It appears I found a very durable, (and best of all free) Faraday bag. View Quote https://www.ar15.com/forums/outdoors/FARADAY-bags-to-block-cell-signals/17-694404/&page=2#i11891524 |
|
Quoted:
If you use an iPhone, the find my phone feature works even after the battery has died. Take from that what you will. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
The "off" button works pretty well for me. No bag required. Unless you're the tinfoil hat-type that believes your phone can still be tracked and is never truly off. Take from that what you will. It can tell you the last place the phone was before the battery died, but that’s it. |
|
Quoted:
your phone can not only be tracked while off, the camera and mic can also be activated and monitored remotely while "off". i know for a fact federal and state law enforcement have access to those tools. i am sure bad guys with malware do as well. That said it requires a LOT of paperwork to get such things approved for use. it's not something the gov is going to do unless they are looking at you already. if the battery is in and charged it is never truly "off". power it off and let it sit for a few days. you will notice the battery has dropped a minor amount while powered off. View Quote Maybe I just don't remember all those selfies they used to take pics of Bin Laden when he was on the lam. Or, he might not have been a high priority target? |
|
Quoted:
No, it does not. I use that functionality every day. It can tell you the last place the phone was before the battery died, but that's it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
The "off" button works pretty well for me. No bag required. Unless you're the tinfoil hat-type that believes your phone can still be tracked and is never truly off. Take from that what you will. It can tell you the last place the phone was before the battery died, but that's it. |
|
Quoted: Show me proof, utilizing actual equipment, that a turned off smart phone is still emitting a signal or EM radiation. Otherwise, take your paranoid delusions elsewhere. And to the OP - best to just leave your phone at home if you're going to do crime. We had a string of three bank robberies in my area, and the thief was nailed via cell records. Only one phone was pinging the three towers closest to the three banks at the time they were robbed. View Quote |
|
|
Quoted:
Of course you would say that. View Quote |
|
Quoted:
Except that no one has been able to explain how these devices are powered for tracking when they are off. The battery self discharge accounts for any battery drain over time, just like all devices using Li-ion battery tech. Flashlights, PVS-14's, drones, digital cameras, stored rechargables, etc. all experience battery drop over time. As I've stated, my ipads lose about 1-2% every few WEEKS when off. For a cellular device to reach out to a tower or black van, it needs power. Please tell us where it's getting it, because it does not seem to be from the internal battery. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Of course you would say that. So, yes, you can track a phone while "off" because it's not really off. As for whether you can track a phone without a battery, that is much, much more difficult and you'd have to know a lot about that particular phone for the methods I've heard about to be effective. Battery out, in a Faraday bag, most likely not trackable. Not usable, mind you, but not trackable either. |
|
|
|
Quoted:
Because they are not actually "off" switches, they are a logic switch to turn the device to an exceptionally low power usage mode. To actually turn it off, you'd have to remove the battery. I can't in my cell phone without destroying the phone, something that pi$$ses me off greatly. Note that carriers can and often do download software to your phone without your knowledge, primarily to maintain the security and availability of their network. So, yes, you can track a phone while "off" because it's not really off. As for whether you can track a phone without a battery, that is much, much more difficult and you'd have to know a lot about that particular phone for the methods I've heard about to be effective. Battery out, in a Faraday bag, most likely not trackable. Not usable, mind you, but not trackable either. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Of course you would say that. So, yes, you can track a phone while "off" because it's not really off. As for whether you can track a phone without a battery, that is much, much more difficult and you'd have to know a lot about that particular phone for the methods I've heard about to be effective. Battery out, in a Faraday bag, most likely not trackable. Not usable, mind you, but not trackable either. |
|
Quoted:
I have one in the desk next to me and in my daily driver's glove compartment. I'm never far between either place. You shut the phone down and slide it inside a tight golden color wire very fine mesh - cloth like it's so thin. That sits inside a ballistic cloth pouch with a velcro flap. The golden mesh folds over tightly. I've tested it both with meters and in the field with last two generations of Samsung's phones and they're dead when inside. I paid about www.amazon.com/dp/B00W18FU3G View Quote Txl |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.