Stolen iPhones disabled by Apple's anti-theft tech after Los Angeles looting

[Skye Jacobs]

What just happened? As protests against federal immigration enforcement swept through downtown Los Angeles last week, a wave of looting left several major retailers, including Apple, T-Mobile, and Adidas, counting the cost of smashed windows and stolen goods. Yet for those who made off with iPhones from Apple's flagship store, the thrill of the heist quickly turned into a lesson in high-tech security.

Apple's retail locations are equipped with advanced anti-theft technology that renders display devices useless once they leave the premises. The moment a demonstration iPhone is taken beyond the store's Wi-Fi network, it is instantly disabled by proximity software and a remote "kill switch."

Instead of a functioning smartphone, thieves were met with a stark message on the screen: "Please return to Apple Tower Theatre. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted." The phone simultaneously sounds an alarm and flashes the warning, ensuring it cannot be resold or activated elsewhere.

Alarms blaring on multiple iPhones that were taken from the Apple store in downtown LA
Displays on the devices read
"Please return to Apple Tower Theatre
This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted." pic.twitter.com/rhMiaRXA9z

– Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) June 10, 2025

This system is not new. During the nationwide unrest of 2020, similar scenes played out as looters discovered that Apple's security measures turned their stolen goods into little more than expensive paperweights.

The technology relies on a combination of location tracking and network monitoring. As soon as a device is separated from the store's secure environment, it is remotely locked, its location is tracked, and law enforcement is notified.

Videos circulating online show stolen iPhones blaring alarms and displaying tracking messages, making them impossible to ignore and virtually worthless on the black market.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, at least three individuals were arrested in connection with the Apple Store burglary, including one suspect apprehended at the scene and two others detained for looting.

The crackdown on looting comes amid a broader shift in California's approach to retail crime. In response to public outcry over rising thefts, state and local officials have moved away from previously lenient policies. The passage of Proposition 36 has empowered prosecutors to file felony charges against repeat offenders, regardless of the value of stolen goods, and to impose harsher penalties for organized group theft.

Under these new measures, those caught looting face the prospect of significant prison time, a marked departure from the misdemeanor charges that were common under earlier laws.

District attorneys in Southern California have called for even harsher penalties, particularly for crimes committed during states of emergency. Proposals include making looting a felony offense, increasing prison sentences, and ensuring that suspects are not released without judicial review. The goal, officials say, is to deter opportunistic criminals who exploit moments of crisis, whether during protests or natural disasters.

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Stolen iPhones disabled by Apple's anti-theft tech after Los Angeles looting

 

[Trapped Nowhere]

Never should've been lenient to begin with. High populations cities are literally the worse places for these dumb policies. They've gotten bold enough to come in with torches to melt glass and mace for the employees. Literally giving businesses an easy reason to close up shop and move away

 

[yRaz]

Never should've been lenient to begin with. High populations cities are literally the worse places for these dumb policies. They've gotten bold enough to come in with torches to melt glass and mace for the employees. Literally giving businesses an easy reason to close up shop and move away

Well, the whole "there are protests about something, let's go looting" is a relatively new thing. What we need is a few years of judges giving people the maximum sentences and it'll stop.

 

[Panzercat]

Do it our Style. Amputate the hands of the thieves. No one will ever steal if you apply strict punishment.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Well, the whole "there are protests about something, let's go looting" is a relatively new thing. What we need is a few years of judges giving people the maximum sentences and it'll stop.

No it isnt. Looting during riots has been a thing since the 70s at least. Never heard of the Rooftop Koreans?

Do it our Style. Amputate the hands of the thieves. No one will ever steal if you apply strict punishment.

That would be MEAN, we can't do that, let's roll out a couple trillion in reparations instead!

 

[opckieran]

Do it our Style. Amputate the hands of the thieves. No one will ever steal if you apply strict punishment.

I agree but in the US at least the 8th amendment prevents these sorts of punishments.

 

[yRaz]

No it isnt. Looting during riots has been a thing since the 70s at least. Never heard of the Rooftop Koreans?
That would be MEAN, we can't do that, let's roll out a couple trillion in reparations instead!

I'm well aware of the roof koreans, and the original LA riots were not what we we're seeing these days. I remember ordering pizza and watching live streams of the BLM protests. The fact that a few times a year protests turn into riots and looting is absurd. This was not a thing in the 90s or 2000s. The LA riots are probably the only incident in the 90s of rioting and looting.

Frankly, I don’t care if people want to destroy their own neighborhood because that's all the rioting and looting does. They destroy the buildings, property value goes down and businesses leave and then they all cry about living in "food deserts" because there is nowhere to show anymore.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Do it our Style. Amputate the hands of the thieves. No one will ever steal if you apply strict punishment.

A hand is an appetizer. People still kill other people and risk death or life in prison.

Punishment alone does little. Culture, family and quality of life matter more, because that's where prevention begins. Police and judges come after the fact which is paid by taxpayers.

 

[ferrellsl]

I'm well aware of the roof koreans, and the original LA riots were not what we we're seeing these days. I remember ordering pizza and watching live streams of the BLM protests. The fact that a few times a year protests turn into riots and looting is absurd. This was not a thing in the 90s or 2000s. The LA riots are probably the only incident in the 90s of rioting and looting.

Frankly, I don’t care if people want to destroy their own neighborhood because that's all the rioting and looting does. They destroy the buildings, property value goes down and businesses leave and then they all cry about living in "food deserts" because there is nowhere to show anymore.

You're out of your mind or just very out of touch if you believe these riots and lootings are a recent trend. I'm 60 years old and this has been happening since I was a kid in the 1970's. And it happens far more than just once or twice a year.

 

[yRaz]

You're out of your mind or just very out of touch if you believe these riots and lootings are a recent trend. I'm 60 years old and this has been happening since I was a kid in the 1970's. And it happens far more than just once or twice a year.

The riots last for days to sometimes over a week and happening all over the country. That's what im saying happens a few times a year, that the country becomes destablized and excessively violent. This really started about ~10 years ago in what were seeing today and the level of violence that comes with it.

There is a reason people bring up the roof Koreans, its because of how unusual of an event that it was that it was noteworthy to the point of EVERYONE knowing about it.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Looting should not be tolerated at all.
But when you have people playing politics and being lenient - or - worse showing leniency with certain people and not others - you're setting yourself up for anarchy.

 

[amghwk]

Anything that can be disabled by software (even remotely), can be re-enabled by soft(hack)ware. "Unbrick" guides will be out soon.

 

[Primey]

"Protests" btw

 

[bandit8623]

Well, the whole "there are protests about something, let's go looting" is a relatively new thing. What we need is a few years of judges giving people the maximum sentences and it'll stop.

haha new? minneapolis floyd?
left wussies cant figure it out... you need to smash these losers

 

[Hassanabi]

Can't they still sell off parts of the devices stolen?