In a recent incident, a group of tech enthusiasts from Bangalore, India, took to themselves to “hack” Apple’s Airpods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 2 could serve as hearing aids, but unfortunately, they were geo-blocked in India. Determined to help their hard-of-hearing grandparents, the group consisting of Rithwik Jayasimha, Arnav Bansal, and Rithvik Vibhu found a workaround to this challenge. Here’s how they hacked Apple’s $250 AirPods Pro 2.
What are Hearing Aids and Geo-restrictions
Hearing aids (for those of you who are in the dark) are devices that are specifically designed to improve hearing for individuals with hearing impairments. They come in various forms, including behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), and completely-in-the-canal (CIC). These devices amplify sound, making it easier for users to understand speech and environmental sounds in various settings.
However, not all hearing aid features are available globally due to regulatory restrictions. For instance, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 has a dedicated feature that functions as a hearing aid, which is (geo) blocked in countries like India due to local regulations governing medical devices. Such restrictions limit access to potentially life-improving technology for those in unsupported regions, in this case – India.
How does your iPhone know your location?
Any iPhone uses a combination of technologies to determine its location. These primarily includes GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks. Here’s how:-
- The GPS enables precise outdoor location up to around 20 meters, which is the most accurate method but relies on an unobstructed view of the sky.
- When indoors or in areas with limited GPS signal, your iPhone falls back on Wi-Fi positioning. By identifying nearby Wi-Fi networks, your device can approximate your location, though this is less accurate than GPS.
- In scenarios where GPS and Wi-Fi signals are weak or unavailable, your iPhone leverages cellular triangulation using the strength and direction of signals from multiple cell towers, providing a location estimate within several thousand meters.
One can also tweak settings on your iPhone to hide/deny location access.
1. To control how your iPhone shares your location, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
2. Here, you can toggle Location Services on or off. Apps require permission to access your location, which can be set to While Using the App, Ask Next Time, or Never for each app.
3. This gives you control over which apps can track your whereabouts, making sure that your privacy is maintained according to your preferences.
What is a Faraday Cage really?
A Faraday cage, named after Michael Faraday, is an enclosure made from conductive material that blocks electromagnetic fields. It works by distributing electrical charges on its exterior, preventing electromagnetic radiation from penetrating into or escaping from the cage. Here’s how it functions:
- When an electromagnetic field hits the cage, it induces charges in the conductive material, causing electrons to redistribute.
- This redistribution creates an opposing electric field inside the cage, effectively canceling out external fields.
- Faraday cages can vary in size and shape, used in contexts like protecting electronics from lightning strikes, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs), and radio frequency interference (RFI).
The Complete story
In a bid to help their hard-hearing grandparents, the team set out to resolve the challenge. The Apple AirPod Pro 2 were a definite choice as compared to much expensive hearing aids and looked better that their counterparts here. However, upon testing they discovered that this feature was not available as of yet in India.
However, instead of giving up too quickly, the young minds thought how we think when a website is banned (i.e to use VPN) but here to spook the device to believe it is in Canada or USA.
Using Faraday’s Cage and Wi-Fi routers sending signals of location from Canada, they were able to do just that. While there has been no response from Apple yet, these bright individuals are ready to help anyone going through the same issue and have asked people to reach out to them via X (formerly Twitter).
Wrapping Up
In this article, we read how a group of Indian techies—Rithwik Jayasimha, Arnav Bansal, and Rithvik Vibhu—ganged up to spoof a fake location on AirPods and enable the hearing aid feature on them. For more such news, guides, and reviews, follow GadgetsToUse and check out the reads below.
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