Randomly found an iphone 4s or 5? in backyard... Puzzled

[ksue]

So, I recently became good friends with my neighbor who just moved next to me two months ago. Currently I'm the one of his few and only friends he has made and has over since he's been here. So he called me the other day asking if I had left an Iphone at his house, and oddly enough, I was missing an old Iphone I was using as an Ipod, however when he gave it to me it definitely wasn't my old iphone but a pretty new looking one either 4s or 5. We have no idea whose it is or how it got in his backyard. He said he was doing the dishes and looked up out the window into the backyard and his dog had it in her mouth. We've asked the neighbors, gardeners... can't think of who els it could belong to.
So, point of this thread- the iphone is "passcode locked" and we're trying to figure out how we can somehow break into it to get like a friend's number to get it back to the owner. Any suggestions?

[Nevzorus]

Pictures of it? Why don't you know if it's a iPhone 4S or a iPhone 5?

[scottw324]

A 4S and 5 do not look exactly the same. If it has the front FaceTime camera centered above their speaker then it is a 5. If the FaceTime camera is to the left of the speaker then it is a 4/4S. Also if it has the old 30 pin connector on the bottom = 4/4S. If it has the new small lightning port = 5.

[tymaster50]

I say take out the sim card, restore it, then put the sim back in. Whoever lost it will call it.

[Nevzorus]

Originally Posted by scottw324

A 4S and 5 do not look exactly the same. If it has the front FaceTime camera centered above their speaker then it is a 5. If the FaceTime camera is to the left of the speaker then it is a 4/4S. Also if it has the old 30 pin connector on the bottom = 4/4S. If it has the new small lightning port = 5.

Just look at it.. The only thing that's similar on the 4S and the 5 is where the sim-card and volumebuttons are.

[roxxette]

Sell it and demand a % from your friend.

[bandofbrothers]

Hand it to the police is the only thing you should be doing with it.

Perhaps the original thief realised it was locked and tossed it into your neighbours back yard.

[propalitet]

Originally Posted by tymaster50

I say take out the sim card, restore it, then put the sim back in. Whoever lost it will call it.

Don't restore it, you'll delete the persons data, pictures... It can still receive phone calls, and you can answer them. Just keep it charged and wait 'till someone calls, then explain the situation.

Btw. you can't get around the passcode without restoring, and once you restore all data is gone, so you can't call any numbers anyways.

[tymaster50]

Originally Posted by propalitet

Don't restore it, you'll delete the persons data, pictures... It can still receive phone calls, and you can answer them. Just keep it charged and wait 'till someone calls, then explain the situation.

Btw. you can't get around the passcode without restoring, and once you restore all data is gone, so you can't call any numbers anyways.

You don't have to type in the passcode anymore?

[Beeplance]

Just bury at the place he found it & forget about it. If the owner returns to look for it then give it back.

[ksue]

alright, so it's a 4s and it's verizon, no sim card

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Originally Posted by roxxette

Sell it and demand a % from your friend.

haha that's what he's telling me to do, he hates iphones, so he's like "take it, sell it, keep the money, just get it out of my sight" I want to give it back though, I know what it feels like to have a lost iphone

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Originally Posted by propalitet

Don't restore it, you'll delete the persons data, pictures... It can still receive phone calls, and you can answer them. Just keep it charged and wait 'till someone calls, then explain the situation.

Btw. you can't get around the passcode without restoring, and once you restore all data is gone, so you can't call any numbers anyways.

we've kept it charged since the dog found it, no calls, no text...nothing, it's the weirdest thing ever! Full bars with 3G... nothing

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Originally Posted by Beeplance

Just bury at the place he found it & forget about it. If the owner returns to look for it then give it back.

IT WAS IN MY FRIEND'S BACKYARD! THAT'S WHAT IS SO BAZZAR! locked, gated backyard, with a huge german Shepard living back there

[icemanzzz]

Prolly the best thing is to report it to the police. It might have been stolen. You might take the blame for it if they locate it and you haven't reported it to the police yet..

[ksue]

Originally Posted by Nevzorus

Pictures of it? Why don't you know if it's a iPhone 4S or a iPhone 5?

Why does the reason I don't know if it's a 4S or 5 matter>?

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Originally Posted by icemanzzz

Prolly the best thing is to report it to the police. It might have been stolen. You might take the blame for it if they locate it and you haven't reported it to the police yet..

That's a good idea, but then again, what the heck were they doing on my friend's property? Is the real question

[tymaster50]

well technically they were trespassing, so the phone is kind of yours now. It'll be suspicious if they report it to the police and they say "what were you doing in the yard".

[macingman]

Originally Posted by tymaster50

You don't have to type in the passcode anymore?

To answer phone calls you never had to.

OP: There may be some contacts saved on the SIM card. Or you could try typing the serial number into the warranty service thing on apple.com and see what details come up. I've tracked down lost owners a few times before.

[ksue]

Originally Posted by macingman

To answer phone calls you never had to.

OP: There may be some contacts saved on the SIM card. Or you could try typing the serial number into the warranty service thing on apple.com and see what details come up. I've tracked down lost owners a few times before.

there is no sim card, it's Verizon, where is the serial number?

[tymaster50]

Originally Posted by ksue

there is no sim card, it's Verizon, where is the serial number?

so it's a 4S since there's no sim card. Look on the back of the phone or plug it into iTunes. Since nobody called about it I say you just restore it, it's obvious the phone isn't that important to the guy. And does it say the carrier name at the top? If it's just bars and a 3G indicator the phone is pretty much dead anyway.

[Nevzorus]

Originally Posted by ksue

Why does the reason I don't know if it's a 4S or 5 matter>?

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That's a good idea, but then again, what the heck were they doing on my friend's property? Is the real question

I.. I.. I don't know Just felt that it was weird that you didn't know what phone it was.

[HowardSmith]

Originally Posted by icemanzzz

Prolly the best thing is to report it to the police. It might have been stolen. You might take the blame for it if they locate it and you haven't reported it to the police yet..

Why report it to the police, they could care less. Give it to one of our finest and it will end up being used by one of them. Thousands of phones are lost every day and the police can not be bothered. If anything give it back to Verizon

[Hawtin]

Restore and sell it?

[iphone46]

You say that it is a 4S...I wonder if it has Siri on. Hold down the home button and if something slides up from the bottom ask it "Who am I?" if the person was smart, they should have various contact information for their contact(like address, home phone, email, etc.). If that doesn't give you enough information, you could say something like "Call Mom" which will work even without siri and talk to a family member to get the owners contact information

[tymaster50]

Originally Posted by iphone46

You say that it is a 4S...I wonder if it has Siri on. Hold down the home button and if something slides up from the bottom ask it "Who am I?" if the person was smart, they should have various contact information for their contact(like address, home phone, email, etc.). If that doesn't give you enough information, you could say something like "Call Mom" which will work even without siri and talk to a family member to get the owners contact information

Not everyone could be bothered with siri and some people disable it from the lockscreen with a passcode on. This is mostly why I don't use passcodes, if you lose it it sucks to get it returned because nobody knows who you are and if they miss the call they can't call you back .

[lazybornpet]

Originally Posted by ksue

So, I recently became good friends with my neighbor who just moved next to me two months ago. Currently I'm the one of his few and only friends he has made and has over since he's been here. So he called me the other day asking if I had left an Iphone at his house, and oddly enough, I was missing an old Iphone I was using as an Ipod, however when he gave it to me it definitely wasn't my old iphone but a pretty new looking one either 4s or 5. We have no idea whose it is or how it got in his backyard. He said he was doing the dishes and looked up out the window into the backyard and his dog had it in her mouth. We've asked the neighbors, gardeners... can't think of who els it could belong to.
So, point of this thread- the iphone is "passcode locked" and we're trying to figure out how we can somehow break into it to get like a friend's number to get it back to the owner. Any suggestions?

Try the Siri thing from a couple posts above. If they have it enabled, hold down the home (center button) for a couple seconds and it should come up. If it's a iphone 4 then something called voice control will come up. Ask things like "what is my number?" "what is my name?" "what is my address?" "where do I live? "where is home" "call mom/dad/brother/sister/aunt uncle" etc. If that doesn't work take it to Verizon and get someone to check the sim or IMEI number (on the back in small letters I believe) to find the account it belongs to, then proceed to contact the owner and let them know you found his or her phone. Chances are the dog found the phone somewhere other than your neighbor's backyard. Also another idea would be to connect it to itunes and see what the number is on the phone, google the number in quotations and you might find other contact information for that person if they have it anywhere online.

[Oridus]

That's why if I lost my phone I would use find my iPhone to put the lock screen phone number on it. I personally don't want people going through my pics and private messages >_>

[3rd Rock]

Originally Posted by scottw324

A 4S and 5 do not look exactly the same. If it has the front FaceTime camera centered above their speaker then it is a 5. If the FaceTime camera is to the left of the speaker then it is a 4/4S. Also if it has the old 30 pin connector on the bottom = 4/4S. If it has the new small lightning port = 5.

You forgot the most important difference is that the iphone 5 has the 4 inch screen and the 4s has the 3.5 inch screen. Dah..real easy to see