Can an iPhone 5S be reset even with past users account on the phone

[Wicked1]

Friend found a phone, has account info tried getting in to find out who it belongs to and nothing. Brought it to the police but they do not want to be bothered with it, so he has a 5S but can not reset the phone or access it with prior users still logged in, any ideas how he can get into the phone to find out the owner? or can you bypass that and reset the phone to use as an iPod

 

[Tyler23]

Friend found a phone, has account info tried getting in to find out who it belongs to and nothing. Brought it to the police but they do not want to be bothered with it, so he has a 5S but can not reset the phone or access it with prior users still logged in, any ideas how he can get into the phone to find out the owner? or can you bypass that and reset the phone to use as an iPod

You cannot bypass it to set it up for himself. There is nothing he can do to use it for himself.

With that being said, have him take it in to Apple. They may be more willing to deal with it than the police. If even they can't be bothered, it's just an expensive paperweight.

Edit: What he said below me. Try doing that to see if it can call anyone to get the information.

 

[goobot]

Use siri and tell it to call home or dad, mom ect.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Use siri and tell it to call home or dad, mom ect.

Excellent!

 

[nox5]

Take it to carrier's store

 

[Jstuts5797]

You "found" this phone? Seems a lot of people are "finding" locked phones these days. There is nothing that can be done. You would have saved yourself more trouble by just leaving it where you "found" it in hopes the owner returns.

 

[sonicrobby]

Take it to the carrier. They will be able to track the serial # to get a sales #. From there all of the purchaser's information will be there. The carrier can then call them to ask about their phone. And go from there to get it returned whatever it is you need to do.

What I dont understand is why the original owners dont actually use "find my iPhone" to try and locate their lost phone.

 

[Tyler23]

Take it to the carrier. They will be able to track the serial # to get a sales #. From there all of the purchaser's information will be there. The carrier can then call them to ask about their phone. And go from there to get it returned whatever it is you need to do.

What I dont understand is why the original owners dont actually use "find my iPhone" to try and locate their lost phone.

Most carriers will not do that. It's worth a shot, but it's not likely they'll follow that route.

And some users don't have/know about Find My iPhone. It's a shame, but it's the truth.

 

[sonicrobby]

Most carriers will not do that. It's worth a shot, but it's not likely they'll follow that route.

And some users don't have/know about Find My iPhone. It's a shame, but it's the truth.

Im just talking from experience. I bought what was apparently a stolen iphone on craigslist. I took it to Apple, but they could do nothing, and directed me to ATT. I just told the ATT guy that I bought a stolen iPhone, and I would like to return it to the original user. At that point he looked up the serial number of the phone, found the original owners info, and called him and explained the situation. By law carrier could not tell me any of the original owners info, but allowed me to talk to the owner on his phone. So from there we met up, and since he already had gotten a replacement; for a small fee he put his account info in to unlock the phone.

 

[Powermax]

If you want to reunite the iPhone with its owner, try this:

Can you help me return a stolen or lost device to the rightful owner?

In cases where law enforcement has recovered a lost or stolen device and wants to return it to the “original owner,” contact Apple Customer Care (ACC) via email at law_enforcement_esc@apple.com. Please include the device’s serial number in your email and any additional pertinent information. If registration information is available, ACC will contact the owner and instruct him or her to contact law enforcement to recover the device. A subpoena is not required in most cases. However, if there is conflicting information located within our databases you may be instructed to submit a subpoena.

Source: http://www.apple.com/legal/more-resources/law-enforcement/