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Found iPhone 4 want to return but has password
- Thread starter asb396
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Honest question; does Apple attempt to return lost phones? If anything, I would turn it in to the local police.
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Apple store. Or voice dial and keep trying people like "call mom, dad, sis, or whatever" (hold home button down - if enabled, it'll let you voice dial)
Apple store. Or voice dial and keep trying people like "call mom, dad, sis, or whatever" (hold home button down - if enabled, it'll let you voice dial)
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I'm thinking everyone should make a contact called "Owner" and have it as your work/home or other important number. If you losse the phone and a honest person like the OP finds it, the Voice Dial would always have an easy goto number for peole to call to try and return the phone.
I'm thinking everyone should make a contact called "Owner" and have it as your work/home or other important number. If you losse the phone and a honest person like the OP finds it, the Voice Dial would always have an easy goto number for peole to call to try and return the phone.
This would be a great marketing scheme for Apple if it really works. My guess is that one of the "geniuses" would steal it.
If you have an iPhone 4, get the SIM out, put it on your phone, and make a call, get the number and report it to AT&T.
My guess is that by now the SIM would be deactivated, no this suggestion won't work. So all you got left is to go old fashion, poster, reporte to the main office of the place you found it, etc. Those places that the parson who lost it would come back and ask.
AT&T wont do anything without a Number, either would the Apple store, all they will do is keep in the store and maybe as someone mentioned someone at the store will take it.
My guess is that by now the SIM would be deactivated, no this suggestion won't work. So all you got left is to go old fashion, poster, reporte to the main office of the place you found it, etc. Those places that the parson who lost it would come back and ask.
AT&T wont do anything without a Number, either would the Apple store, all they will do is keep in the store and maybe as someone mentioned someone at the store will take it.
Well, it's part of MobileMe.
I know you have to pay for that, but Apple does have an option at least.
Man, that's a pretty cynical view
I think if you dropped it off at an ATT store or Apple store they could easily find the ower (via the methods described herein) and would even ship the phone in a well protected case to the owner for free. Postive, potentially viral, PR like that can't be bought. No right thinking line worker would dare cop the device for fear of being caught in some "mystery shopper" sting.Now my cynicism would be the OP fishing for ways to circumvent the PW so he/she could look at their boyfriend/girlfriend/acquiatance's information for some privacy violating reason under the guise of returning a lost phone. But that's just me
If the iPhone is registered and you can get access to the serial number, I *know* Apple can look it up and get it returned that way, since that's happened to me before with an iPod. Obviously it's possible if you took it to the store it could get lost in the mix due to a dishonest douchebag, but it seems unlikely if you make a big deal out of it to multiple people there, or if you specifically ask for the manager.
Another possibility would be to put it into DFU mode, restore it, and get the serial number to search for the person that way. But then, if they *didn't* register it, you'd have no access to their contacts and would no longer have a chance to find them. Either way, I think your first line of defense should be to *call* AppleCare, and see what they have to say. There might be some protocol in place for this specific situation.
Another possibility would be to put it into DFU mode, restore it, and get the serial number to search for the person that way. But then, if they *didn't* register it, you'd have no access to their contacts and would no longer have a chance to find them. Either way, I think your first line of defense should be to *call* AppleCare, and see what they have to say. There might be some protocol in place for this specific situation.
Does the SIM tray on IP4 have the serial number on it? This was the case on the 3G.
I used to have one of those HP ipaq PDA things and they could be set up to display owner information when turned on even before lock code was entered, would be a nice thing for iPhone and iPad.
I used to have one of those HP ipaq PDA things and they could be set up to display owner information when turned on even before lock code was entered, would be a nice thing for iPhone and iPad.
Best guess is indeed voice dialing. Just say "Call blabla" and than it will hopefully call someone (if the sim hasn't been blocked yet).
Do not bring it to the police station. They won't do anything about it. Apple won't do anything about it to. Best luck, I think, is AT&T in the hope they will be able to connect the iPhone data (IMEI number for example) to the owner.
Do not bring it to the police station. They won't do anything about it. Apple won't do anything about it to. Best luck, I think, is AT&T in the hope they will be able to connect the iPhone data (IMEI number for example) to the owner.
Apple is not very helpful with finding rightful owners to products, even with a serial.
A few years back, I found an iPod Nano. Called Apple support and asked them if there was any way we could find the owner and give it back to them, but they said no, not really.
Hopefully they've put a system in place since, but I don't know.
A few years back, I found an iPod Nano. Called Apple support and asked them if there was any way we could find the owner and give it back to them, but they said no, not really.
Hopefully they've put a system in place since, but I don't know.
Great idea. Wish i'd known that at the weekend when I found a 3G/3Gs.
On my own phone, I've always had a favorite called "home" that dials my landline. I don't use voice dial myself, but I just tried speaking "phone home" on my locked 4g and it worked a treat. Neat.
Ouch.
So anyone picking up my phone can make random calls to my contacts?
Despite having a lock code ?
[edit] tested - yup its true - that sucks
At least you can turn it off in settings, but it defaults to on.
No doubt, I know I would.
Just wait till it rings and let the caller know you found the iphone. Most likely the owner or his friends or family will call sooner or later.
They have not. Out of the clear blue one day around a month ago, I got an overnight Fedex delivery that I was not expecting. Showed the shipper to be Apple with me as the addressee. When I opened the box I was surprised to see an original iPhone in there.
I cannot tell you how many hours I spent on the phone with Apple, being transferred from one person to another, trying to figure out why they shipped me this iPhone.
In the meantime the phone wasn't locked and I went to email and found an email address. I then emailed the person from my desktop, asking if they were expecting an iPhone from Apple Care.
No one at Apple would tell me the owner of the phone, telling me that their record is not always up-to-date especially if the phone has been sold to someone else other than the original buyer.
Apple did send me a label and I shipped the phone back to them and gave me a contact name in case the owner of the iPhone were to answer my email.
Later in the day, I heard from the person I had emailed. He was sending the phone to Applecare for repair. He said they sent him the label addressed to me (remembered my name) but didn't question it thinking they knew what they were doing.
He thanked me over and over for sending the phone off to Apple and for giving him the contact name.