Help iPhone Stolen!! UK

[ssong]

hi everyone,

I had my iPhone stolen today, and by the time I had the chance to get to 'find my iPhone' it was already offline. I did put in an erase request but not sure what else to do.

Would it go through? and what are the chances of ever seeing it again? It's an iPhone 5S

 

[ckc]

The erase will activate as soon as the phone connects to either wifi or cellular.

I would rate your chances of seeing the phone again at about 1/100, the phone is useless to anyone other than for spares so chances are it will be dumped.

Assuming that you have not jailbroken the phone to remove the requirement that the user has to enter your passcode or fingerprint the only way that the phone will be of any use is to someone who has your Apple ID.

Make sure you notify your network to cancel the sim which of course can be used in another phone unless you have the sim lock enabled.

 

[ssong]

The erase will activate as soon as the phone connects to either wifi or cellular.

I would rate your chances of seeing the phone again at about 1/100, the phone is useless to anyone other than for spares so chances are it will be dumped.

Assuming that you have not jailbroken the phone to remove the requirement that the user has to enter your passcode or fingerprint the only way that the phone will be of any use is to someone who has your Apple ID.

Make sure you notify your network to cancel the sim which of course can be used in another phone unless you have the sim lock enabled.

thanks for the detailed reply,

it's not jailbroken so that's good. I already made contact to the network and had it cancelled.

But it was uninsured before the incident, and after i reported everything i upgraded my bank account which has mobile phone insurance. do you think I'd be able to get a successful claim through them? Even if i opened the insurance after the incident?

 

[maflynn]

Would it go through? and what are the chances of ever seeing it again? It's an iPhone 5S

Chances are unfortunately rather slim on recovering the phone

At least you have the Find my Phone enabled, so the thief or anyone else cannot wipe it and start using it.

 

[Newtons Apple]

thanks for the detailed reply,

it's not jailbroken so that's good. I already made contact to the network and had it cancelled.

But it was uninsured before the incident, and after i reported everything i upgraded my bank account which has mobile phone insurance. do you think I'd be able to get a successful claim through them? Even if i opened the insurance after the incident?

Most insurance people want a police report. I guess it depends on "when" as to if they will replace.

 

[ssong]

Most insurance people want a police report. I guess it depends on "when" as to if they will replace.

is the police report the same as an incident number?

 

[960design]

hi everyone,

I had my iPhone stolen today, and by the time I had the chance to get to 'find my iPhone' it was already offline. I did put in an erase request but not sure what else to do.

Would it go through? and what are the chances of ever seeing it again? It's an iPhone 5S

So sorry, but you really did the WRONG thing. By erasing your phone you remove the Find My Phone feature. Your device will be activated locked still, at least until you accidentally go into the iCloud a year from now and remove it.

This is what is going to happen. Your phone will connect to the network somewhere it will receive an erase message and remove all content. The device will freeze at the activation lock screen. You will no longer be able to track it.

The best thing to do is just lock your phone with a please return message. For our commercial devices I add in the felony charges and we've ( by that I mean police ) found 3 of the 4 'lost/stolen' devices. From the information I've forwarded them.

Good luck.

 

[ssong]

So sorry, but you really did the WRONG thing. By erasing your phone you remove the Find My Phone feature. Your device will be activated locked still, at least until you accidentally go into the iCloud a year from now and remove it.

This is what is going to happen. Your phone will connect to the network somewhere it will receive an erase message and remove all content. The device will freeze at the activation lock screen. You will no longer be able to track it.

The best thing to do is just lock your phone with a please return message. For our commercial devices I add in the felony charges and we've ( by that I mean police ) found 3 of the 4 'lost/stolen' devices. From the information I've forwarded them.

Good luck.

I wish I had read this before. I didn't understand the difference and assumed it would keep it locked :/ Thank you for the information.. I don't realistically expect to see the phone but I do expect to see the guys who mugged me as I think I may have seen them in my neighbourhood. The fact that it happened just 5 min from my house doesn't make me feel too comfortable.

 

[nebo1ss]

As already mentioned contact your carrier and block the SIM card. You may be surprised how quickly someone would put it in another phone and make a few hundred dollars in overseas calls.

 

[ssong]

As already mentioned contact your carrier and block the SIM card. You may be surprised how quickly someone would put it in another phone and make a few hundred dollars in overseas calls.

thanks for the comment. I did it right after filing a police report.

doubt they had time to make int'l calls though, apparently there was another incident around the place i got mugged, suspects fitting the description I gave. and while the police were taking my details down, supposedly a third incident happened..

 

[Shanghaichica]

Chances are unfortunately rather slim on recovering the phone

At least you have the Find my Phone enabled, so the thief or anyone else cannot wipe it and start using it.

I agree you are not likely to see it again unfortunately. I had my iPhone 4 stolen in 2012. Rather stupidly I didn't not have a password or find my iPhone turned on so the theif had access to everything. I learnt a valuable lesson about having a password that day.

I think the fact that you have a password and find my iPhone on means you can at least be assured that your personal data is secure

 

[yui4]

Was the handset sim free or network locked? Your provider could block the phone if it was locked to a network

 

[ssong]

Was the handset sim free or network locked? Your provider could block the phone if it was locked to a network

It's network locked from Vodafone i think, I did give them the IMEI and reported it so at the very least it's reported as stolen.

----------

I agree you are not likely to see it again unfortunately. I had my iPhone 4 stolen in 2012. Rather stupidly I didn't not have a password or find my iPhone turned on so the theif had access to everything. I learnt a valuable lesson about having a password that day.

I think the fact that you have a password and find my iPhone on means you can at least be assured that your personal data is secure

yeah.. I'm sorry about what happened to you.. my only hope is the insurance claim goes through otherwise I'm stuck with my old Note II.

The thankful part though is that they don't seem to be aware of the Apple Watch as I had it on my wrist at the time and luckily they didn't have the time to take that as well.

 

[nox5]

Glad you are alive

 

[Paco II]

And that's why I use a SIM PIN. Not sure why more people don't.

As already mentioned contact your carrier and block the SIM card. You may be surprised how quickly someone would put it in another phone and make a few hundred dollars in overseas calls.

 

[ssong]

yeah... I'm thinking I should start doing that as well :/ If I get a replacement phone from insurance.

 

[ET iPhone Home]

hi everyone,

I had my iPhone stolen today, and by the time I had the chance to get to 'find my iPhone' it was already offline. I did put in an erase request but not sure what else to do.

Would it go through? and what are the chances of ever seeing it again? It's an iPhone 5S

How was it stolen? Were you mugged?

Edit: I read you posted you got mugged. I'm sorry. Just get yourself a 6 or 6S, if that's any consideration for you.

 

[960design]

The fact that it happened just 5 min from my house doesn't make me feel too comfortable.

Think about purchasing external / internal cameras for your house. They are very inexpensive these days ( I think I paid about $1000 for the entire setup, including 5 external and 1 internal, but have seen it as low as $400 ). Hopefully it will help someone else in the future and maybe you'll recognize them as they walk by: patterns of life, ect.

 

[ssong]

Think about purchasing external / internal cameras for your house. They are very inexpensive these days ( I think I paid about $1000 for the entire setup, including 5 external and 1 internal, but have seen it as low as $400 ). Hopefully it will help someone else in the future and maybe you'll recognize them as they walk by: patterns of life, ect.

Something to consider for the future perhaps but being a student and living in student accommodation, not very possible for me right now. The accommodation it self has both internal and external cameras and they keep crime off the street, but I got mugged on the main street about 5 min walk from it. The cameras were of no help :/

Did get word from the detective in charge though, supposedly two other crimes that happened within an hour timeframe are linked to the same suspects so maybe something will come out of it

 

[Apples n' Stone]

Unfortunately that is basically all you can do.

 

[ssong]

yeah.. so a week later, (my) phone is still offline, but I did confirm through iCloud that it's locked.. (atleast i hope so). Insurance didn't pan out so went ahead and ordered the iPhone 6. Really does teach you a lesson about walking around while using the phone Thank you everyone for tips and comments!

 

[Shanghaichica]

yeah.. so a week later, (my) phone is still offline, but I did confirm through iCloud that it's locked.. (atleast i hope so). Insurance didn't pan out so went ahead and ordered the iPhone 6. Really does teach you a lesson about walking around while using the phone Thank you everyone for tips and comments!

What happened with your insurance? They really should have honoured your claim. You can get. A police report about the mugging and they should have replaced it no questions asked.

 

[iConnected]

it was uninsured before the incident, and after i reported everything i upgraded my bank account which has mobile phone insurance. do you think I'd be able to get a successful claim through them? Even if i opened the insurance after the incident?

What happened with your insurance? They really should have honoured your claim. You can get. A police report about the mugging and they should have replaced it no questions asked.

The OP wondered about trying to con the insurance company by claiming for something that happened BEFORE they got the insurance.

The insurer definitely should NOT have honoured a claim!

I am extremely sorry to hear of the OP's experience, but considering committing insurance fraud straight afterwards is not a wise move.

 

[ssong]

The OP wondered about trying to con the insurance company by claiming for something that happened BEFORE they got the insurance.

The insurer definitely should NOT have honoured a claim!

I am extremely sorry to hear of the OP's experience, but considering committing insurance fraud straight afterwards is not a wise move.

thanks for your sympathy, and yeah I'm kind of ashamed of my self for thinking that. I had to wait until I had relevant paperwork arrive from the network provider to prove my ownership of the phone, and while changing had a change of heart and went ahead with the financing offer.

might as well look at this as an opportunity to give my self an 'early christmas gift'

 

[iConnected]

thanks for your sympathy, and yeah I'm kind of ashamed of my self for thinking that. I had to wait until I had relevant paperwork arrive from the network provider to prove my ownership of the phone, and while changing had a change of heart and went ahead with the financing offer.

Glad to hear it.

For anyone else who may be similarly tempted, it's worth noting that insurance fraud in the UK is a criminal offence under The Fraud Act 2006.

Also, insurers share information with each other via an insurance fraud register (IFR) and can also share with other financial services firms via a fraud database (CIFAS).

Being on these registers can affect not only your ability to get (and renew) insurance, but also other financial services like current accounts, credit cards, loans and mortgages.