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iPhone 3GS on the ROAD!

I

iBryton

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2010
232
0
So I was driving home today and saw an iPhone on the roadway, so I picked it up.

7f5722e7.jpg


8d3540ac.jpg


I looked up the serial and it's still in warranty. What should I do? I want to go in the store and get a replacement for $200. Will they check for my name or for my I.D.? I'm just a kid..
 
iBryton said:
So I was driving home today and saw an iPhone on the roadway, so I picked it up.

7f5722e7.jpg


8d3540ac.jpg


I looked up the serial and it's still in warranty. What should I do? I want to go in the store and get a replacement for $200. Will they check for my name or for my I.D.? I'm just a kid..
Click to expand...

Do the right thing and you shall be rewarded. Give it to your folks to hand in to a local police station. After a month and no-one claiming it, they will give it back to you. Upon which you can go in to an Apple Store, tell the truth, and get your $200 replacement. If you try and do that now the iPhone will show up as registered to it's original owner and you can be charged with many possible offenses.

Good luck kido!
 
davidec said:
Do the right thing and you shall be rewarded. Give it to your folks to hand in to a local police station. After a month and no-one claiming it, they will give it back to you. Upon which you can go in to an Apple Store, tell the truth, and get your $200 replacement. If you try and do that now the iPhone will show up as registered to it's original owner and you can be charged with many possible offenses.

Good luck kido!
Click to expand...

That's just blatantly not true. Neither Apple nor AT&T could care less if the phone you bring in is stolen or lost, and neither will try and find the original owner. Seriously, where do you people come up with this nonsense?
 
Interstella5555 said:
That's just blatantly not true. Neither Apple nor AT&T could care less if the phone you bring in is stolen or lost, and neither will try and find the original owner. Seriously, where do you people come up with this nonsense?
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ahem, every single iPhone is traceable via its serial number. :apple: knows where and how it was sold. If it came from either the Apple Store or AT&T (which in this case it most likely has) it will be linked to original purchasers name. We (and clearly you) as consumers are not privy to that info.
 
davidec said:
ahem, every single iPhone is traceable via its serial number. :apple: knows where and how it was sold. If it came from either the Apple Store or AT&T (which in this case it most likely has) it will be linked to original purchasers name. We (and clearly you) as consumers are not privy to that info.
Click to expand...

1) Apple does not care and does not have the time to keep track or do anything about a stolen phone

2) Possession is 9/10 of the law

3) OP: The replacement cost of the 3GS is 79 dollars.
 
kre62 said:
1) Apple does not care and does not have the time to keep track or do anything about a stolen phone

2) Possession is 9/10 of the law

3) OP: The replacement cost of the 3GS is 79 dollars.
Click to expand...

9/10 of the law?
 
davidec said:
ahem, every single iPhone is traceable via its serial number. :apple: knows where and how it was sold. If it came from either the Apple Store or AT&T (which in this case it most likely has) it will be linked to original purchasers name. We (and clearly you) as consumers are not privy to that info.
Click to expand...

Traceable or not, how does apple know that the phone wasn't sold to OP?
 
kre62 said:
1) Apple does not care and does not have the time to keep track or do anything about a stolen phone

2) Possession is 9/10 of the law

3) OP: The replacement cost of the 3GS is 79 dollars.
Click to expand...


only 79$??? Plus who would go looking for that at the local police station? That phone looks like it was ran over 6 times.


off topic but what does a blue envolope with an arrow pointed down mean?
 
Jordan921 said:
Traceable or not, how does apple know that the phone wasn't sold to OP?
Click to expand...

Apple is not in the business of policing iPhones, they are in the business of selling as many iPhones as possible. They could care less whether the phone is lost or stolen. It's all the same to them.
 
JRoDDz said:
Apple is not in the business of policing iPhones, they are in the business of selling as many iPhones as possible. They could care less whether the phone is lost or stolen. It's all the same to them.
Click to expand...

Yes I know. I forgot to quote the other guy trying to say OP was gonna get in trouble for taking it in to get replacement.
 
davidec said:
ahem, every single iPhone is traceable via its serial number. :apple: knows where and how it was sold. If it came from either the Apple Store or AT&T (which in this case it most likely has) it will be linked to original purchasers name. We (and clearly you) as consumers are not privy to that info.
Click to expand...

Sure, they have that info, but they don't use it that fashion. If they did, I would have been able to find the jackasses that mugged me and stole my phone, however calling both AT&T and Apple resulted in the same thing, the phone can't be linked back to me in that fashion if someone else comes in to activate it or have it worked on. Also, if they were, pretty much anyone who has sold a phone on CL could then report it stolen and have it deactivated. Has this ever happened? No. It's true that other countries can blacklist and backtrace phones like this, and do, but AT&T in the US does not.
 
Interstella5555 said:
Sure, they have that info, but they don't use it that fashion. If they did, I would have been able to find the jackasses that mugged me and stole my phone, however calling both AT&T and Apple resulted in the same thing, the phone can't be linked back to me in that fashion if someone else comes in to activate it or have it worked on. Also, if they were, pretty much anyone who has sold a phone on CL could then report it stolen and have it deactivated. Has this ever happened? No. It's true that other countries can blacklist and backtrace phones like this, and do, but AT&T in the US does not.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm just a kid though and don't want to get in trouble. This phone really was run over like 10 times HAHA! I just wanted to get a replacement just for experimentation... I am an Apple loyal customer. I talked to my dad and said I shouldn't turn it in, since it probably doesn't have anymore value, and anybody could just go in and say they lost there "iphone"
 
davidec said:
Do the right thing and you shall be rewarded. Give it to your folks to hand in to a local police station. After a month and no-one claiming it, they will give it back to you. Upon which you can go in to an Apple Store, tell the truth, and get your $200 replacement. If you try and do that now the iPhone will show up as registered to it's original owner and you can be charged with many possible offenses.

Good luck kido!
Click to expand...

Yeah right Matlock:D
That will never happen.
Apple or AT&T are not into the find lost iphone business and they do not care what happens.
An iphone can be sold used to multiple owners thruout its life, it doesnt mean if it shows up registered to someone elses Applecare you'll get in trouble.
To the OP just bring it to Apple and pay the $200 out of warranty replacement fee.
They wont ask you for anything else. It doesnt matter even if it wasnt under Applecare, they still would have replaced it for $200.
Hey maybe if you get lucky they'd do it for free.
 
What do I say to the genius? There still is a sim card though but I opened it up and got it out (internally) because there isn't even a sim tray.
 
iBryton said:
What do I say to the genius? There still is a sim card though but I opened it up and got it out (internally) because there isn't even a sim tray.
Click to expand...

Lie and say it was yours and your parents bought it for you. Don't think they will sit you down for an interrogation about it.
 
iBryton said:
9/10 of the law?
Click to expand...

Yeah, 9/10 or "nine tenths" of the law. Meaning the person who has the item in their possession is much better off then the supposed"true owner". The owner has to prove its theirs, and that is a huge hassle.
 
The right thing?

As has been pointed out, Apple don't care about whose it is. They care about shifting units and making as much money as possible. Sad, but true.

The owner most probably has insurance and as such; has a new iPhone.

From your screenshots, it's been battered and beaten. Take it in, get it fixed and get a replacement for $79. Happy Days.
 
'Posession is 9/10ths of the law'? 'Apple and AT&T don't care'? 'The true owner probably doesn't care anymore?' My god, Western civilization is doomed.

@OP: The phone is not yours. If you want one, earn it. Turn the one you found into the police and let them handle it. If the owner doesn't show up with proof of purchase, then typically you can claim the phone and do with it what you will.

@the rest of you ne'er-do-wells and would-be thieves, I have one word for you: karma.
 
You can get a new 3GS for $49, but the real cost is hooking it up to AT&T or Verizon. course it would still make a pretty good iPad with WiFi.

You can get a new iPhone 4 for $199 on contract with or without your roadkill.
 
VulchR said:
'Posession is 9/10ths of the law'? 'Apple and AT&T don't care'? 'The true owner probably doesn't care anymore?' My god, Western civilization is doomed.

@OP: The phone is not yours. If you want one, earn it. Turn the one you found into the police and let them handle it. If the owner doesn't show up with proof of purchase, then typically you can claim the phone and do with it what you will.

@the rest of you ne'er-do-wells and would-be thieves, I have one word for you: karma.
Click to expand...

Seriously, good to see someone has some sense around here.
Point is, should you be encouraging someone who openly admits to being young to lie and deceive? What if the phone was actually stolen, used for some nefarious activity and then dumped and run over? I know it's a long shot, but if that was the case the OP could find himself in an awkward situation thanks to the majority advice. Irrespective, it's illegal to claim ownership of something you've found.
OP, you've found the phone, if you hand it in to the police and no-one claims it in a few weeks, it's yours. Then you can get your replacement by being honest.
 
davidec said:
Seriously, good to see someone has some sense around here.
Point is, should you be encouraging someone who openly admits to being young to lie and deceive? What if the phone was actually stolen, used for some nefarious activity and then dumped and run over? I know it's a long shot, but if that was the case the OP could find himself in an awkward situation thanks to the majority advice. Irrespective, it's illegal to claim ownership of something you've found.
OP, you've found the phone, if you hand it in to the police and no-one claims it in a few weeks, it's yours. Then you can get your replacement by being honest.
Click to expand...

+100

Encouraging this kid to lie so he can get an iphone on the cheap. Do the right thing. Turn it in. If no one claims it, you can get it back.

If you ever have anything lost/stolen, you'd know how much you appreciate getting it back.
 
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