I work at a restaurant on a tiny island in the Caribbean. As one can imagine, I meet hundreds of vacationers on a weekly basis. And at least once a day, one of those blissful vacationers leaves their sunnies, their wallet, their credit card or their smart phone on my bar.
Don't get me wrong; I get it. I'm as guilty as the next. I've left my wallet at the grocery store more times than I can count.
Everyday, at the end of my shift, I sit in the office and complete a round of paperwork. And for a while now, I've been noticing a brand spankin' new iPhone 5S floating from one corner of the office to another. It eventually settles in the 'lost and found'. A few weeks in, I realize that no one at work has even attempted to find the thing's owner.
Out of curiosity and maybe a bit of guilt, I volunteer to take the thing home and attempt to find its owner. You see, so many personal effects float in and out of here and very few people ever come to reclaim their property. Vacations are short lived, and most people seem too drunk on paradise to bother relocating their belongings. And we as a business cannot be held responsible, either. But as a tech enthusiast, I just cannot imagine losing my $600+ smart phone and not having a chip on my shoulder.
So I bring it home and charge it up. Of course, it is password and fingerprint protected. The wallpaper is a black and white photo of a hunky vampire. The notifications left on the phone tell the story of a young teenage girl. God, that sucks. Probably her first iPhone and I bet she will never hear the end of it. I plug it into my computer. No information is displayed without the consent of a passcode. Last notifications in notification center....JANUARY?! Its May...this phone has been here for 4 months.
Allright. Challenge accepted.
I call AT&T. The representative could not have been more friendly. She offers to call the account holder associated to this phone. She leaves a voicemail, leaving the owner with an account of the situation, my phone number & name. Its only a matter of time.
A week passes. NO call. Apple won't help.
Time passes...and my sympathy wanes.
Forget it. Nobody wants this phone. It's been replaced. I will happily put it to good use.
I look up the phone's IMEI, and it hasn't been black listed. I put it in DFU mode and restore.
I'm met by iCloud's activation lock. It was worth a try.
Is it possible to 'hack' the phone, into giving me the e-mail address of the iCloud account that is associated with this phone?
I want to talk directly to its owner.What started off as a good samaritan trying to find the phone's rightful owner has turned into convoluted frustration. Why do I have no means of contacting them directly? I realize some may have a moral bone to pick over my wiping of the phone, but its driving me crazy to think that this phone is now a useless brick and I have no way of contacting its rightful owner.
Don't get me wrong; I get it. I'm as guilty as the next. I've left my wallet at the grocery store more times than I can count.
Everyday, at the end of my shift, I sit in the office and complete a round of paperwork. And for a while now, I've been noticing a brand spankin' new iPhone 5S floating from one corner of the office to another. It eventually settles in the 'lost and found'. A few weeks in, I realize that no one at work has even attempted to find the thing's owner.
Out of curiosity and maybe a bit of guilt, I volunteer to take the thing home and attempt to find its owner. You see, so many personal effects float in and out of here and very few people ever come to reclaim their property. Vacations are short lived, and most people seem too drunk on paradise to bother relocating their belongings. And we as a business cannot be held responsible, either. But as a tech enthusiast, I just cannot imagine losing my $600+ smart phone and not having a chip on my shoulder.
So I bring it home and charge it up. Of course, it is password and fingerprint protected. The wallpaper is a black and white photo of a hunky vampire. The notifications left on the phone tell the story of a young teenage girl. God, that sucks. Probably her first iPhone and I bet she will never hear the end of it. I plug it into my computer. No information is displayed without the consent of a passcode. Last notifications in notification center....JANUARY?! Its May...this phone has been here for 4 months.
Allright. Challenge accepted.
I call AT&T. The representative could not have been more friendly. She offers to call the account holder associated to this phone. She leaves a voicemail, leaving the owner with an account of the situation, my phone number & name. Its only a matter of time.
A week passes. NO call. Apple won't help.
Time passes...and my sympathy wanes.
Forget it. Nobody wants this phone. It's been replaced. I will happily put it to good use.
I look up the phone's IMEI, and it hasn't been black listed. I put it in DFU mode and restore.
I'm met by iCloud's activation lock. It was worth a try.
Is it possible to 'hack' the phone, into giving me the e-mail address of the iCloud account that is associated with this phone?
I want to talk directly to its owner.What started off as a good samaritan trying to find the phone's rightful owner has turned into convoluted frustration. Why do I have no means of contacting them directly? I realize some may have a moral bone to pick over my wiping of the phone, but its driving me crazy to think that this phone is now a useless brick and I have no way of contacting its rightful owner.
