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Urgent help needed for stolen iPhone

10smom

10smom

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
200
6
USA
It is a long story but my iPhone for was stolen and I was able to track through find my iPhone app. It ended up at a swap meet. The police have it in hand but cannot access it because the code I gave him is wrong. They tried a hard reset and now I can't even track, but still asking for paascode. tried plugging it into an iTunes computer but still asking for code. I suggested maybe switching out the Sim card with somebody else. Would that work? What needs to be done to totally reset my phone so we can see the serial number and I can get my phone? We don't figure this out in the next hour or so he is going to have to put it into evidence and I might not get back for over a week. Thanks
 
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If your iPhone has a sim card tray, you or the police can pop the sim card tray out. On the sim card tray there is an IMEI and serial number engraved, they are small but it's readable. Hoping that that serial number on the sim card tray matches with the serial number on the box.

Also if you can still connect to itunes and itunes detect it, I believe you can put it in DFU mode and restore from there.
 
Will this work? http://osxdaily.com/2011/01/16/forgot-iphone-passcode-how-to-reset/

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Shadowbech said:
If your iPhone has a sim card tray, you or the police can pop the sim card tray out. On the sim card tray there is an IMEI and serial number engraved, they are small but it's readable. Hoping that that serial number on the sim card tray matches with the serial number on the box.

Also if you can still connect to itunes and itunes detect it, I believe you can put it in DFU mode and restore from there.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply is the above link a DFu mode restore?
 
Shadowbech said:
If your iPhone has a sim card tray, you or the police can pop the sim card tray out. On the sim card tray there is an IMEI and serial number engraved, they are small but it's readable. Hoping that that serial number on the sim card tray matches with the serial number on the box.

Also if you can still connect to itunes and itunes detect it, I believe you can put it in DFU mode and restore from there.
Click to expand...

+1. SIM tray and DFU restore are the way to go. Hopefully you've got an iCloud or recent iTunes backup, and you should be set. Good luck OP, let us know what happens!
 
Sent a text to officer with all this info but have not heard back. I am praying it does not get lost in evidence room after all I been though the last 3 days of chasing it around. :mad:
 
Shadowbech said:
If your iPhone has a sim card tray, you or the police can pop the sim card tray out. On the sim card tray there is an IMEI and serial number engraved, they are small but it's readable. Hoping that that serial number on the sim card tray matches with the serial number on the box.

Also if you can still connect to itunes and itunes detect it, I believe you can put it in DFU mode and restore from there.
Click to expand...

brittlewis12 said:
+1. SIM tray and DFU restore are the way to go. Hopefully you've got an iCloud or recent iTunes backup, and you should be set. Good luck OP, let us know what happens!
Click to expand...

Hey after several attempts, the officer was able to figure out how to do that DFU restore and recover my serial #. Woohoo.

I am so lucky that I got someone willing to do all of this follow through and not just pass it off to evidence.

Also lucky that the thief and the Criket Kiosk at the swap meet did not know or take the time to do a hard reset so I could continue to track

I am definitely going after the guy who stole it. Police know who it is and he had a chance to just give it back, no questions asked two days ago. I think he and the swapmeet people do this all the time. I want to make it much more difficult for them.

Another thing is I think I left on exercise equipment at club and the employees and patrons have a tendency to not turn things like this to front desk, and instead, wait until someone comes back for it. I am going to ask them to inform people to go ahead and turn in stuff like that, if they see just sitting there so thieves will not be tempted to just claims as their own.

A lot of lessons learned from this. Hope is not all lost if you ever get your iDevice stolen. Thanks to tracking apps and perseverance to get police to follow through.

Thanks for the help.
 
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10smom said:
*snip*
Click to expand...

Good to see though happy ending though I am sure you are part of the minority of those who have had an iPhone stolen. Though the tracking software probably increases the chance of getting it back 10fold. I remember once here in Melbourne the had a police helicopter track an iPhone via find my iPhone.

I think police are interested in catching phone thief's as stealing small items such as phones can lead into stealing bigger things.
 
10smom said:
It is a long story but my iPhone for was stolen and I was able to track through find my iPhone app. It ended up at a swap meet. The police have it in hand but cannot access it because the code I gave him is wrong. They tried a hard reset and now I can't even track, but still asking for paascode. tried plugging it into an iTunes computer but still asking for code. I suggested maybe switching out the Sim card with somebody else. Would that work? What needs to be done to totally reset my phone so we can see the serial number and I can get my phone? We don't figure this out in the next hour or so he is going to have to put it into evidence and I might not get back for over a week. Thanks
Click to expand...


So you had your iPhone stolen and then forgot the code and now need advice on how to access it by bypassing the security.

Sounds like a new handle on the usual," i found an iPhone and want to access it to contact the owners" thread.


Am i being sceptical here !! :rolleyes:
 
bandofbrothers said:
So you had your iPhone stolen and then forgot the code and now need advice on how to access it by bypassing the security.

Sounds like a new handle on the usual," i found an iPhone and want to access it to contact the owners" thread.


Am i being sceptical here !! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Except...he resolved his issue, got his phone back, AND posted about it 2 hours before you posted this. You should read through threads... :rolleyes:
 
voodoopenguin said:
Except...he resolved his issue, got his phone back, AND posted about it 2 hours before you posted this. You should read through threads... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


I have read thro the posts. It's my opinion.

The Op got the info they needed to restore and bypass the security feature after they forgot their code.... Hmmm
 
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bandofbrothers said:
So you had your iPhone stolen and then forgot the code and now need advice on how to access it by bypassing the security.

Sounds like a new handle on the usual," i found an iPhone and want to access it to contact the owners" thread.


Am i being sceptical here !! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

voodoopenguin said:
Except...he resolved his issue, got his phone back, AND posted about it 2 hours before you posted this. You should read through threads... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I set a code through remote lock several different time during the two days, as I was not sure it was "taking" .. sometime phone was on sometime off. I probably missed one# during one of those times. I told the police to try #s around in case was wrong. Did not work

BTW you can track phone when phone off. but the last place it is tracked to may be off by about 20ft or more. That is what happen. At one point the phone was a the sprint Kiosk but was found at the Cricket kiosk. I think the sprint people told thief they would not unlock, but cricket would. All were used phones being bought and sold. Majority were probably stolen. I wish the police would investigate those swap meets. I am sure they could solve a ton of crimes. It is the ebay of locals and non techies who are willing to participate in "dont ask dont tell" buying and selling. If the police would crack down on places like these it would go a long way in swaying amateur thieves from looking for easy targets.
 
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Ok dude. It's just that threads do pop up which reads that their after a security bypass. Glad you got things resolved.
 
bandofbrothers said:
So you had your iPhone stolen and then forgot the code and now need advice on how to access it by bypassing the security.

Sounds like a new handle on the usual," i found an iPhone and want to access it to contact the owners" thread.


Am i being sceptical here !! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

sounds like somebody has some issues??? (and I am not referring to the guy that had his phone stolen)
 
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