What do you do when you find an iPhone? Let's see how to unlock a lost or stolen iPhone and return it back to the real owner.
When you find someone else's belongings in your hand, it kind of feels guilty, as owning other people's property is not a good thing to do. And also you should know that all modern iPhones are activated with lock features so it's useless to have a phone which you cannot use.
Now let's take a look at what to do when you find a lost phone.
Is the lost iPhone charged?
Action : make sure you keep the iPhone charged by borrowing or buying a charger.
Usually the modern phone batteries run out fast. So the lost phone has at least a day before the battery drains. Try holding the power botton and see whether the iPhone has charge or not.
Incase if the phone doesn't work then you have to charge it first before you begin. The lightning cable should be bought or borrowed if you don't own an iPhone.
Does it have a passcode lock?
Action : if you can access the passcode try to find the contacts details by registered apple ID or call logs. If you Cannot use the passcode then don't try to access it forcefully.
After you switch on the iPhone, you will witness the lock screen. Now swipe up the bottom of the screen or click the home button depending on the iPhone model that you found. Next you will be asked for a passcode, face ID or touch ID.
If the owner of the iPhone hasn't set up a passcode, you can easily access the phone by unlocking it. It would be better if the iPhone owners don't set a passcode to their phones.
Let's take a look at two options that you can follow if you unlock the iphone. In the beginning to check what the owners registered apple ID is, move to settings > iTunes & app store. This will allow you to send an email to the owner which will let them know that the iPhone is safe.
Next is to go to the phone > recent to check the call logs. After accessing the log you will be able to find the suitable person to call so that you can inform them that you found the iPhone. In the phone app logs you will also find the owner's name on the top of the contact list.
Look to medical ID for more information.
Action : even if the phone is locked you can view the medical ID and information.
Still haven't found the owner of the iPhone? Then you can take a look at the medical ID feature. In case of an emergency this features allows the first person who come across the phone to view the medical information of the owner. Not only that but it also let's the person know more identity of the owner.
Here's how you access the medical ID . First head to the lock screen of the iPhone and tap emergency. You will find this in the bottom left corner. Now select the medical ID which you will find on the bottom left of the screen.
The owner will be lucky if he has already set up the feature by adding his name and other important information about him. This will let you find out the owner of the iPhone easily
Is the phone in lost mode?
Action : if you find a message then you can contact the owner by the details provided.
If the find my phone feature is enabled in the iPhone then the iPhone will be useless for anyone else other than the owner. There's this feature called activation lock. If this feature is set then even if you use software reset on your device the owner can track down lost devices with the help of activation lock.
In case if the iPhone is put to lost mode then this means the owner has logged into iCloud.com to mark the iPhone as lost. If this is set then you will get a message left by the owner letting you know about this. This message will be having the owners name, contact and email address so that you can get to the owner.
The location of the iPhone will be sent to the owner with the help of iClouds if the internet is connected.
Make sure you have enabled find my iPhone so that even if you lose your phone you can find it out. Here's how we enable it. Head to settings > (name) >Find my. That's all.
Try asking Siri.
Action : to locate the owner you can interrogate Siri for more information.
Do you know that Siri can do a lot even if the iphone is locked? The device needs to be online to make use of this and the phone should be switched on when you find the device. By the way.
The Siri will be disabled until you unlock the device for the first time if the phone is restarted. To trigger Siri you can press and hold the home button. When Siri is on you can ask questions about the owner.
Hers are some ideas :
● " Call my mom" - husband, wife, dad, boss etc.
● " Read my call logs" - asking this question will let Siri show you the recent call so you can talk back the name with Siri to make a call.
● " Read my last message" - this will provide the content of the message along with the name.
● "Who owns this iPhone" - if the owner has saved his name in the contact entry Siri will show it.
● " What is my email ID" - you can also ask for the Twitter, Facebook or phone number etc.
Before you get the Passcode of the device, it's hard for Siri to come up with everything you ask for as it has a limited amount of information. The best thing to do in this case is to ask Siri to read the call log so you can call the contact it comes up with.
Take a photo.
Action - when you take a photo of your information using the iPhone, The picture will sync online.
Usually the iPhone users will keep the iCloud enabled. Using your apple ID this feature will save all the photos and videos that you capture in the iCloud. Using the same apple ID you can view your photo on any ios device or Mac. This would be very helpful in order to get the information of the person who has the phone.
You can access the camera in your iPhone without even unlocking the phone. You simply have to swipe from left to right or click the camera icon in the screen to capture a picture. This feature will allow you to snap photos and videos without unlocking. Now you can take a picture of your contact information.
If the owner is using another device he will come across your pictures as it will be saved on iCloud. This will be very useful for the owner.
Found an iPhone? Make contact or hand it in.
If the phone is protected by find my iPhone the activation lock will prevent you from accessing the device of the iPhone you found. This will protect the phone from anyone like a paperweight. So it's much better if you don't try to use the iPhone you found somewhere.
In case if none of the above tips and steps worked you have to remove the sim card from the iPhone so that you can take note of the carrier and also the number printed on the sim. To find the owner of the device using the SIM ,you have to call the carrier number provided in the sim and let them know the iPhone number, so that they will be able to track the owner's information.
If nothing works the only option you have is to go to the nearest police station where you found the iPhone and place a complaint by explaining to them that you cannot find the owner of the phone.
Now you know what to do when you find a lost iphone. We hope this information was useful for you.
Sometimes when you find a lost or stolen iPhone it gets really confusing as to what to do with the phone, even if you have good intentions. You don't have to worry since we can follow a few steps to find out the owner of the iphone.
Now let's take a look at what to do when you find a lost phone.
Is the lost iPhone charged?
Action : make sure you keep the iPhone charged by borrowing or buying a charger.
Usually the modern phone batteries run out fast. So the lost phone has at least a day before the battery drains. Try holding the power botton and see whether the iPhone has charge or not.
Incase if the phone doesn't work then you have to charge it first before you begin. The lightning cable should be bought or borrowed if you don't own an iPhone.
Does it have a passcode lock?
Action : if you can access the passcode try to find the contacts details by registered apple ID or call logs. If you Cannot use the passcode then don't try to access it forcefully.
After you switch on the iPhone, you will witness the lock screen. Now swipe up the bottom of the screen or click the home button depending on the iPhone model that you found. Next you will be asked for a passcode, face ID or touch ID.
If the owner of the iPhone hasn't set up a passcode, you can easily access the phone by unlocking it. It would be better if the iPhone owners don't set a passcode to their phones.
Let's take a look at two options that you can follow if you unlock the iphone. In the beginning to check what the owners registered apple ID is, move to settings > iTunes & app store. This will allow you to send an email to the owner which will let them know that the iPhone is safe.
Next is to go to the phone > recent to check the call logs. After accessing the log you will be able to find the suitable person to call so that you can inform them that you found the iPhone. In the phone app logs you will also find the owner's name on the top of the contact list.
Look to medical ID for more information.
Action : even if the phone is locked you can view the medical ID and information.
Still haven't found the owner of the iPhone? Then you can take a look at the medical ID feature. In case of an emergency this features allows the first person who come across the phone to view the medical information of the owner. Not only that but it also let's the person know more identity of the owner.
Here's how you access the medical ID . First head to the lock screen of the iPhone and tap emergency. You will find this in the bottom left corner. Now select the medical ID which you will find on the bottom left of the screen.
The owner will be lucky if he has already set up the feature by adding his name and other important information about him. This will let you find out the owner of the iPhone easily
Is the phone in lost mode?
Action : if you find a message then you can contact the owner by the details provided.
If the find my phone feature is enabled in the iPhone then the iPhone will be useless for anyone else other than the owner. There's this feature called activation lock. If this feature is set then even if you use software reset on your device the owner can track down lost devices with the help of activation lock.
In case if the iPhone is put to lost mode then this means the owner has logged into iCloud.com to mark the iPhone as lost. If this is set then you will get a message left by the owner letting you know about this. This message will be having the owners name, contact and email address so that you can get to the owner.
The location of the iPhone will be sent to the owner with the help of iClouds if the internet is connected.
Make sure you have enabled find my iPhone so that even if you lose your phone you can find it out. Here's how we enable it. Head to settings > (name) >Find my. That's all.
Try asking Siri.
Action : to locate the owner you can interrogate Siri for more information.
Do you know that Siri can do a lot even if the iphone is locked? The device needs to be online to make use of this and the phone should be switched on when you find the device. By the way.
The Siri will be disabled until you unlock the device for the first time if the phone is restarted. To trigger Siri you can press and hold the home button. When Siri is on you can ask questions about the owner.
Hers are some ideas :
● " Call my mom" - husband, wife, dad, boss etc.
● " Read my call logs" - asking this question will let Siri show you the recent call so you can talk back the name with Siri to make a call.
● " Read my last message" - this will provide the content of the message along with the name.
● "Who owns this iPhone" - if the owner has saved his name in the contact entry Siri will show it.
● " What is my email ID" - you can also ask for the Twitter, Facebook or phone number etc.
Before you get the Passcode of the device, it's hard for Siri to come up with everything you ask for as it has a limited amount of information. The best thing to do in this case is to ask Siri to read the call log so you can call the contact it comes up with.
Take a photo.
Action - when you take a photo of your information using the iPhone, The picture will sync online.
Usually the iPhone users will keep the iCloud enabled. Using your apple ID this feature will save all the photos and videos that you capture in the iCloud. Using the same apple ID you can view your photo on any ios device or Mac. This would be very helpful in order to get the information of the person who has the phone.
You can access the camera in your iPhone without even unlocking the phone. You simply have to swipe from left to right or click the camera icon in the screen to capture a picture. This feature will allow you to snap photos and videos without unlocking. Now you can take a picture of your contact information.
If the owner is using another device he will come across your pictures as it will be saved on iCloud. This will be very useful for the owner.
Found an iPhone? Make contact or hand it in.
If the phone is protected by find my iPhone the activation lock will prevent you from accessing the device of the iPhone you found. This will protect the phone from anyone like a paperweight. So it's much better if you don't try to use the iPhone you found somewhere.
In case if none of the above tips and steps worked you have to remove the sim card from the iPhone so that you can take note of the carrier and also the number printed on the sim. To find the owner of the device using the SIM ,you have to call the carrier number provided in the sim and let them know the iPhone number, so that they will be able to track the owner's information.
If nothing works the only option you have is to go to the nearest police station where you found the iPhone and place a complaint by explaining to them that you cannot find the owner of the phone.
Now you know what to do when you find a lost iphone. We hope this information was useful for you.