Phone Stolen-Find My Phone
I Had my I phone stolen and I located it through the app, Find my phone. Unfortuntely, the police won't help out and it's not in the safest neighborhood for me to knock and ask for it back. I was notified by the app, via email (two days after it was stolen) that the phone was now online. It received all the messages and sounds I sent through, the app in "lost" mode. It remained on line for 3 hours. I tried to go to the gps location and messaged, through the app, for the person to meet me at a coffe shop or pizza near his location. I think this upset him/her, as the phone has now remained in locked mode and it moved to a different room in the apartment. Maybe that was not the best move. I am not a very good private investigator.
So, now I am just worried. Can someone unlock my phone and see all that is on my phone? I have recently took pictures of very important personal documents with too much pertinent information, and forgot to erase (my fault). I am very concerned that they could hack the passcode or somehow get into my phone. Is this possible?
The only way they could do it is by guessing the passcode. As long as you put a strong passcode on there, you shouldn't worry about your data. However like Johnathan said, if you don't think you'll be getting your phone back, you should wipe it through iCloud.
Similar Messages
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Did you know that if your phone is stolen, Find my Phone is useless?
Lessons from my lost iPhone. Despite having a pin to unlock the iPhone, you can simply power off the phone with a long press of the power button. Which means that if your phone is stolen and the thief is smart enough to turn it off (is there one who isn't?), 'Find my phone' is virtually useless!
Also, you can use Siri on a locked phone to make phone calls and send messages. There are also enough tips available on the internet that show you how to use Siri to unlock the phone, making all your photos, emails and other information available to anyone keen enough to find it.
I've written to Apple to tell them that a phone lock should really do what it says - LOCK the phone! If you own an iPhone and would like the same please write to Apple at http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html
Perhaps when enough people write they'll actually take some notice!This subject is discussed fairly frequently. Find my iPhone is not useful unless a particularly ignorant thief takes it. It's primary use is to find lost phones, not stolen. Requiring a passcode to turn it off eliminates one way a thief can disable Find my iPhone, but it isn't the only one, and probably isn't the one used by most professional thieves. Among other ways to disable Find my iPhone:
Remove the SIM
Wrap in aluminum foil
Drop in a shoplifter's bag or backpack with its Faraday shield (copper mesh or foil lining)
Restore the phone from DFU mode
The Activation Lock feature, which prevents a stolen phone from ever being used again, except by the rightful owner, is the more valuable deterrent against theft. Once word gets around that a stolen iPhone is useless the market value of stolen phones will drop precipitously, and thieves will switch to stealing Android phones. -
Iphone stolen - Find my iphone application does not find my phone
Dear all,
yesterday evening my iphone 5 was probably stolen.
After I discovered that (approx. 30 to 50 min. after it was stolen), I tried to call my phone, but the phone was already turned off. I went home immediatly, logged-in into icloud and started "find my iphone app" and requested "erase" as soon as the phone goes online somewhere.
The problem I have now, is that several times I logged into that "find my iphone app" in iCloud in my brower, sometimes I received the message that "find my iphone app" cannot start. I did send report to Apple already.
I do have an old iphone 4 as well, which is also connected to my cloud. That phone is online and right in front of me.
When I start "find my iphone app" the phone cannot be found… it says the device is "offline". But it's not.
So I'm afraid now that the "erase" request for my iPhone 5 is useless and does not work.
On that phone is really sensitive data from work, so it must be erased.
Anyone knows what I can do now?
Thanks!
DanielIt sounds like you are doing everything you can given the circumstances. Heres a link that may help. I don't think it has any new information but to make sure you report it to your local law enforcement.
Reporting a lost or stolen Apple product -
What other options are available if your iphone is lost/stolen but it registers as "offline" on find my iphone location services? I imagine if I suspend the services, this eliminates the "find my iphone" features. Feel at a loss here. Anybody have any other information to share on this topic? Thanks.
You can put it in lost mode, which will be executed when it goes back online, if it ever does. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5668.
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Mac stolen, Find My Mac found it, get IP address from Apple?
Five Macs were stolen from our non-profit Friday night. A few minutes ago Find My Mac found one a few miles away, with a pretty good street location (no proof of which house). Apple obviously has the IP address of the location, but it's not in the Find My Mac report (perhaps to prevent vigilantism). Unfortunately neither the police in the stolen location nor the potential recovery location are interested in doing research.
Can Apple give (or be compelled to give) the IP address to the police, so the police can get the street address from the ISP (it's a residential area, so likely cable or DSL)?
Anyone have experience with this? Thanks.I just spoke with excellent Apple support (really, no sarcasm). They obviously have the IP address of the Internet connection where the stolen Mac was booted (how else could Find My Mac report it?). They gave me the phone number of Apple legal that the police need to call to get that IP address from Apple, so that the pertinent ISP can then supply the street address (or the cell ID if hot spot--yes, could be a throw-away) of the boot location of the stolen Mac. The process can take a while, but the perp's (or the fence's) location or ID is the permanent record.
I think the police need to be prodded, but they may say it's too low level. Although they did say our office complex has been a target lately. -
my wife's iphone 5 stolen (find phone not enabled). I had my ipad mail with icloud also listed on her phone. How could I block access to this on her phone without deleting it from my Ipad as the main account. We could not contact apple from vietnam and even went to the apple store but no help.
You change your password for icloud and everything else that you had on the phone
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My husband lost his iPhone today. How can we block the phone. Tks
My husband lost his iPhone today. How can we block the phone. Tks
iphone stolen, find my iphone disabled, now what?
see Kappy response to the OP thread. -
Iphone 5s Lost/Stolen - Questions about Find my Phone on ios7
OK, I have done something very stupid but I need some advice anyway, will likely not ever get my phone back but I'm curious as to how it works.
1) I bought an unlocked iPhone 5s for travel.
2) I installed "find my phone" before leaving Canada
3) I came to China to live for 6 months and I inserted a China Unicom SIM card.
4) I purchased a cell phone plan that has basically no data
5) I then went into my settings and turned off Cellular Data for all apps (this was the stupid thing that I did without thinking).
Therefore, find my phone is off in Cellular Data. Last night my phone was lost and/or stolen. I immediately tried to use "find my phone." As soon as it said my device was offline I realized what I had done and how stupid it was. I did still set the lock and send it a messages so if for some reason it comes online it will be locked, but....here are my questions:
1) Will "find my phone" work over Wifi automatically if Cellular Data is off?
2) If my phone IS in the hands of a thief, is this even helpful? Could a thief just pop out my SIM card, insert their SIM card, somehow bypass my fingerprint/passcode (I know there are hacks for that) and then just turn off / disable Find My Phone? Because if they put in their SIM card and use 3G, but haven't started using Wifi yet, then "find my phone" won't be activated yet, correct?
3) So is my only hope to leave a thief with a worthless brick that they take the phone somewhere and try to use it on Wifi to set it up? IF they insert a new SIM and manage to hack my passcode, BUT they fail to deactivate "find my phone" and then they join a wireless network, would my phone immediately lockUse Find My iPhone to track iPhone only if the following conditions are met:
1. Find My iPhone is ON and activated.
2. iPhone has Internet connection.
3. iPhone is not switched OFF.
To track
https://www.icloud.com/#find
Lost or Stolen
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5668 -
Last week, my gf was stolen and lost her iPad. I thought that everything was lost because "Find My Phone" didn't manage to track the iPad location so the police could do something.
Today, I ended up reading this article (http://9to5mac.com/2014/04/03/ios-7-bug-allows-anyone-to-disable-find-my-iphone- and-bypass-activation-lock-without-a-password/) which tells me that the iOS 7.1 presents a bug where someone can deactivate the "Find My Phone" function without the password.
What are the options here so I can rehave the stolen iPad, which Apple helped the burglar to keep it or even sell it?
Appreciate your cooperationApple didn't "help the burgler" do anything. Did she have a passcode on the device? If so, the thief would not have been able to access any of the functions needed to disable Find My Phone. Also, if the device doesn't show up in iCloud's Find My Phone, it may be that it is simply turned off, or not connected to a network.
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I had my iPhone 5c stolen this Tuesday afternoon while I was at the beach. Immediately after I noticed it missing I called the phone and it was off. I called the phone continuously later that night but it remained off. I did not use the Find my iPhone app until the following morning, however.
The phone has said offline for 2 days now. I'm wondering...is it reasonable to assume that eventually the phone will get turned back on and I will get a location? Or do thieves have ways around this? I do have a passcode on my phone. Once the phone is turned on to the locked screen, is it connected to the internet?
I filed a police report but the police seem to be pretty disinterested in helping me recover my phone. I literally got this thing on Monday and had it stolen Tuesday the next day. I was so excited about my new phone so I realize now I was texting like a little girl out there and probably was an easy target. Never bringing anything of value to the beach again, thats for sure.i m also put passcode in my iphone...but i dont know that how i know that my passcode is crack by someone???and same as police is not interested to find out it..
i want ma iphone backkk........... -
Hi anybody there who can help me ha..? My phone 5s was stolen 1 month ago..Find my phone is no a big deal bcz it seems to be wiped out all data including settings. it might be in use somewhere turning new fresh Gadget. How can i know whether my phone is in use??
You would know for a fact if the device is in use, but if you go back to the find my iPhone app in iCloud.com, you can either select to erase it, or place it in lost mode, in which case, once the device makes a connection to the internet, it will automatically go into that mode.
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I unfortunately just got my IPhone 4s stolen.I thought I had the find my iPhone enabled but I didn't because I cannot locate the phone when I sign in ICloud.I have a password on the phone but i'm not sure if I turned on the option where the phone resets if you incorrectly put the password more than ten time. I immediately called my phone company (Verizon) and reported the phone stolen.So I know whoever took the phone cannot place calls or use the phone. But can they still access my data on the phone if they manage to unlock the phone? If so how can I erase all data on the phone so the thief can't access my personal information? is there any other way other than Find my IPhone to wipe off the data on the phone? I really don't want my personal information such as pictures, text messages, notes and social networks profile available to a stranger!!? Help please!!!
Hello thewrongway,
I'm sorry to hear about your phone! I understand the need for an active device. You are able to activate an old device and process an insurance claim for your iPhone 4s within 60days from the incident date. Keep in mind if the old phone is not a smartphone and you currently have unlimited data that feature will fall off. If you have a tier data plan no changes will be made. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you.
TominqueBo
VZW Support
Follow us on Twitter at @VZWSupport -
Who can help me, to add my Ipad to Deviecs in Find My Phone. I was usually using my Ipad sign in iTunes for download music, but haven't signed in iCloud yet. Now my I Ipad stolen, how can I use Find My Phone?
Welcome to the Apple Community.
You can only locate your device when it is logged into iCloud and 'Find My Phone' is enabled, additionally the device will need to be switched on and connected to a wifi or cellular network.
Unfortunately, you cannot activate iCloud or 'Find My Phone' remotely.
If the device is wiped by you or another, you may not be able to locate the device (although some have reported they can) -
my iphone 5 was just stolen and i dont have the find my phone app or any other tracking app installed previously. how can i locate my device?? please help
If you didn't set up Find My iPhone in the iCloud settings, then you can't. Notify the police and change the password to your Apple ID and any other online services you used from that iPhone, just as a precaution.
Regards. -
My brother got his iphone 4s stolen a week or two ago, he didnt have the iphone finder installed at the time. The phone company just gave him a new phone progammed with the same number is there any way of tracking his old phone? If this is relevant whenever i call him and hes on the phone the phone connects to someone else answering machine.
IF he set up find my ip[hone on the ihone itself BEFORE it was stolen ( there is no app, it is a setting) AND it is on AND it has jot been restored, then you may be able to track it using icloud/find my iphone.
Otherwise, there is no way to track it.
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