STOLEN IPHONE 4, NO LUCK??

Is there anything that can be done about a stolen iPhone 4. I tried FIND MY IPHONE. Should I at least
Call customer service too report my serial #

Report it to the police and change your passwords.
The only way to track it would be via icloud - find my iphone.
There is no need to report anything to Apple. There is nothing they can do.

Similar Messages

Stolen iPhone? Good luck...

Last Friday, I lost my 4S 64GB to a snatch and dash operation in the subway.
I was reading, absorbed in the phone - easy to do - and just as the train was about to leave a station, as the doors started to close, the thief dashed past, lifted the phone from my hands and was out before I could give chase. I believe I was targeted because I was sitting with a briefcase & a couple bags of groceries at my feet and honestly not paying attention - it was a relatively quiet night on the train (gives room for theives to run, I was told later). Dumb of me in hindsight I guess. Another guy playing a video game lost his phone - 4S 32GB - to a second thief in the same incident. My phone was set up to lock in 1 minute, his was unlocked.
Everyone made a fuss about me trying to find the phone & presumably the theives. I did have "Find my Phone" activated, and was not in Airplane mode.
But really, Find my Phone is a waste of time for anything other than if you've lost your phone around the house & want to make it beep, or if you left it someplace like a restaurant where some honest soul finds it or it goes behind some furnishing or other and sits with the dustballs.
First thing thieves do is turn off the phone & pop out the telco chip. I am given to understand once that's done, "Find my Phone" is useless. I have seen no trace of my phone since I requested a "Wipe" on a cop's phone when I reported the incident. (First thing you should do, other than report to police, is change all your passwords to on-line services. Not only will that keep an unlocked (keypad lock, that is) phone from connecting to them, but it will mean the encrypted p/w data on the phone would be useless if cracked by the thief or someone downstream).
What really bugs me though, is that while the telco can easily route calls to my new phone, neither the telcos in North America nor Apple will do anything to help locate my lost phone, notwithstanding the fact it contains a unique hardware identifier, if not several of them. I believe in Europe there is a means to blacklist stolen phones based on the hardware identifier.
You know, Apple, if you are reading this, I'd pay a modest purchase fee to have that capability, just for the pleasure of being able to shut down some dirtbag's thrill. Or I'd pay my telco a modest fee, monthly even - there's a revenue opporutnity here that would offset the revenue made in replacing stolen phones. All the current policy does is encourage criminality and promote a public safety risk, to victims and thieves alike (the second guy who lost his phone did manage to get out the doors of the train in time to give chase, but he lost the guys - they'd have been mincedmeat if he'd got his hands on them).
I don't know how well the remote locking features work for stolen cars, but for stolen phones, good luck.
So much for my rant - I expect nothing beyond the satisfaction of venting. But if you read this and agree it's ridiculous we can't bring a halt to stolen phones being fitted with a new chip and "restored" as new in some thief's iTunes and then brough back on the network, please post even a brief reply here to give a word of support.
And if you have additional wisdom to contribute to the conversation, go for it!
For example, I am curious where these phones go generally. Do they stay local? Do they go offshore? What happens to them?
Thanks!
gz

For example, I am curious where these phones go generally. Do they stay local? Do they go offshore? What happens to them?
Craigslist and pawn shops. The dirtbags got ten, maybe twenty bucks tops. Good enough for one more hit of whatever it is they're using.
Find my iPhone is like locking your door. It's intended for honest people.
Sorry to hear it was stolen, but
Apple does not read this support forum
Ranting may help you blow off steam but it is against the terms of use here, and
To provide suggestions directly to Apple: http://www.apple.com/feedback/
I'm not being snarky with #3. They do read it.

Why cant apple track my stolen iphone if it connects to the internet after reset. the IMEI number stays the same so i dont understand why they just dont shut it off and call me and the police to inform me about the whereabouts of the phone

Hi, my iphone was stolen around a month ago. After the phone popped up on find my iphone in central london the police decided to be really helpful and instead going to get it they closed my case. Since then it has been offline because the "lovely" individual who stole it obviously reset it. I was just wondering why doesnt apple track phones through the IMEI number. The number stays the same, so if the phone connects to the network they should be able to know that its my stolen iphone. I just dont understand why they dont do that. They have a huge ecosystem, and if someone signs in to my iphone with their itunes account (which they pretty much have to in order to use most of the phones features) the IMEI number gets associated with that perticular account. Would it not be possible for them to realize that its my stolen phone?
Thanks to anyone that answers.

Your carrier can lock the IMEI number, try contacting them. At least you'll have the satifsaction of knowing the theif can't use it anymore. My guess is Apple doesn't block IMEI numbers because they don't want someone selling a phone without record, and then reporting it stolen and causing problems that way. But that's just a guess, I feel for ya. Good luck either way, if it's a locked phone you should be able to call the carrier it's locked to and have the IMEI blocked.

Stolen iphone 3G

if there is anyway to get back my stolen iphone 3G using the IMEI or serial number threw Mobileme or any other way same as Find iPhone??
or is there a way to regester my phone to Find iPhone app without connecting it or dowloading the application??
thanks

If you don't have MobileMe to track the phone or haven't registered the phone with FindMyiPhone, you're out of luck.

Tracked stolen iphone with icloud but 911 needs complete address

Recently my iphone 4 s was stolen and was switched off soon after the incident so i could not track it using my icloud account. Accidently when I was trying to located it via icloud, i suddenly saw it online in a town 50 miles from my place. I called my town police as well as the police of the other town where i could locate it. with great difficulty, i could get a stolen report with my town's police but no help from the other town's police to get my iphone back. They need an exact address to go and check - iclould just shows you an intersection and not the exact address. Anyone had luck getting their iphone back in such a situation? how did it happen?
I even sent messages to this person to return it back or i am going to call 911 but no luck
Thx
Premal

I believe you can track using MAC address and the right tools and a good idea of general location, which means you need to figure it out quickly. Please see following and tell me if you agree: http://sbranigan.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/tracking-and-recovering-a-stolen-iphon e/
As to police resources. Cell phone theft is so easy and lucrative and there is so little chance that the police will even try to help recover the lost property that it is already the most common crime in the country now and is fueling a huge resale and used parts industry. Once I told the Atlanta Police and Airtran that the phone is locked they can both safely throw their hands up because there is no chance that it will resurface on the iCloud grid.
Live and learn.
I now see that other better apps are out there to better protect my property and help me recover it. It is good to know that neither Apple nor the police will be able to help you unless you really know how to help yourself.
Several European countries have national lost cell phone and computer registries/databases that includes the serial number, IMEI and ICCID/SIM address and MAC address.
To me, it looks like Apple wants no part of helping owners/licensees of Apple products to recover "our" stolen property. It is actually Apple's software, I only have a user license. It is not as lucrative to sell/or preload an "owner" controlled and useful "application license" with helpful instructions versus selling new phones. It is all a big money go round so just
iCloud almost appears to be designed to help ensure that you have to buy a new product that you can then download much of what was lost on the new machine or a stolen machine purchased on ebay, craig's list, etc. Not good in my opinion, but such is life, at times.
At least I can be pretty sure that I do not need to do a remote wipe scrub because to restart they have to wipe out. Thanks for feedback. Very useful!

Stolen iPhone 4 and follow-up Call from Apple

Hey guys,
My girlfriends iPhone 4 (32GB locked to Rogers) was stolen about a week and a half ago. She had Find My iPhone on it and we used it to lock and clear the phone right away, but since the phone was already turned off we were not able locate it. We get an e-mail the next day from the app saying that the lock and message were sent, which means the person who stole it probably turned it on. We still weren't able to locate the phone using the app so we just assumed they re-formatted the phone, cleared it, and logged out of iCloud. We thought end of story, we lost an iPhone, but there's nothing we could do. We go to an Apple store, tell them the phone was stolen and they proceed to use Find My iPhone to clear and lock the phone again (they say they weren't allowed to brick it and we weren't given the option to report it stolen).
Anyways, fast forward to a week later (night of Monday, Nov 5, 2012). We get a call from apple (call center 512-674-2000). The caller is Betty who works for Apple and she asks us if we have sold an iPhone on kijiji/eBay recently. We tell them that we've actually recently had the phone stolen and ask if someone's returning it. They say not quite, just that someone was tryign to contact apple with the iPhone's serial code. Unfortunately at this point the phone is very low on batter (<10%) so we ask if they can call back at another number. Betty says okay. We don't get a call back.
We call back the apple number that called us, but the call center is closed (it was around 8:15 EST). So we call the Apple Canada Hotline (we're from Toronto). The issue gets escalated to a manager and they're pretty much saying there's no notes on why the call was made. There definately has to be a reason for apple to call us asking if the phone was sold right? They tell us to call the number that called us earlier the following day to see if we can contact Betty who called us earlier. However, they do tell us that they ahve on their record that Betty called us, and prior to that, someone called with an issue about the stolen iPhone's serial code (we had not called in).
So we wait until the next day can call the 512 number. Pretty much we keep getting passed around with people telling us they can't do anything since there's no notes on the file and they can't redirect us to Betty.
My question is: There HAD to be a reason why they called us right? The phone was stolen at a friends house, where we thought we knew everybody. If we can get any information on who the original call was from maybe we can find out who stole the phone? Has anyone had a similar experience or does anyone have any advice on what to do? I'm sure apple knows something, but they are just not telling us. Sorry for the lengthy post, just wanted to get all the details out there! Thanks for any help!

But if an issue is reported using the serial code of the stolen product, could they not tell me what number it was called from?
I understand that they can't do much, but I just wanted to know the original reason why Apple called us in the first place to ask whether we sold the iphone on kijiji or eBay recently.

Stolen iPhone, updated to iOS 7

Hello everyone.
Two days ago, my iPhone was stolen. Fortunately, I had updated my software to iOS 7, which I hear has upgraded its security features. I'm not sure if there is a way around it, but I believe that you need a person's Apple ID password to wipe/reset the device, as well as to turn off Find my iPhone.
Fortunately, I did have Find my iPhone turned on. However, I have logged onto Find my iPhone on my Macbook Pro, which indicates that my iPhone is offline. I tried to set up "Lost Mode", but of course, that only works if your phone is online. Therefore, the Lost Mode request is pending. The thief must have turned off airplane mode for a moment though, because for a brief period of time (a minute maybe), I did receive email notification of his location. However, the Lost Mode request still did not go through.
I am wondering, can the thief do anything with my device? I have suspended my cell phone service (so I know that Find my iPhone will no longer work unless the device connects to wi-fi). Since it requires my Apple ID password to reset the device, which only I know, is my iPhone at all useful to that person? Especially since I am assuming that they would like to sell the device.
I am still hoping, although very unlikely, that my phone will be returned to me, especially since purchasing a new iPhone 5s could take several weeks.
Any and all comments would be appreciated, as well as advice from anyone who has experience with a stolen iPhone.
Thank you.

What you gather is correct.
Report to the police and change all password used in iPhone.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2526

I reported to Austin Police Department about my unlocked iphone was stolen last week. I'm ****** off that Serial number of my stolen iphone is on another Apple ID. IMEI still is not added into blacklist. How can I contact to Apple Inc??

I don't understand why Austin Police are not doing to detain theft when I showed an location with valid address according Find my iPhone on icloud.com. They said that it might be wrong location but few blocks were correct location. I stopped at Apple Retail Store to get another unlocked iphone. I explained an employee whether they would add both IMEI and serial number into blacklist to make useless for anyone. They said they have nothing to doing.
I'm shocked today that IMEI number is still not added into blacklist. Serialnumber of my stolen iphone is already on another Apple ID, after restoring it.
They let me down because unlocked iphone is EXPENSIVE, it costs $800 in Canada.
How can I deal with Apple Inc to add both serial number and IMEI into blacklist UNTIL i get my stolen iphone back

What blacklist? There is no universal blacklist in the US. They're working on it, but it does not exist as of this writing.
Apple can't do anything about it. They are not a law enforcement agency.

How can I restore data from my iCloud account on a new iPhone 5c with a previous SW version that my old (stolen) iPhone 5?

Hello everybody,
I need help to restore data from my iCloud account on an unused iPhone 5c because my iPhone 5 with a newer iOS update was stolen. When I try I get a message that I cannot retore my data because the iOS on my iPhone 5c is an older version than on the stolen iPhone 5.
There must be a way to do this. I hope to hear from you
thanks!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You cannot. However, you can solve this problem by setting the iPhone as a new device and upgrading iOS in Settings -> Software Update.
After upgrading iOS, open Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings. Finally, Setup Assistant will let you restore the backup.

How can someone use a stolen iphone? does erasing the phone (which I feel like I should do) make it easier for the thief to use the iphone? If I don't erase it, it doesn't seem like anyone should be able to use the phone because of my password.

how can someone use a stolen iphone? does erasing the phone (which I feel like I should do) make it easier for the thief to use the iphone? If I don't erase it, it doesn't seem like anyone should be able to use the phone because of my password. Also, is it possible to retrieve anything that has been sent to the phone (i.e. text messages) since it was stolen through icloud? The "find my iphone" app says the device is offline but it rings when I call my number -- any idea how that would be the case? Thanks!!

You have a password, so good move on your part. Whether you erase it or the thief does, they still get to use the iPhone as theirs. Which is more important (pick one), protecting your data or punishing the thief?
Ringing occurs at the carrier. Chances are you're going to voicemail after only two or three rings. If you have an iCloud backup also a good move. Re-read my question in the first paragraph.

What can you do with a stolen iPhone?

My iPhone 5s was stolen last Sunday. Since then I have put a block on the SIM and, using 'Find my iPhone', have set the phone to be erased. 'Find my iPhone' shows the phone as offline all the time (I believe I had cellular data disabled on the phone). I was using a passcode lock on the phone and my Apple ID uses two step verification.
Does this ensure that the thief can do nothing with the phone, not get at my data, e.g. contacts? Or are there still ways of using a phone in such a condition, e.g. via a jailbreak? What can a thief hope to get from the phone?
Any information might help me to sleep better :-)

One additional question: I have been looking at the https://www.apple.com/privacy/docs/iOS_Security_Guide_Oct_2014.pdf and right at the start it says:
Entering Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mode
Restoring a device after it enters DFU mode returns it to a known good state with the certainty that only unmodified Apple-signed code is present. DFU mode can be entered manually: First connect the device to a computer using a USB cable, then hold down both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons. After 8 seconds, release the Sleep/Wake button while continuing to hold down the Home button. Note: Nothing will be displayed on the screen when the device is in
DFU mode. If the Apple logo appears, the Sleep/Wake button was held down too long.
Does this mean that my stolen iPhone isn't (for the thief) just a brick but that he/she can restore data from some other backed up iPhone and make the phone usable again? I guess my data would be protected but it still gives the thief a saleable phone.

Stolen iPhone 4S...any way to track it? other than using the Find My Iphone app

Hi. So yesterday, my iPhone 4S got stolen while I was in PE class.
Immediately after I realized that it was gone, I called my dad and he cancelled the service for me (Verizon) so that the person who stole it would not be able to use it.
I've been checking my phone's status on the Find My iPhone app regularly, but it keeps saying that it's offline.
So I was wondering, are there any other apps, websites, ANYTHING that I can use to find out where my phone is or turn it on? (so i can track it..)
also, i didnt have iCloud on that phone.
(as in i didnt turn it on on the phone itself)
is there a way to get all my photos that i had on my old phone back?
for example, if i get a new iphone, would i still be able to transfer the photos that were on my stolen iphone onto my new phone? (without iCloud....just using the same apple id user and pass)
Thanks.
O and one more thing..I read on other sites that I shouldn't contact the police because they just file a report and put the case aside.
Do you recommend that I still report it to the police..just in case?

Just so you don't hold on to that sinking feeling for not taking out every possible precaution aside from just leaving your phone at home and not using it... after having your phone stolen or .. lost:
I paid the insurance to cover loss or damage for two year... (really dumb of me since the deductible is $200. USD: more than I can buy the exact phone online and more than I could have sold mine if I had sold it online; (iphone 4 -32g). So don't kick yourself for not having insurance if you didn't.
I had all apps turned on: PhotoStream (which would have had to be active on your phone in order to retrieve photos to your pc or your mac now that it is lost). However, it is only as good as the last internet connection you were on and only if your were on that connection long enough for the photos to upload to photo stream. I was able to cover photos from Beijing and not the remaining 3/4 of my trip's photos.
Any photo app you may have been using most likely has an online access. Did you download a photo app? Start there. Do you have an itunes account? You can see what apps you have downloaded from there. If you use a mac you can see the photos in photo stream, (a sunflower icon).
Even if you had registered and jumped through all the hoops keeping app and updates up to par and a security passcode in place on the phone itself, your i phone tracking is not going to work at all unless the user is able to connect to the internet. This is not going to happen unless they can access the internet by having your passcode. So this tracking system, insurance and protection code is in most all cases a false since of security. It doesn't help you 95% of the time... i am guessing.
The except is possible I know.   I found two iphones one time and saw the owners request to call them that was sent from the tracking system. I called and returned their phones.   The people who have my phone have most likely dismantled it and are using the parts to recreate replications.... i lost it in China, lol.   where I saw massive fake reproduction within buildings that consume 7-15 floors and about 8 city blocks. So, it isn't always about your information: in this case they wanted the hardware. Which brings up the next point.
In the iphone tracking portion of icloud.com there is an option to erase the phone. I am not sure if this makes it unusable for the new owner of default or if it just clears your crap so they can actually use the phone.   I've left my stuff on the phone thinking it is most likely already in pieces. (a kinda Frankenstein-ish feeling when I think about it).   If you erase you phone via the icloud it seems you are no longer able to track it. it cuts all of your ties and abilities to do anything... if you could do something. ... hmmm.
So, do not bother with phone carrier insurance on phones: better to make sure it is covered in a home renter's or owner's policy. You have to specifically ask this of your agent or it is not a part of your coverage. This will cost you less than the usual cell phone insurance, shouldn't be more than $5. per month. (i paid $10!! .... should be a class action going on somewhere around that in itself).   Phone carrier insurance is a scam from A to Z these days... don't fall for it like I did. Yes, it was once a useful tool. Just make sure your home owner/renters ins deductible is not the same value as the phone.
So, do not fret that you did not have this "service" activated. Do however, check to see if you can download Photo Stream to any computer and access your last uploaded pictures from the phone. This application was most likely on your phone. Although you would have had to tie it to an account on the phone in order to tap into photo in a cloud of sorts.
Hope this helps if nothing more but to ease the pain.
ferfer

Does moving my service to a new device prevent me from tracing my stolen iPhone?

My iPhone was recently stolen. It was powered down at the time. I am using the "Find iPhone" app and have the phone set to "Lost Mode Pending". If I move my phone service to a replacement iPhone would that prevent the Find my iPhone app from locating the stolen phone even if someone powers it up?

The tracing is based on the stolen iPhone having Find My Phone turned on, linked to iCloud, and the iPhone must be powered up and connected to the internet. Anyone of those is missing and it cannot be found.
The tracing is not dependent on the phone service provider unless you cannot access your iCloud account.

STOLEN IPHONE - IS IT POSSIBLE TO FIND IT?

Is it possible to find my stolen iPhone through the imie code? using iphone makes sense when you have an Apple ID. Is it possible to find my iPhone through IMEI if someone restored the pjone and connected it to a new Apple ID? That would mean that one IMEI is in two Apple Accounts. Is it possible to find out that?
Second question - I didn't have Find My Phone software on the stolen iPhone, but installed it on another (old one i have) and it showed both iphones the old one i am using now and the stolen one. The fact that the stolen device appears in my account means that the phone has not been restored or it could have been restored and now works in another account?
Thanks for information in advance.

Dear AnaMusic,
I read the infomration in the link you sent me, but there is no information about the option 'report a stolen device'. I can't see any option like that one. I can see only that I can look for it through 'Find My iPhone' application, which, I heard, is useless if the telephone has been restored.
Where can I report a stolen iphone?
regards,
Martin

My phone was stolen iPhone in Spain in Barcelona and I am a tourist from Kuwait and police asked me the phone number and was revised in Kuwait promised now and recorded me on to your site, how can I restore my phone stolen

My phone was stolen iPhone in Spain in Barcelona and I am a tourist from Kuwait and police asked me the phone number and was revised in Kuwait promised now and recorded me on to your site, how can I restore my phone stolen

Log in to your icloud account: www.icloud.com
you can track your phone in find my iphone. There is also an option to delete iPhone contents.
Please not that find my iPhone in icloud must be on in order to locate it in the map and also need to be connected to internet.

STOLEN IPHONE 4, NO LUCK??

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for