Once you exhausted all efforts to find the owner on the device, check with the police to see if it has been reported stolen or is needed for evidence. If all is clear with the authorities, you do have the option of selling it or even unlocking it and using it yourself.
You can be arrested for receiving stolen property. Then call the police and report them if you like. Yes, if the phone is stolen and you are caught with it, you would be in possession of stolen property. Receiving stolen property is a crime, whether it's a phone, a TV, a car, etc.
If it's listed as stolen then the original owner is known, and it must be returned to them. Any money he has paid to the thief is lost and his only redress would to be to attempt to get it back from him.
In most cases, the first question we hear from theft victims is can someone unlock my stolen iPhone? The answer is YES. There are many ways a thief can unlock a stolen phone. They can exploit everything from your saved bank credentials to personal images and videos stored on the device.
So long as the stolen iPhone is still listed as a device in your Find My iPhone app, it cannot be unlocked and used until your Apple ID and password have been entered or until the iPhone has been removed from your Find My iPhone account.
If your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or Apple Watch is lost or stolen, you can erase it in Find Devices on iCloud.com. To sign in to Find Devices, go to icloud.com/find.
Method 3: Use iCloud to Find Your Lost iPhone Even When It's Powered Off/ Factory Reset. You can also use iCloud's website to track your lost iPhone even if it has been powered off or doesn't have enough battery backup.
Apple recommends users reset a found iPhone using iTunes partly because it not only removes the settings and information on your iPhone but it will also install the latest version of iOS automatically.
Look for your device on a map
To find your device, sign in to iCloud.com/find. Or use the Find My app on another Apple device that you own. If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch doesn't appear in the list of devices, Find My was not turned on. But you can still protect your account if Find My was not turned on.
You cannot. There is no function or method to finding a device using the serial number for it.
They are phishing scams. Apple does not take reports of lost or stolen devices, they do not search for, track, monitor or anything else about such items. They will never contact anyone about their lost or stolen device since they literally know nothing about that.
Can Police Track Your Phone? The police won't track your phone without reason, but they can access your device's location history in an emergency or if they suspect criminal activity. Once they have a warrant, the police can access a phone's GPS data through a cell provider and view its current or last known location.
If you believe your phone has been stolen, file a police report. Although law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate every case of a stolen phone, if you're able to tell them where your phone is (using a finder app), they will be more likely to be able to help you recover it.
If the missing iPhone is switched off or showing offline in Family Sharing, you can still activate Lost Mode or remotely erase its data via Find My iPhone. Note: The iPhone? s last known location remains only for one day. In case your device is offline for over 24 hours, you cannot trace its last location.
You need the Apple ID and password that was used when the device was first set up. If you don't know that, you can't remove the Activation Lock. If this is a used device, the previous owner needs to go to https://www.icloud.com/find/ and erase the device, then remove it from their account.
If you can't remember your passcode when you try again, use a computer to put your iPhone in recovery mode. Recovery mode allows you to erase the iPhone, giving you access to set it up again. After you erase your iPhone, you can restore your data and settings from a backup.
When the Find My iPhone feature is turned off, you can factory reset iPhone without Apple ID by entering Recovery Mode. This allows you to completely reset your iPhone without entering the Apple ID, and the iCloud activation lock will not show up.
Cops themselves don't use the IMEI tracking software. There are currently some scenarios where call tracking is a little more difficult. In such cases, the SIM card is more likely to be replaced. So tracking by phone number is useless.
Some thieves will use the information they find on phones (such as photos, texts or emails), then use it to hold the original owner to ransom. The best thing to do is to remotely wipe your phone as soon as you find out it's stolen – this can be achieved with apps such as Find My Device (free – Android and iOS).
By cutting this off, your phone cannot be tracked via cell tower triangulation or GPS. The only location that can be discerned using these methods is that which was last shown before the device was turned off. So, the general answer is no, your phone cannot be tracked when switched off.
You cannot track the location of an iPhone through the IMEI or Serial number. It can only be done through the Find My app and only if Find My was activated on the iPhone before it was lost/stolen. If there is no service on the iPhone or if Find My was not activated, then it cannot be digitally located.
If you turn on Find My network, you can locate your device or item even if it's not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. The Find My network is an encrypted anonymous network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that can help you locate your device or item.
A mobile phone can be tracked using an IMEI number to know the phone's exact location. IMEI tracking can be achieved through the mobile operator, law enforcement agencies (e.g. the police) or third-party apps. The IMEI information is kept in EIR, a database managed by the mobile operator.
AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss covers You for repair or replacement of Your device in the event of Theft or Loss, Accidental Damage or Battery Depletion and access to Technical Support from Apple (as set out in clause 4.5). The Policy is sold by Apple and Apple Authorised Resellers.
When you make purchases using Apple Pay on the web or in an app from a participating merchant, you can use Order Tracking in the Wallet app to view: Order status, an estimated arrival time, or if there are any issues with your order. Your order number, purchase total, and the status of your payment.