Stolen iPhone. I found an iPhone - how can I unlock it and keep it for myself?

Upon arrival from Thailand, our homeland did not greet us very warmly; at the exit from Domodedovo, my iPhone was stolen.

And to hell with it, but 4,500 photographs showing the birth of Dashaun, a vacation in Thailand and other dear and necessary photographs were incredibly sad.
I didn’t get upset, but rolled up my sleeves and went online to find out what could be done in this case and how to return a stolen iPhone - A procedure that will be useful to everyone who got caught
into a similar situation.

Is it possible to return an iPhone?

Can. At least you can try to do this. But looking ahead, I’ll say that don’t repeat my mistakes and prepare for a possible theft in advance so that you know how to return a stolen iPhone,
when everything has already happened.

How to save and protect files on iPhone?

If you, like me, take a lot of photographs, shoot videos, and for some reason the mac cloud is not suitable for you (it’s not suitable for me because it eats up too much space, and also because there are a bunch of devices on one ID and the cloud drives they are all in one pile).
I advise you to download it from the Apple Store and install the cloud mail

They give 100 GB for free, which is quite a lot. Files are downloaded very quickly and everything will remain safe and sound.
It is also advisable to back up photos and videos in iTunes, which, of course, I haven’t done for a whole year.

How to protect your iPhone from strangers

The first and most important thing is to set a password. Second, download the Find iPhone program and install it on your phone.

Third, find out your IMEI code in advance. You can find out by dialing the number - *#06# and call. Or look under the battery, there is a sticker there. Also, the IMEI code is on the box, if it is preserved.

How to return a stolen iPhone - what to do?

If you did all of the above in advance, then the chances of returning the phone are high.
As soon as you find it missing, go to the icloud website and put your phone in lost mode. You are prompted to enter contact number phone and a message for the person who found or stole the phone. In icloud, in case of loss, there are 3 options - turn on the lost mode, call (the phone will ring as soon as it enters the network, convenient if you cannot find the phone at home), and also - erase the phone remotely.
In fact, the first and last are not much different. I thought that by returning the phone and removing the lost mode, I would be able to recover my photos. This would be the case if I had connected to iTunes or to cloud service apple. If you did not do this, then only the information that was synchronized the last time you logged into iTunes will remain on your phone.

So here it is. There are actually two options for returning the phone: The first is to turn on the lost mode, leave a message about the return for a fee and a contact number (I did this), the second is to contact the police with the IMEI code number. Let's laugh together at the second method and how abruptly all the employees of your police department will run to look for your phone, but trying is not torture, cases of returning the phone through the police have happened. There is no need to explain that if you have friends who work for large operators such as Beeline or Megafon, then this will also help you. IMEI code is like your phone's fingerprints. If a person threw out the old SIM card, inserted his own and uses the phone, then find it by IMEI through operators cellular communication can be done without difficulty. Find and remotely block the phone or find and try to track it - return the phone with the help of the police.
Friends in the police are also welcome.

How I returned my iPhone

I MEI I didn’t know mine, the box was thrown away a hundred years ago, and of course I wouldn’t go to the police.
Therefore, leaving a message to bad people, I began to wait. We didn't have to wait long. Three days later, a notification was sent to the email associated with the apple id that the phone was connected to the network at such and such a time. Great, I thought. I checked the address, children's clinic, hmm.
I wrote a new message in which I addressed the guys at such and such an address with a request to return the phone for a reward (7000 rubles). As soon as the number changed from 5000 to 7000, my new phone I called and with an accent told an amazing story about how my phone was sold to him, and he read my message and of course is ready to return it.
I was terribly happy. To hell with them with seven thousand, choke, you greedy dogs, I thought, but I’ll return the photos!
We made an appointment in the evening, and it’s good that I went with my husband. A flock of tense people of Caucasian nationality gave me a phone and we said goodbye.
Of course, my good Samaritan did not hear anything about the wallet in which the phone was, or about the cards, about 1,500 baht and dollars.

Then the agony began with getting the phone out of lost mode. After consulting with the guys who had repaired our imac a couple of days before, I learned that the photos, bye bye, had sailed away. I should have thought earlier, connected to iTunes and everything I talked about before. In fact, I received content and photos from April 2013, great!

That is. Why the hell should I look for an iPhone, pay to buy it for the sake of photos and files, if they are all stored in the cloud and iTunes? This is not very clear to me.

Take two

Two days later, in the Nike store, in the fitting room, my daughter’s iPhone was stolen. PPC! I blocked him an hour later, but he never came online. I assume that it was immediately used for spare parts.
Yes! Where did this price for my ransom come from? An iPhone 5 locked by the Find iPhone program turns into a brick. There is absolutely nothing that can be done with it other than dismantling it for parts. Provided that you have iOS 6 or higher.
The repairmen mentioned above apple technology They said that the price of such a phone is 5000 rubles. No one wanted to pay me back for five and six, but for seven they returned it.
An iPhone 4, locked in the same way, costs 3,000 rubles.

Now let's repeat:

* Do not neglect the password, it is almost impossible to crack, the phone enters sleep mode after several attempts.

* Install “find iPhone” in advance, if you have an Android, this also works.
* Rewrite IMEI code
* Don't forget to transfer files to cloud mail or whatever you like best. Sync with iTunes.
* If your phone is stolen, block it quickly, I think the Machine was “merged” before I put it in lost mode.

Better not lose anything!!!

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Deep down, it is common for every person to hope that he will never need the information described in our article; I admit honestly, I am also one of many, but...

If you read these lines carefully, most likely your beloved iPhone is not near you and, moreover, you don’t know how to find it because perhaps you lost it, or, worse, someone stole it.

Naturally, you want to return the device and the data on it as soon as possible. Fortunately, all is not lost! There are several ways to find your “toy”. By acting quickly and wisely, it is quite possible to achieve success.

Of course, the location of a switched-on phone can easily be tracked using special applications, or, for example, simply by calling it. Is the picture so rosy and optimistic when it is discharged or specially turned off? Let's consider the algorithm of actions on iPhone example 4S.

How to find a lost iPhone with a dead battery

The hardest part is finding a lost 4S with a dead battery. The iOS8 update provides the following options: telephone set Before disconnecting, it sends a message indicating the last location. The only drawback of the proposed option is the need to activate this function before looking for a broken iPhone.

If it's too late and the 4S is no longer there, you can still follow the tracking directions, but the location will likely be different from the actual location. The tip will also work when trying to find a stolen iPhone with the battery disconnected (there is a high probability that someone has already taken the phone from the specified location).

Make sure that you are using the new iOS 8 option, then, if necessary, searching for a “dead” iPhone will be as convenient as possible. It is necessary to have version 8 operating system (free update: model 4S and above), as early iOS versions will not be able to determine so accurately where you lost your iPhone.

In the 6th model or any other gadget with iOS 8, the application is present by default, but convenient function- No. It's time to make sure that the program is configured to determine the location of the smartphone.

Go to Settings, then iCloud, then FindMyiPhone. Check if the main option is enabled: thus, while tracking down a lost device, it will be possible to use other devices.
Click on the program icon, then switch the “Send Last Location” option slider to “On”.

This will force the iPhone 4S to send its location information immediately before complete shutdown batteries. Communication is definitely needed, so activated mode“on the plane”, the advice will not work. It's rare for an iPhone to be lost by someone. If it is stolen, thieves can deliberately activate airplane mode, thereby preventing the iPhone from being traced.

Once you have configured all this, you can find lost iPhone 4S even when switched off and without alarm. This is quite enough to focus your search on the last cafe you visited, a friend’s house, or another place indicated by the application as the last one.

To detect an iPhone, you just need to use the iCloud.com service, in which interactive map you can find your device. If this is your first time hearing about this service, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with

How else can you track a turned off smartphone?

Then sign in using your own Apple ID and password. After logging in, the application will show the location of all your Apple devices with Find My iPhone installed. Click on a gadget with the battery turned off to see its last location. When you're finished working on someone else's device, don't forget to log out of your account.

Unfortunately, when the iPhone 4S is turned off, some standard actions simply do not work ( sound notification, lost/erased modes). But if you can’t find your phone, you can always activate Lost mode.

When you turn it on, when someone connects their phone to charge, they will see your message and can call you back. If you decide to erase all information, this will happen as soon as the mobile phone is connected again. But if you decide to do this, you will no longer be able to find your lost/stolen iPhone.

If everything indicates that the chances of finding your lost 4S are zero, you can use the Activation Lock and block the gadget. Thus, those who stole your device will not be able to use it unauthorized (to do this, you must know the data Apple account ID).

Useful innovation

By the way, quite recently it became known about a new patent from the famous Apple company. We are talking about improving security - a kind of “zombie mode”: the device seems to be turned off, but in fact it is being monitored.

Of course, some competitors immediately criticized the idea, noting that the company would now be able to monitor its users. In fact, the know-how will significantly secure smartphones and reduce the number of thefts.

It is expected that you will need to enter a password when charging the device. An incorrect code will activate a mode in which the cell phone will appear as if it is turned off, but will be able, for example, to send text messages with your location. Moreover, the iPhone camera will be able to take a photo of the person who stole it and is trying to unlock the phone.

It is very good that the trend towards increasing safety is gaining momentum. Suffice it to recall the positive statistics of the implementation of “kill switches” functions (for example, the same Activation Lock in Apple devices). We hope that the innovation will have a positive impact on minimizing crimes related to the theft of other people's iPhones.

And finally, some tips for those whose phone has already been stolen. Be sure to do the following:

Block your SIM card. If your iPhone, and therefore your phone card with the number, falls into the wrong hands, you risk both your reputation and financial well-being;
Change all passwords. Since very often our passwords (from bank accounts to accounts in social networks) are automatically saved in your smartphone, do not hesitate with this step;
Remove personal information from your phone. If exists backup, you can do it immediately. Even if you did not backup the information, you will still want to erase the data if there is no chance of finding/returning the iPhone;
Warn your family and friends. This will save them from unnecessary worries and the risk of various scams from those who stole or found your device.

Comments: 20

According to statistics, the most attractive mobile device among pickpockets is the iPhone. They are not alone in their sympathy - for me too best smartphone. Today I will tell you what to do if you become a victim of an attacker and your iPhone is stolen.

I’ll be honest: if trouble happened to you and you were “taken away” iPhone odds return it is not big, but still there. The chances increase if your iPhone runs on iOS 5.0 and higher, in its settings in the “iCloud” menu yours is connected and the “ ” function is turned on (the corresponding switch is turned on).

Don’t be surprised if the Find My iPhone feature is already enabled on your device, but the location of your device is not displayed in the application of the same name - for this, several conditions must be met:

If the geolocation of your device is not displayed, then the conditions are not met.

After iPhone connections to the Internet, for example, to activate, the lost mode will be turned on: the device will be locked with a password, your message will appear on the lock screen and the attacker will be able to call the contact phone number you specified. Whether he will call or not is another question.

What to do if Find My iPhone is not enabled on a stolen iPhone?

Then there is only one option - apply for iPhone stolen to the police. How will this help, you ask? Whenever your mobile phone connects to the cellular operator's network, it broadcasts its IMEI. This code is used to identify mobile device on the network: it can be blocked at the operator level and determined by location. They will not provide you with information about the location of your device even for money - this is confidential information, which is available only to law enforcement agencies.

Technically, finding an iPhone by IMEI is simple, but in practice, requests to operators from the Ministry of Internal Affairs take several weeks, and during this time it is not difficult to sell a stolen iPhone on the black market somewhere in Africa, especially if the business is on stream. Unfortunately, if the “Find My iPhone” function is not enabled on your iPhone and, as a result, is not active, there is little chance of getting it back.

What should you not do if your iPhone is stolen?

Let's imagine: your iPhone was stolen with the Find My iPhone function enabled and activation lock active, you turned on lost mode in iCloud, locked the device with a password, entered a contact phone number and a message asking to return it for a reward, and then contacted law enforcement agencies with a statement about the theft of your property, providing IMEI. Further events can develop as follows:

The police officer will ask that the attackers be able to connect the iPhone to cellular network and it could be found by IMEI. If the device is locked with a lock password, then feel free to disable the lost mode - even after this, an attacker will not be able to bypass the password, and you can only reset it.
The police officer will suggest either erasing it completely to search by IMEI (so that the device can be connected to a cellular network). Under no circumstances should you do this! If you remove your iPhone from iCloud or request to erase it, Find My iPhone and Activation Lock will be disabled. Such a device can activate(without an Apple ID password) and use it for its intended purpose. It is not a fact that even if an expensive device is found and it is not blocked on your Apple ID, a police officer will not appropriate it for himself - miracles happen, but rarely!
A person will call you at the contact phone number that you specified when activating the lost mode, introducing himself as a support employee, service center or a secret benefactor and will ask you to delete it or so that he can connect it to the Internet and you will find out where your iPhone is. History knows and. Don't be naive: under no circumstances should you delete your iPhone from iCloud, much less erase it.

Only someone who sees your message and is holding a locked device can call the contact phone number that you specified when you turned on Lost Mode. A sane person will not buy a stolen iPhone, which means it is not a support or service center employee who calls you, but the attacker himself who stole your device (also not a fact, but the probability is high) and who will certainly not return the stolen phone to you.

The stolen iPhone is “offline” in iCloud, what should I do?

If your phone appears offline in iCloud's Find My iPhone app, it means it's not connected to the internet. In this mode, you cannot remotely block (lost mode) and send a message to the device until someone connects it to the Internet. You have no choice but to wait for the notification that Lost Mode has been activated. The letter will be sent to the email address to which your Apple ID is registered.

How long to wait? If your device is locked with a password, it won’t take long to reset iPhone password you need to reflash, connect to the Internet and activate. As soon as the device connects to the network, Lost Mode will be turned on (your message and contact phone number will appear on the lock screen).

If in iPhone settings was not enabled (Touch ID) and the lost mode was not activated (the device is “offline”), the attacker will be able to use the smartphone, but will not be able to disable the “Find iPhone” function, will not be able to restore it in iTunes (), as well as reset the settings and connect your Apple ID. The iPhone will still be permanently locked by Activation Lock.

!Advice
Under no circumstances should you delete a stolen iPhone from iCloud or erase it, even offline. Sooner or later, the device will be connected to the Internet for activation, and you will be notified about it by e-mail. If you delete or erase it, you will forever lose control and any opportunity to return the device (unless the police work a miracle).

In conclusion

If your iPhone, iPad or MacBook is stolen, don’t panic, there are ways to block, find and return the device, but it’s unlikely to be done quickly. First of all, turn on the lost mode, lock the device with a password (if the lock password was not enabled in its settings), enter a contact phone number and a message asking for its return. Then contact law enforcement agencies with a statement about the theft of property, provide evidence that the device is legally yours - a receipt, a box. If a police officer asks you to turn off the missing mode, turn it off; if he asks you to delete it from iCloud, do not do this under any circumstances. Then all you have to do is wait: either the police will find it, or the iPhone will be connected to the Internet for activation and you will receive a notification by mail and be able to determine the location of the device.

Do you have a story about your iPhone, iPad or MacBook being stolen? Share with the readers of our site in the comments.

Buyers of stolen iPhones and iPads in Russia found new way unlocking Apple gadgets. They call former device owners on behalf of Apple: the attackers introduce themselves as company technical support employees and say that the device was detected by the Find My iPhone service. Next, they offer to perform a series of actions that, they claim, will help return the device.

A journalist told a story about how his iPhone 5s was stolen. “I was able to remotely lock it fairly quickly using Apple's built-in Find My iPhone feature,” he says.

It works like this: you write a message that will be displayed on the phone screen, you can track its movement, and erase your data. In this case, all functions of the device except these become inactive. A couple of days later, unknown people contacted Ivan and offered to pay them a decent amount for the return of his mobile phone. When I asked what you would do with the blocked device if I refused, they said that they would take it apart into parts.

The journalist at that time imagined only two outcomes if he did agree: the first was a personal meeting, which would be too risky for them, and the second was the transfer of the amount to them and the selection of the device somewhere where it would most likely be it didn't turn out. Therefore, he offered to pay them when they met, after which they stopped communicating. Having written a statement to the police, the journalist forgot about this unpleasant incident.

However, after this for a long time a certain Maxim Mikhailets called the number they were given at that time. He introduced himself as an Apple support employee and said that his iPhone, which was in lost mode, was found at the Mitinsky radio market, and left his contact number. The journalist contacted Apple for comment.

"This is impossible. Firstly, we do not have the right to do this, and secondly, it cannot be our employee, no matter how friendly he may seem to you, do not provide any data. If you connect it to a power source and try to turn it on, you will see messages that you left several years ago. That's how he found your phone number. There is no way to disable this mode. The main thing - do not follow any links, do not provide your email“says Apple technical support employee Christina.

If you succumb to the scammers’ persuasion and provide them with your Apple ID account information, your iPhone can be unlocked and, therefore, sold. This is probably what the attacker needed. But there is a second option - trying to sell the device to the former owner.

“Unfortunately, many of our citizens follow the lead of swindlers and buy at half price. But in fact, you need to go to the meeting with law enforcement officers and convince them to initiate a criminal case. In reality it is not as easy as I say, but according to the law it should be. They will steal from 100 people, God willing, if 5-10 report it to the police. This is not only in our country, it is the same in other countries. Trade in stolen goods - there is an article for this. Unfortunately, it is rarely used,” says Andrey Knyazev, chairman of the Knyazev and Partners Bar Association.

If the attackers fail to implement any of the options stolen phone, it will be used for spare parts. This is the smallest income. Only small modules can be removed: motherboard, and the fingerprint sensor on another device will not work with it. IN Apple They say that no matter how attentive you are to personal belongings, you should not forget about protecting your accounts. After all, stolen Apple ID authorization data allows you to remotely lock your phone, tablet, computer, and copy your photos and notes. Use complex passwords and two-factor authentication, they advise.

This question is asked quite often in lately iPhone owners. After all, when walking along the street or in any other place, there is a huge chance of becoming a victim of robbers, and these cases are at the moment are not isolated. Many owners of mobile devices of this brand get so used to them and need them that they consider them a piece of their life, because they store a huge amount of information about a person. Among the personal information that iPhone owners value very much are: telephone numbers, addresses, photographs and video files.

Unfortunately, we have to agree with the fact that the best decision after the theft of a telephone device is to continue purchasing a new iPhone. But why is that? This question is typical for owners of stolen phones. They often believe that a mobile device can be easily found by IMEI, which is unique and is found in every iPhone, using specially designed and built-in applications. They do not rule out contacting a specialized structure known as the police. To do this, it is proposed to consider the situation of iPhone theft itself in more detail. The phone was stolen. What to do next? What is the right thing to do in this situation?

First urgent actions

Faced with such a nuisance, a person immediately begins to panic, which is impossible to do. Precious minutes are immediately lost when you can still do something and emerge victorious from the current situation. Therefore, the first recommendation is that you should refrain from panic attacks. This will not help you, but will only harm you, and very significantly.
When a person realizes that their mobile device has been stolen, the first step is to contact their mobile operator. You can contact Apple's specialized service, which provides support to its customers, to block the mobile device, explaining the reasons for this decision. To carry out such actions, you need to know your IMEI, which identifies your phone. Most often, it is indicated on the telephone device itself (open the phone settings or dial *#06#), and you can also find it directly on the box. Of course, it is unlikely that anyone will remember a number of fifteen characters, so save the box to protect yourself from trouble. By changing the SIM card, the phone can be found by learning information about the dialed numbers from the lost device. It should be noted that such information can only be obtained by law enforcement agencies who have a statement about the theft of the phone. The first stage of urgent actions ends at this stage and the owner should proceed to the next manipulations.

Rules of conduct after emergency actions

When a person has followed all the previous recommendations, you can safely contact the local police department. You must write a statement to this government agency, indicating in detail all the events related to the theft of your mobile phone. And here you will need Mobile IMEI devices. Just in case, write it down and take it with you. Let’s not hide the fact that the police almost never find stolen iPhones, but just in case you need to contact this structure. Maybe a miracle will happen and help will be received.
Under no circumstances consider the person who stole your iPhone to be stupid and do not neglect its capabilities. At the moment, a very large number of people are well versed in technical devices and their properties. And members of society who steal expensive phones are even better than ordinary citizens. After the theft, thieves try to flash the mobile phone as quickly as possible and then find it using IMEI number will become almost impossible. The phone will be lost forever.

Last chance to find your phone

Absolutely no one forbids the owner of an iPhone to start acting independently. You just have to remember that you can engage in such activities only without crossing the boundaries of the law. Otherwise, in addition to losing your phone, you can get into other kinds of troubles. Using applications installed on your mobile device, you can try to find the place where the phone is located or do everything to prevent the thief from somehow selling the stolen phone. As an example, we will describe the following advice. Using a special option iCloud service called “Find iPhone,” you can easily determine the location where the stolen device is supposedly currently located. Next, it is recommended to lock the phone and then delete all existing personal data. For such manipulations, do not be lazy to spend a couple of minutes and install it on your iPhone iCloud and activate the option called “Find iPhone”. This must be done as soon as you are lucky enough to become the owner of such a mobile device. All other operations, such as searching, erasing and turning on the ringer at full volume, can be done from a distance. To do this, you do not need to have your mobile phone with you. In addition, these actions can be performed from any other device. This feature is very convenient and indispensable in emergency situations. After performing the above steps, you can block your iPhone and then try to place a message of any kind on its monitor. In the message you can even write that the phone holder returns it or indicate your details for further action. Of course, the attacker will not contribute to your search for the lost item and will not respond to your requests in any way. In principle, this is to be expected. In this case, it is possible to activate a sound signal at full volume for a couple of minutes, which will be heard by many and there is a chance that someone will react and report what is happening to the appropriate authorities.