i found my lost iphone (2024)

FAQs

What can I do if I found a lost iPhone? ›

Turn the device into local police if that's an option, or to whoever manages lost and found for the park. The owner of a lost phone has an option to display a message on the screen with instructions on how to return the phone, but if the owner doesn't use this feature there is no way to contact them.

You need to return it since the insurance company owns it.

If you do, the thief will have a free phone to use or sell as a working phone. Left in lost mode, it will forever remain in Activation Lock, and only an extremely lucky guess of both your email address and password will unlock it. Even if recovered, an erased phone will be impossible to retrieve data from.

You can find your device, mark it as lost, or erase it remotely at iCloud.com/find. When you sign in, you might be asked to enter a verification code sent to a trusted device. If you lost your only trusted device or otherwise can't get the code, select the Find Devices button instead of entering a code.

Only your carrier can unlock your iPhone. Contact them and request an unlock. After you submit the request, it might take a few days to complete.

Common Law Lost Property Rule

At common law, you may be able to keep the phone if it was lost property but not if it was mislaid property. If this sounds like a weird distinction to you, you're not alone. Lost property is property that was unintentionally left behind by its owner.

Passcode and password: If your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch has a passcode, it's required to unlock the device. Otherwise, you're asked to create a passcode now. If you're locking an Intel-based Mac, you must create a numerical passcode, even if you already have a password set up on your Mac.

Before you buy or sell a second-hand mobile device, you should check to see if the device has been reported lost or stolen. This is because if someone inadvertently buys a reported lost or stolen device the rightful owner may have already requested the device be blocked from accessing wireless carrier networks.

File a police report

While the police may not do much to try and recover the phone, filing a report—which may require the device's serial or IMEA number—means they can trace it if the phone is ever recovered.

The Find My network is an encrypted, anonymous network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that can help find your stuff, even when it's offline. Nearby devices securely send the location of your missing device to iCloud, so that you can find it in Find My.

How to track a stolen iPhone that is switched off? ›

Apple's Find My network can be used to track a lost or stolen iPhone, even if it's been turned off or offline. For this to work, Find My Network will need to be enabled on the iPhone before it's lost. The feature is only available on the iPhone 11 and later models.

'Find My' accuracy largely depends on the device's hardware, signal strength, and environmental conditions. In ideal situations, such as open outdoor areas with clear visibility to GPS satellites, 'Find My' can provide highly accurate location data, often within a few meters.

The safest way to remove the activation lock is to contact Apple Support, though this method is not 100% foolproof as Apple can deny your request. You can use DNS bypass to get past the activation lock, though it may not work on every device.