
Every once in a while I have a reader ask me what they should do with a lost or stolen iPhone they've somehow come across. In most cases their biggest concern is finding the original owner, as it should be. Unfortunately that task sometimes proves to be a little tougher than some people imagine, especially if the owner has enabled a passcode lock. However, if the iPhone you have found is fully functional, we've got some tricks that can help you get in contact with the original owner faster than you may think!
How to get in contact with the owner of a lost or stolen iPhone
If you somehow end up in the possession of a lost or stolen iPhone, it's not always clear what the best thing to do is. Sadly, turning an iPhone in to a public establishment sometimes gets it stolen by a not so honest person behind the counter, or by a customer that saw you turn it in. If you'd rather take matters into your own hands in order to make sure the rightful owner ends up with it again, here are some things we'd recommend trying in order to contact them directly.
1. If there's no passcode lock, check their recent calls
No one likes invading anyone else's privacy but at the end of the day, there's got to be a little bit of an exception if you're serious about returning the iPhone. I've found two iPhones in the past that were both abandoned, one being at a local Starbucks. The first time, there was no passcode lock so I launched the Phone app and went through their recent calls. I looked for a number that they communicated with regularly. In this case, it was labeled as "Home". That was easy enough. I called it, the person's spouse answered and I explained who I was and why I had the phone. They showed up 20 minutes later to pick it up. Problem solved.
Unfortunately, things get a little more complicated if someone has used a passcode lock.
2. If there's a passcode, ask Siri for help
Most people don't realize that even if you have a passcode lock on your iPhone, you can bypass it to do things like place calls or send messages — unless of course they've disabled this functionality in Settings. However, it never hurts to grill Siri a bit. Here are some things you can try asking Siri by holding down the Home button from the Lock screen:
- "Call home."
- "Call mom."
- "Call dad."
If the owner had relationships set up, you can also try things like "Call my wife." to see if that gets you any bites. The second lost iPhone I found was successfully reunited with its owner thanks to Siri and its ability to call a contact labeled "Home* without me knowing the passcode.
3. Keep the device powered on and answer incoming calls
The one thing you absolutely want to make sure you do is keep the iPhone charged and powered on. More often than not, once the owner realizes their iPhone is missing, they'll try calling it from someone else's phone. As odd as it is to answer a phone that isn't yours, it's in both of your best interest. If someone is calling them, odds are they have more relevant information that is of use to you. And if you're really lucky, it'll be the owner on the other side of the line.
4. Find the IMEI or MEID and contact their carrier
Every iPhone has a unique number called an IMEI (or MEID for some CDMA phones) imprinted somewhere on it. The owner's carrier can use this information to track the owner down and hopefully contact them. It's best to just visit the carrier's store where they can then take possession of the iPhone and handle it from there. If you can't, you can always call the carrier over the phone and start from there. While they can't release information about the owner, they most certainly can help you track them down. If the iPhone is powered on, you can tell what carrier they have by looking at the carrier name in upper left hand corner of the screen. The carrier name appears immediately to the right of the signal bars, or dots. The only thing you need to give the carrier is the IMEI or MEID number.
Here is where you can find IMEI or MEID info for each model iPhone ever made:
- iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5: Printed on the back casing towards the bottom
- iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G: Remove the SIM tray and you will find the IMEI or MEID printed, as well as the serial
- First generation iPhone: Printed on the back casing towards the bottom
If you aren't sure how to remove the SIM tray from an iPhone, you can follow our guide:
For even more help finding and recognizing an IMEI or MEID number, or any other identifying number for that matter, Apple has a great support article complete with photos you can take a look at:
You'll notice that the IMEI printed on all iPhones is 15 digits. If the iPhone owner in question has a CDMA carrier just as Verizon or Sprint, the MEID is the first 14 digits of that number, so simply leave off the last digit and you've got the MEID you need to give to the carrier.
Keep in mind that even if you found an iPhone that won't power on, you can always try calling different carriers in your area to see if they have a record of the IMEI or MEID. Since there aren't a huge amount of carriers in any one area, this process should still be relatively easy even without knowing the carrier off-hand.
A final note about lost or stolen iPhones
Keep in mind that many iPhone owners can either use Find My iPhone to track their device or they can call their carrier and report it lost or stolen. If the latter happens, that phone can then not be activated on many cellular networks, at least in the United States. There is no finder's keepers rule when it comes to lost property such as cell phones. If you find it and don't turn it in, it can still be considered theft. If Find My iPhone is activated and the owner successfully tracks you, they may have gotten law enforcement involved. So keep this in mind if you happen to stumble across a misplaced iPhone. The decisions you make from the second you pick it up can affect you too.
Your advice for finding the owner of a lost or stolen iPhone?
If you've ever come across a lost or stolen iPhone, how did you go about reuniting it with the owner? Did you perform any of the steps above? And if so, were any of them successful for you? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
Reader comments
How to find the owner of a lost or stolen iPhone
Too bad most people are to scummy to return a nice iPhone they found . Even if they think they can't get into it they think someone that can will pay a nice chunk of change for the phone in its present condition locked an all. I wish more people were like you because I have already had two occasions where the person who found my phone taunted me an laughed Before shutting the phone off rendering the find my iPhone app or calling features useless
Sent from the iMore App
They sound like real dicks probably best you didn't meet them anyway
Well I second hand purchased a iphone 6 plus and I didn't notice it needs the original owners icloud account and password but I can't get into the phone to find a way to get a hold of the people so I have no idea how to handle this
Have you wiped it?
Following on from your comment about using Siri… Just ask Siri, "Who does this iPhone belong to?"
Siri will return with who she thinks the iPhone belongs to, as well as their contact information.
Sent from the iMore App
Thanks for this tip!
nice i'm going to go and try this now!
Edit: awesome it works! kind of scary how much info anyone who has physical access to my iPhone can find out about me with no knowledge on my part
Oddly enough, neither James or Ajay's advice works for me. I absolutely have my contact listed within Siri (My Info), but she does not know who my iPhone belongs to.
I am the only owner of this iPhone 5S, I am a savvy power user, so I know that I have my iPhone setup right. My iPhone 5S *IS* on the latest version of iOS 7.1.2.
does anyone else have this problem?
I just tried this and it didn't work.
Never realized that! I'll add it in!!
Sent from the iMore App
Hey, I've been sitting on an iPhone 5c for just over a month waiting for the owner to find it but no such luck. They've disabled the phone and sim card rightfully so, but that also means that there's no chance of anyone ringing it. I've done a search online using icloud.com/activationlock and it seems like no one has activated iCloud so there's no help there identifying the owner. I've tried holding down the home button to activate Siri so I can ask it to dial home/mum but Siri doesn't turn up. Any suggestions? I'm not an iPhone owner so maybe I wasn't doing it right to get Siri to wake up.
If you can pull the sim card, you can contact the carrier. Give them the IMEI number or the number listed on the sim card. They can get in contact with the owner. Alternatively, once you know the carrier, just drop it off at one of their stores.
Thank You--it worked (Asking Siri, "Who does this phone belong to?): and the contact information popped up on the screen. However, if I asked Siri to call "mom" or "dad" it would ask me for the passcode (which I didn't have--because it's a lost iPhone).
I tried this and it just worked...
Ask Siri "Who am I?"
It brought up my contact information.
Works great, complete with Fb page, email, home address, phone number, wife's name, other established relationships etc.
Sent from the iMore App
Wow. And it even works with other people's names, even when locked. I simply said my wife's name and everything came up. I would be okay with just the name with a link to Call, Message, Email, etc, then require the passcode (passcode is needed to message or email, if locked, but not to place a call). But Siri displays everything...?
Sent from the iMore App
And now I'll be disabling Siri from the lock screen. Scary amount of info there.
you can also create a specific contact for yourself that has minimal information-- like an email address where someone could find you (that way you're not giving away your home address and work and all that.) Under Settings>Siri you'll see where you can choose that as your contact if someone finds your phone and wants to get it back to you.
Hell, I would keep the phone and inject a hack into it so that it's basically completely mine.
Sent from the iMore App
I found a phone in the street at a fireworks show out of town. It didn't have a passcode but no one answered when I called all the recent numbers in the phone book. I dropped it off at the closest gas station and explained to the attendant that someone might call looking for it but I was headed back out of town. He seemed to understand the logic. Made sense to me.
Sent from the iMore App
Thanks for the tips!
Sent from the iMore App
I have on my start screen my I.C.E. nr. if someone finds my phone (or me in problems) he/she just have to wake the phone up and sees the number from my wife. No need to dig around in my phone.
Sent from the iMore App
Thanks for the Tip!
When I've found unlocked phones (or plain-old "feature phones"), I just call 611 and tell the carrier that I've found this phone I'm calling from, and ask them how they would like for me to proceed. They may try to call the owner's alternate number(s) on file (home, work, etc.). If they can't reach the owner right there and then, it might mean leaving it at the establishment that you found it at and the carrier rep will ask for the establishment's address, (just in case the owner might not know where it was found at). Hint: ask for the manager on duty at the establishment, don't give it to just anyone.
Another possibility if the phone is unlocked: go into the mail app, make sure you've backed out to the "Mailboxes" screen, then tap the icon to compose a new message. Since you're on the "Mailboxes" screen, it'll pick the default mail account if there are multiple accounts set up. Look at the "From:" field, address the e-mail to this account. Write an e-mail to the (presumed) owner and tell them where their phone will be. Hopefully, the owner has this account set up on another device (computer, iPad, web mail access, etc.) and get your message.
Words of advice: If the phone is locked, the best thing to do is take it to the nearest police station and let them handle it. Don't use the phone's "Emergency call" feature, because a lost phone is not an "emergency".
Also, don't take the phone home with you. It can give the wrong impression that perhaps you stole it, and the owner or police might be able to look at Find My iPhone's map and figure out where you live. Remember that you don't know the mental state of the owner; you could either be thanked, blamed, or assaulted for being in possession of that phone.
Sent from the iMore App
I find it strange that Apple didn't include a feature to put a contact number on the lock screen, especially since Blackberry did that ten years ago. I made a custom lock screen for me and my spouse with each other's numbers. I used a drawing app to make a comic strip word balloon coming out of our kid's mouth, so it's fun to look at, too.
I'll check my contact info in Siri from the lock screen now to see what I'd be giving up if I misplaced my precious.
Two things: I make custom wallpapers for my family's phones that say THIS PHONE IS GPS TRACKED. IF FOUND CALL XXX XXX XXXX for a reward.
I also have a piece of paper with the same stuck to the back of the phone.
Sent from the iMore App
When I was in Ireland two years ago I left my 4s in a gift shop bathroom in the boondocks. I didn't realize it til 3 hours later. The owner of the shop found it and had already called my son and daughter back in the states to say he had it and gave them his phone number. He actually drove about 3 hours to return my phone to me in Dublin. I dread to think what would have happened here in NYC to that phone. Thanks
I have a very unique situation with a stolen iPhone that I need advice for. I currently have a loaner iPhone from an Apple store while the phone I own is being repaired. Shortly after receiving the loaner phone the AT&T network blocked the loaner phone. According to AT&T the loaner actually belongs to someone else who reported the phone stolen. The Apple store and Apple customer service center says the phone is not stolen. I checked the IMEI number on an internet search and the results show the phone is in fact blacklisted and stolen. How could I contact the original owner of the phone? Apple and AT&T are no help and since I suspect the Apple store that I'm dealing with may have a dishonest employee due to this incident and some other odd experiences I've encountered with the same Apple store in the past couple of weeks. Given hassle I've dealt with since getting this apparent stolen phone from the Apple store I would really like to let the actual owner know where there phone ended up. Thoughts?
I know this was a while ago but in a case like this I would suggest taking the "loaner" phone either to the local police and telling them your suspicions about this Apple Store making sure to outline each thing that has created that suspicion or contacting Apple or AT&T corporate with the information. Perhaps all of the above even. That way you are turning the responsibility over to someone else and making sure enough people know about what might be going on in that store and hopefully put a rapid end to anything that's going on and may affect another unsuspecting customer. In the meantime I hope you got your phone back quickly and fixed properly.
Hi, we have just found an iPhone5 in Budapest, Hungary, which seems to have a Californian owner (alerts and time set on the phone), but it is keylocked, cannot connect to the internet, the SIM is also locked so no network neither.
Let me know, if you have any idea how to find him/her to give the phone back.
Cheers
My family was on vacation in Ireland. It was a guided tour and there were 16 of us on a bus. I asked the driver to stop as I had to use the restroom. We were in the middle of the country and stopped a little gift shop. I forgot my iphone in the bathroom. About 3 hours down the road I realized that I didn't have my phone. My friend got a call from daughter in the states that an Irish man had called and had my phone. He drove about 300 miles to Dublin to return my phone to me. I couldn't believe it and sadly i doubt that would have happened here in NYC.
We found an iPhone 5s 8 days ago in St Pancras station.
The phone is passcode-locked and no-one has rung.
Looks like the owner is from the States guessing from texts (travelling/airport).
How can we get in touch to return?
Can't trust to leave with anyone especially as the owner is probably in another country.
Posted a msg on twitter and the phone is on, has been re-charged.
Thanks.
I found an iPhone and used Siri to "call home". The owners dad answered and was more than happy to meet me and get his sons iPhone back. Felt really good to return it and the dad was most appreciative!
I recently found an iPhone 5s and couldn't follow any of the wonderful ideas suggested here because the phone was not connecting to its carrier. Just stayed on "Searching...". I didn't want to try the password in case I locked it permanently.
So, it's essentially a pretty brick. No Siri. No incoming calls. Can't access the phone as a camera to see any photos. What to do?
Try the IMEI number! I found it printed on the back, and entered it into this website:
http://imeidata.net
Gave me everything I needed to know, and not for a fee (like some websites out there, presumably hosted in Russia), including the carrier ("Us Gsm Service Policy"), and where it was purchased ("Best Buy"), and when. Pretty amazing.
So I called Best Buy, and they told me they can't find the purchaser using the IMEI number, and that my best bet was to stop by the local police station and hand it in. They'll contact the corporate channels and ... well, who knows.
I posted the phone to lost and found on Craigslist and another local forum website for the area, as well as Facebook. If no one gets back to me in a few weeks, I'll start looking into how to unlock it.
My kids are the ones who found it and they've been asking me if we can just keep it. I then ask them the question "What if this was your phone and someone else found it. Wouldn't you want them to do everything they could to find you?"
I'll come back here when the saga unfolds and resolves.
My daughter's boyfriend found an I phone 6 in Myrtle Beach, how can I find the owner, I don't trust turning it into the carrier. Thanks
So we just got back from Cancun, MX. We found an iPhone 6 in our stuff. We forgot to drop it off at the front desk on the way out. Trying to locate the owner. Apple is no help and the top corner of the screen says no service. It is locked and I am assuming disconnected/reported missing. We are back here in the states and I am wondering if Siri is multilingual. I am not an iPhone user so I don't know. I will try the "Who am I" trick, but will I need to try in in Spanish if it doesn't work?
bought an iphone 5s 32gig from some 2guys on the streets,unfortunately the battery was flat,they just told me they were stranded they needed urgent money for transport to a funeral.i gave them the money,i got the phone.to my suprise when i charged the phone nand turned it on,it was displaying a message saying ''This phone has been lost.Please Call me.(xxx)3791001.'',then i tried contacting the owner by calling him and texting him on whatsapp but they just texted me back saying''Sorry bruce,i know nothing about that phone and i am not missing any phone''.i still have the phone in my shelf with me right now.what do i do?
Hey, I've been sitting on an iPhone 5 with IOS 8.1.1 for just over a month waiting for the owner to find it but no such luck. They've disabled the phone and rightfully so, but that also means that there's no chance of anyone ringing it. I've done a search online using icloud.com/activationlock and it seems like no one has activated iCloud so there's no help there identifying the owner. I've tried holding down the home button to activate Siri so I can ask it to dial home/mum but Siri doesn't turn up. Any suggestions? I'm not an iPhone owner so maybe I wasn't doing it right to get Siri to wake up.
The IMEI: 99 000276 034871 2
The MEID: 99000276034871
The ICCID: 8967 5030 0051 5241 465
If you're the owner please contact me on my email address [email protected]
Thanks
I found an iPhone 4 today and when checking to see if there was an email associated with it or some way to contact the owner, I spoke with AT&T. I just hate to return a phone to AT&T without knowing whether they will actually follow through on finding the owner and getting it returned. I just want this little girl to get her iPhone back so she can play My Boo, Hungry Shark, and Minion Rush.
Unfortunately it's simply an iPhone 4 so there is no way of utilizing Siri to call someone. :(
I guess this means I will have to trust in the good faith of AT&T now...
Hi I found an I-phone 4s in the road its been run over, it still rings but I cant answer it how can I find the owner the phone is naf but the sim will be ok and they may want it.....I found it in Grantham Lincs Barrowby gate Valley road area
I found an iphone 4 s as well no sim card tho and it is locked
On mack and valley high any luck finding the owner i plugged mine in it says happys iphone??
Found 20 Aug 2015 Grantham Lincs
Hey Cedric Sariku! What's your take? Leave a comment.i was sold an iphone 6 with someone which had been stolen,it was telng me that ths iphone is lost cal this number,i feared put it outside away frm me because i ddnt want any trouble,i threw it away a few days later
I found an iPhone 4s at the Amsterdam Dance Event in the Arena on the 16th of October. I asked around me but no one claimed it and my friend stuck it in his backpack to hand in later. Unfortunately we forgot about it and I now have it home here in Scotland. I plugged it into my computer to see if I could find out who it belonged to but iTunes said it needed updating. Anyway, I got the number, and it is 0646686636 and belongs to someone with the Apple ID ([email protected]). Now, the problem is, I have no idead what country the person is from and have had the thing sitting charged for a week now but no one has called it. Anyone any ideads how I could return this to it's owner? Thanks in advance for any tips.
Hello,
It looks like a French cellphone number. In France all cellphone numbers start with 06.
I hope that it will be helpful.
Have you tried sending a message to the Apple ID and email you have? Also if you have a phone number maybe try leaving a message on the voice mail, I think they can be retrieved without the phone by the owner and there is also the possibility that the person has or will activate an old (or new) phone while figuring out what to do. I know we keep an old phone around for just that purpose, if one of our phones need repair or get lost we have one to activate with the number right away so no one is without a working phone while fixing or replacing the problem handset. Hope I explained that clearly...
Thanks you very much indeed, I will give that a try. :)
Umm, turn it in to the police!
Some of these are great suggestions, I sure wish I could try some. Unfortunately the 5c (not sure which it is) we found was turned off when we found it, presumably because the battery was very low and apparently the password needs to be entered after a phone is powered down before Siri will work again. Does anyone know a way around that? Wonder why there isn't a way to either send a message with contact info to one's lost phone or some neutral site, message board or info screen available to help people connect with phone finders without having to share identifying info publicly. Seems like it shouldn't be hard in this day and age...
Help bro please me remove iPhone 6 iOS 8.4 imei:358374064404665 I'm Albania please help help bro please
I want to find the owner of iPhone 6 imei:358374064404665 please help me bro remove iPhone 6 please help me Apple ID password help please
I want to find the owner of iPhone 6
Help bro please remove brook help help help
Imei:358374064404665 Help brodher
Help
??????
Hey, I have found a iPhone, am waiting to hear back from Apple but they didn't sound to hopeful. Anyone got any tips to find the owner?
plz someone answer me
i recently bought a iphone 5S from some one 2mounth ago. but the phone find my iphone is on . now i cant use my phone. is there any way to open it? it just show me the firs letter of the last owner email just like a......@yahoo.com
is there any way to find the last owner to ask him the password? please someone help me . im really need a aswer
sorry for my bad engilish
and ty for helps :(
Thanks for the tip the siri trick worked on a locked phone found in the bathroom where I worked. The command "call dad" made someones day
Found an iphone (not sure on the model). Called the carrier with the IMEI # off the back of the phone but they say it is not an active phone on anyone's account. I can't ask Siri who it belongs to because of it not having internet. No emergency contact info not that I could read it anyways, language is set to Thai.
Any help is much appreciated!!
hi found an iphone 6s lost on the side walk next to the Majuro police station .it lock on the icloud. the IMEID# is 35444806625727 and IMEI is35+-444806- 6257273 how do i contect the owner of this iphone??
Hello. My boss found an American IPhone 5S (I'm writing from Greece). The phone is wiped out and there is no SIM card. There is a US number listed for a finder to call, and I texted and called it with no results. I only have its IMEI number. What more can I do to to find the owner? Should I contact Apple?