It's been 11 months.. what the heck do i do with this phone??

[slicksushi11]

Hi guys,

I came on here to get some advice because i don't know what to do.

Someone must have lost their phone because i found it in a cab and i wanted to return it to the user. Thing is they had a passcode on there so i couldn't get through to call anyone. I then restored it but the iCloud activation lock came up. Credentials saying "Help i'm lost call blabla" or something along those lines was there. I called the owner a couple of days later on another mobile number (the number the iPhone told me to call) and he was like "Yeah.. yeah i'm not in the country right now call me in a few days". I called him a few days later, no answer, called him a couple of weeks later - no answer. Called him one last time a month later - no answer. It's been 11 months now and it's been sitting on my table collecting dust and i'm thinking, what do i do with this thing?

I did a CheckMend on it, and it only came up with the following warnings:

Ever blocked CheckMEND has a record this item has been reported LOST or STOLEN to a mobile network in its lifetime.
Currently blocked CheckMEND has a record this item is CURRENTLY reported as LOST or STOLEN to a mobile network.

Hasn't been reported lost to the police or anything - something tells me this dude wanted the insurance money or something... because there's no reason why he's not answering my calls.

What should i do with it? If the guy doesn't want it, it seems a bloody waste because someone else out there who might need a phone could have it. It's got the iCloud activation lock on it...... as well as being classed as lost to O2 (i think it's them anyway), so what's the best thing to do? I can't keep bothering the guy 11 months down the line if he doesn't want nothing to do with the phone.... I don't really know what to do/who to go to (it's been so long now... it wasn't of importance to me, but now it feels terrible to throw it in the bin)....

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks guys .

Regards.:straight-face:

 

[kch50428]

What can you do with the phone? Nothing.

 

[anon4757448]

Something tells me he lost his phone in a cab and reported it to his carrier, got another phone and went on about his life. He's not required to report it to the police and I'm not understanding the insurance reference. After 11 months with no luck, you probably should've taken it to the police.

Anyway, there's nothing to be done with the phone...just a paperweight now.

 

[zerog46]

Drop it off t a carrier. They can do something with it.

 

[HankAZ]

Drop it off t a carrier. They can do something with it.

Yep. They can use it for parts.

 

[kazp3r17]

Could always sell it on eBay for parts!


Sent from my Gold iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[slicksushi11]

Is that even legal kazp3r17? Is he still technically the owner or..... I mean how do you even sell this phone on ebay :s...

Oh it's registered as lost from a carrier, the owner didn't want it... so selling it for parts....

Is it legal?

The only reason i didn't take it to the police was because i didn't have time.. hence why it was sitting on my desk for 11 months... It was the last thing on my mind.....

 

[slicksushi11]

If it's legal.. then fine. If it's not, then i'll just throw it into the Thames . Let me know the response .

 

[Jim Krupnik]

I don't see how it became a police matter. The guy found a bricked phone, called the number supplied by the owner to return it (who never made it a police matter), and even spoke with the owner. The original owner decided to abandon the phone.. Now, after 11 months, it belongs to the finder who took every responsible step along the way. If the phone can't be used on a network anymore, it can be parted out, used as a pretty paper weight, or likely, it can be wiped, and used for everything but network calls via wifi. A fancy iPod/iPad hybrid that would have a ton of use for long into the future. Police deal with crime. Where is the crime in finding a lost phone, talking to the person who lost it, and being gifted the phone by that person through sheer lack of interest over nearly a year? I'd go so far as to see if the phone could be removed from the network blacklist because of the circumstances described...

 

[OBF]

You can sell the phone for parts.


Sent from my Space Grey iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[kazp3r17]

Is that even legal kazp3r17? Is he still technically the owner or..... I mean how do you even sell this phone on ebay :s...

Oh it's registered as lost from a carrier, the owner didn't want it... so selling it for parts....

Is it legal?

The only reason i didn't take it to the police was because i didn't have time.. hence why it was sitting on my desk for 11 months... It was the last thing on my mind.....

I've seen many phones on eBay and Craigslist where people sell phones they have found and couldn't get in contact with them and sell for parts. Most phones on eBay that you see cloud loc


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[kazp3r17]

Most phones seen on eBay are cloud locked just sold for parts mainly for it to be illegal is unknown but the way I see it if it hasn't been claimed with In a year or so and your tried to contact them continuously with no response I see no harm in scrapping it. If you turn it back into a phone company there just gonna unlock it and sell it as a used phone or use for parts


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[kazp3r17]

You'll just have to list the phone as is and cloud locked do not know what company the phone is on.


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[He123321]

The right thing to do is very simple! Find the carrier that the phone is attached too, and drop it off. That's it...