Find My iPhone (Stolen)

Hello everyone,


A couple of days ago I had my iPhone 13 pro Max (os 15.6.1) stolen in Milan city center. Find My iPhone and Find My Network were enabled, but I couldn't locate my phone till a couple of hours later when it was turned on, unfortunately just for few seconds. So I followed the procedure indicated here by apple (If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support) and I marked it as lost and I request to erase it.

The day after the thief turned on my phone, I saw the location and I called the police that in few minutes was there. They asked to me to play a sound on it, but I couldn't because the phone was erased. So I lost my last chance to find it.


Now my questions:


  1. Why Find My network didn't work? The thief for sure walked in a place full of apple devices
  2. Since it is clearly written on the support page
"If you erase a device that had iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or later installed, you can still use Find My to locate the device or play a sound on it."

How is possible that I wasn't able to play a sound on it or to locate it because it had been erased? Did this happened to someone as well? On the ss below you can see that


"The location of this iPhone won't be updated because it has been erased"


Thank you,

Giuseppe

iPhone 13 Pro Max

Posted on Nov 2, 2022 10:57 AM

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6 replies

Nov 2, 2022 1:41 PM in response to PeppeIlMagno

Beware of a common phishing scam: You may get a text or email from “Apple” or “Apple Security” (or sometimes “Police”) saying your phone has been found and to click on a link to see its location. This is NEVER from Apple or from law enforcement; it is from the thief or fence to steal your Apple ID and identity. Delete any such message without responding to it. Apple never gets involved in lost or stolen devices→Avoid phishing emails, fake ‘virus‘ alerts, phony support calls, and other scams

Nov 2, 2022 1:02 PM in response to Mrokircredsz

I used it. If you click on the link I have sent, I followed the steps there indicated, and it is a support page for iPhone and iPad, not for AirTags. It clearly say:


5. Remotely erase your device
If you erase a device that had iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or later installed, you can still use Find My to locate the device or play a sound on it. Otherwise, you won't be able to locate the device or play a sound after you erase it.

Nov 3, 2022 2:23 AM in response to Mrokircredsz

Exactly, this is the problem indeed. 2 days ago was online when it has been erased, I was able to see it but, as soon as it was erased I wasn't able to play a sound on it. When the police arrived on the location the Find My on my apple watch was still able to see it online but the only "action" available was "remove from the account". So they were there, but we couldn't do anything to find it :(

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Find My iPhone (Stolen)

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