Stolen iPhone is in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; what can I do?

My iPhone 15 Pro was stolen out of my husband’s hand by an e-bike bandit on August 15 in London, and today it showed up in Shenzhen. 😤 Doesn’t seem to be the same location as many other commenters but on Google Maps it looks to be an area of factories. Before that it went a couple different locations in London, including one of those sketchy mobile shops... They’re probably in on it. I added that to the police report but have never heard anything back from them. I wish they’d go bust these rings since we literally have their locations!!

Thousands of stolen phones arrive each day at a huge remanufacturing plant in Shenzhen China.

Thieves have found out that it is much easier and faster to sell the phone to a "fence" for instant cash than it is to try to sell the phone to another user.

My iphone 15 pro was also stolen just two weeks ago by an e-bike thief on West London, and phone is now pinging in Shenzhen Guangdong China. I’ve been reporting the address to Met Police but they never attended the London addresses I gave them, and they now closed my case. Hope Apple and Met Police do something about it!!!!

[Edited by Moderator]

It has been stated multiple times that Apple does not get involved with lost or stolen phones, so you should not expect participation from Apple. The police will rarely do any more than keep a report on file of thefts.

On the plus side, Apple is looking at ways to make it more difficult to use iPhone parts to remanufacture phones.

Same issue here, phone stolen it was showing on Upton Park ( London ), they were sending me messages, then appeared in Shenzen.

This is just a theory:

1.- They buy the same phone and then they return the stolen one, then it goes back to the factory.

2.- There is way to unlock phones and then it shows on Shenzen,even if it is not there. ( All the dodgy phone shops are involved in that).

Apple please do something about it!

Mine too! Stolen in San Diego at a concert on July 21 2024, finally showing up at the same spot in China. I received a notification today from Activation Lock that someone was trying to access it. I marked it as lost same day, and still have a pending erase request.

All these specific addresses reminded me of a story I had read about some family out in the boonies in Kansas whose property was constantly being raided by various law enforcement agencies, and all false alarms.

It turned out that the cops were drawn there because it was the reported locate of some kind of tracking device. The system that tracked them (not GPS, I guess) had some limitations under certain conditions and could not exactly pin-point the location, so it reverted to reporting a default of the "centre of continental U.S.A." and gives those coordinates. That's where this poor family lived.

I wonder if something like that is happening here?

After all, some macOS apps still assert that my location is in a metro area 50 km northeast of me, and I think it's a misfeature of my ISP's system.

Phone stole in London !! Now it is in China, Nanyuan Road, Shenzhen, China !! - clearly the U.K. Police won’t go chasing but Apple definitely should investigate further.

My phone was stolen in Bristol mid march, three weeks later it was showing in Dubai and today it has moved to China near Shenzhen too! Definitely something dodgy going on.

Hello~ Yes…something “dodgy” is going on. There is big business in stealing iPhones.

If your iPhone or iPad is lost or stolen - Apple Support

~Katana-San~

Hello~ Read my prior posts. These iPhones are stolen and resold …it’s big business.

~Katana-San~

My iPhone 15 Pro max has been stolen 2weeks ago from London and now it’s showing in exact same location - Shenzhen , China . Can this be investigated ?

Hello~ Investigated by whom? We are fellow forum members like yourself. Apple doesn’t get involved in stolen devices. It is a big business to steal iPhones and send them overseas.

~Katana-San~

You do realize that there are other huge plants in China that remanufacture other brands of phones, correct?

Thousands of phones arrive each day at these facilities.

Maybe this answer will slow down new posts to this thread............

Apple does not get involved with lost or stolen phones.