I lost my phone and its locator was turned off. How can I find it if I still have the box, IMEI, etc.?
[Edited by Moderator]
Original Title: What can they do with a stolen phone?
iPhone 15, iOS 17
If you were not using Find My, there is no way to track the stolen phone.
Carriers can track phones by IMEI but will only do so in unusual circumstances (e.g., if a child has been kidnapped, and the authorities have a court order). They won't do it for phones that are merely lost or stolen. Apple does not have any tracking mechanism except Find My, which you indicate that you didn't use.
You can ask your carrier to blacklist the stolen phone. If the carrier blacklists the phone, no carrier who honors the blacklist will provide cellular service to that phone again. This won't brick the phone as completely as Find My and Lost Mode would, but may still make the phone less valuable to the thieves.
If you were not using Find My, there is no way to track the stolen phone.
Carriers can track phones by IMEI but will only do so in unusual circumstances (e.g., if a child has been kidnapped, and the authorities have a court order). They won't do it for phones that are merely lost or stolen. Apple does not have any tracking mechanism except Find My, which you indicate that you didn't use.
You can ask your carrier to blacklist the stolen phone. If the carrier blacklists the phone, no carrier who honors the blacklist will provide cellular service to that phone again. This won't brick the phone as completely as Find My and Lost Mode would, but may still make the phone less valuable to the thieves.
If your phone was indeed stolen … it’s NOT coming back.
Follow the steps listed below, acquire a replacement phone, restore from a backup, and move-on.
If your iPhone or iPad was stolen - Apple Support
Mac Jim ID wrote:
tate_bash wrote:
Please refer to this article —> Find your lost iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
That link is only useful if you had Find My turned on, so no information provided there will be helpful. I guess it is good to know what you could have done if it was turned on.
It might encourage the OP to enable Find My on their next phone.
Note that even with Find My, the chances of getting a stolen iPhone back are slim and none. The main value of Find My lies in
You don't find it when Find My was not turned on. The box, IMEI, serial number are all useless for tracking purposes. I assume you had a Passcode, so you do not need to worry about your data being compromised.
Hey, sorry to hear about losing your phone!
Please refer to this article —> Find your lost iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
Let me know if you have any questions!
tate_bash wrote:
Please refer to this article —> Find your lost iPhone or iPad - Apple Support
That link is only useful if you had Find My turned on, so no information provided there will be helpful. I guess it is good to know what you could have done if it was turned on.
Servant of Cats wrote:
It might encourage the OP to enable Find My on their next phone.
The OP simply was not looking for what they could have done if they had Find My turned on, they wanted to know how they could track it with it turned off and noted that they have the Box, IMEI, etc. A link to a support article for tracking with Find My is not the answer.
In summary for the future:
Turning “off” FindMy only hides the phone from YOU. It also does some other “not good” things security-wise.
Turning “on” FindMy does NOT share your location with others … you have to do that separately.
Lastly, your carrier’s network can always find you … otherwise they couldn’t route your incoming calls to the correct cell site so as to make your phone ring.
How can I find my lost iPhone with location turned off?
