Can I keep a lost iPhone 16 found at my workplace?

Nope.

It's useless to you. There is no way to bypass the activation lock.

Technically, there's no way for you to use it.

Legally and morally, it doesn't belong to you. Google "theft by finding". In many jurisdictions, it's a crime.

Niel wrote:

turn it over to the local authorities.

turn it over to the authorities as whoever lost it might be able to claim it.

Since it was lost in a workplace, the company is the local authority, and they've been waiting for the owner to claim it for over six months.

Basically, this is a legal grey area, but Apple will only unlock units when it's in the white.

(261095)

I'm not sure I'm following you here? While the employer has the phone in their possession, the owner of the phone IS the OWNER of the phone, regardless who currently holds the phone. The employer should have turned the phone over to the local authorities, IMHO as the real owner of the phone likely has no idea where they lost the phone. Either way, there's nothing gray about this. Apple won't unlock for the phone for someone else ever, without the original purchase receipt, which the employer where the phone was lost, nor the person who wants to use the phone has. That's about as "white" as it gets.

Niel wrote:

turn it over to the local authorities.

turn it over to the authorities as whoever lost it might be able to claim it.

Since it was lost in a workplace, the company is the local authority, and they've been waiting for the owner to claim it for over six months.

"We contacted the person, they never came to get it" is rather curious, given that this is an iPhone 16 – not some old phone like an iPhone 6 or 7 that the owner may have been planning to replace anyway.

Why didn't the company offer to mail the iPhone to the owner?

If they didn't make that offer, and the owner was OK with giving the phone away to somebody else, why did that owner place the phone into Lost Mode ("Locked to Owner") instead of remotely erasing it, and removing it from their Apple Account? As is, "Locked to Owner" would indicate that the owner is not OK with giving the phone to someone else.

Basically, this is a legal grey area, but Apple will only unlock units when it's in the white.

(261095)

Niel wrote:

Many places have dedicated Lost & Found departments, and even the police will only hold onto unclaimed lost items for a given period(such as a year) before either returning them to the finder, auctioning them off, or otherwise disposing of them.

(261096)

OK. But it really doesn't matter who is in physical possession of the phone. What matters is that it simply can't EVER be used by someone else without the original purchase receipt. I guess it might make a nice desk paperweight, though.

szshiver wrote:

An iPhone 16 was left at my work over 6 months ago. We contacted the person, they never came to get it. My manager said I can just keep it. Is there any way to override the report of it being lost, even by customer support?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Found a phone

So......someone lost their phone and you think because you found it, you should have the right to own and use it? Think again. Apple won't unlock the phone for you and you should be doing what a good and honest person would do and that is turn it over to the authorities as whoever lost it might be able to claim it. But use it you'll NEVER be able to do.

Hello~ Your manager has no authority to tell you to “just keep it”. They don’t own the iPhone either. So no …there is absolutely not a way for you to unlock and use this iPhone at all.

~Katana-San~

Legally, you are not allowed to keep it.

Do the right thing and turn it over to the local authorities.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

turn it over to the local authorities.

turn it over to the authorities as whoever lost it might be able to claim it.

Since it was lost in a workplace, the company is the local authority, and they've been waiting for the owner to claim it for over six months.

Basically, this is a legal grey area, but Apple will only unlock units when it's in the white.

(261095)

You won't be able to actually use it. Apple won't unlock it for you.

(261050)

No.

Don't forget that the owner still has the ability to track the device so they know exactly where it is. I suspect you would not want someone knocking on your door looking for their phone.

And I don't believe for even a moment:

1. The owner was contacted and still didn't come by to retrieve an $800+ device.
2. The boss said it was okay to keep it. Unless, that is, the boss is a crook.

As KiltedTime noted, "finders keepers" is what children think is a logical argument. Adults call it theft.

Many places have dedicated Lost & Found departments, and even the police will only hold onto unclaimed lost items for a given period(such as a year) before either returning them to the finder, auctioning them off, or otherwise disposing of them.

(261096)

Kurt Lang wrote:

And I don't believe for even a moment:

The owner was contacted and still1. didn't come by to retrieve an $800+ device.

2. The boss said it was okay to keep it. Unless, that is, the boss is a crook.

As KiltedTime noted, "finders keepers" is what children think is a logical argument. Adults call it theft.

I agree with you on both points. I think this might have been better directed to the Author of the thread as opposed to me, however. I think I've been VERY clear I'm not in any way advocating for the Author to have any right to use the phone.

Hmm, my response didn't read well after looking again. I wasn't disputing your points, only adding to them.

Kurt Lang wrote:

Hmm, my response didn't read well after looking again. I wasn't disputing your points, only adding to them.

No worries!