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kelsorick

Q: My iPhone 5 was lost or stolen can it be wiped clean?

My iPhone 5 was stolen can I wipe it be wiped clean?

iPhone 5

Posted on Aug 17, 2013 9:03 AM

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Q: My iPhone 5 was lost or stolen can it be wiped clean?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by King_Penguin,Solvedanswer

    King_Penguin King_Penguin Aug 17, 2013 9:05 AM in response to kelsorick
    Level 10 (132,829 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 17, 2013 9:05 AM in response to kelsorick

    Unless you enabled Find My iPhone on it before it was lost/stolen then there isn't any way to try and locate and/or remotely wipe it. If you did enable it then you could try locating it either via http://icloud.com on a computer or Find My iPhone on another device - but that will only work if it's connected to a network and the device hasn't already been wiped and/or Find My iPhone disabled on it.

     

    If you think that it was stolen then you should report it to the police. You should also contact your carrier and change your iTunes account password, your email account passwords, and any passwords that you'd stored on websites/emails/notes etc.

  • by unoporbruno,

    unoporbruno unoporbruno Jun 5, 2014 12:18 PM in response to King_Penguin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 12:18 PM in response to King_Penguin

    Also remember to call your carrier and report it stolen.  Your carrier will have the ability to brick the iPhone rendering it uselss to whoever stole it.

  • by varjak paw,

    varjak paw varjak paw Jun 5, 2014 12:46 PM in response to unoporbruno
    Level 10 (169,876 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 12:46 PM in response to unoporbruno

    unoporbruno wrote:

     

    Your carrier will have the ability to brick the iPhone rendering it uselss to whoever stole it.

     

    Sorry, but that's not true. All any carrier can do is block a phone from connecting to that carrier's network. A carrier cannot disable the iPhone itself. Not all carriers will blacklist a phone at all, and even if the carrier does, the phone would still potentially work with other carriers unless all the carriers in the country cooperate in blacklisting the phone. Even then the phone can still be taken to another country and used.

     

    It's still valuable to file a report with the carrier, but not in the expectation that the carrier can completely disable the phone.

     

    Also, just FYI, you responded to a post that's almost a year old, and King Penguin already instructed the OP to contact the cell carrier.

     

     

    Regards.

  • by unoporbruno,

    unoporbruno unoporbruno Jun 5, 2014 12:59 PM in response to varjak paw
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 12:59 PM in response to varjak paw

    In Canada, where I reside, their is a stolen device registary in which all carriers participate in.

  • by varjak paw,

    varjak paw varjak paw Jun 5, 2014 1:19 PM in response to unoporbruno
    Level 10 (169,876 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 1:19 PM in response to unoporbruno

    Yes, but that's not the case in all countries. And as I said, someone can easily send the phone to another country. Again, a cell carrier cannot completely disable an iPhone.