can it be tracked by serial number? I am no IT pro but seems once it is registered we should be able to stop a thief
iPhone 5
Nope only way to track or try to locate the phone is if location services was turned on and in the iCloud setting find my device was turned on. That way you could go to www.icloud.com and sign in with the same apple id you used to sign into icloud.
Also the device needs to be on and connected to a wi-fi service or the data service from a service provider.
My understanding is that it may say "offline" for a while but that after some unknown time the device will disappear from iCloud. I have not tested this to verify.
Regards.
You really have no way of knowing the current status of the phone if Find my iPhone doesn't find it.
as it is so easy to bypass and reset a lost phone
