Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 1

5 points

I locked my stolen iphone 5 at icloud

hi everyone i lost my iphone 5 with ios 7,0.1 two weeks ago and i went icloud to lock it and i add a personal msg to it that if anyone finds it should call me with a phone number...now someone called me that hes seen the phone and its asking for activation email and password (this means my icloud lock worked) hes demanding a huge amount of money for the exchange of the phone and i dont have . i want to know if he can bypass the activation and use the phone.

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.1

Posted on Nov 4, 2013 7:11 PM

Best reply

gail from maine

Level 9

52,575 points

Posted on Nov 4, 2013 7:15 PM

Hi culture.bii,

No, the thief basically has a brick on their hands. With the new security measures on iOS 7, there is no way the thief can ever use the phone. Don't erase it whatever you do. They have a useless paperweight. Tell them congratulations if they call you again. They have a useless item that is worth absolutely nothing....

And extortion is illegal, by the way. I would get the police in touch with your extrordinarily stupid thief....

Sorry you don't have your phone, but you can be rest assured that neither does the immoral pig who stole it from you....

Cheers,

View in context

35 replies

Jan 3, 2014 10:22 AM in response to culture.bii

Hi Bii.. My brother bought an iphone 5 from ebay.. But its icloud locked.. and the owner of the phone is from Australia I guess.. Theres a crack in the glass of the iphone.. I saw uve posted here.. So Tell me about ur lost messege u've sent to the phone.. Reply fast..

Jan 6, 2014 5:26 PM in response to culture.bii

I think i bought someones stolen iPhone from craigslist, i am in nyc btw. anyone?

Jan 6, 2014 5:31 PM in response to lindows.exe

If you bought a stolen iPhone you have just lost your money. There is nothing you can do with it.

Jan 6, 2014 6:39 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Didn't know it was

Jan 6, 2014 6:45 PM in response to lindows.exe

Whether you knew or not a stolen iPhone can never be activated again, except by the rightful owner. This is a new feature called Activation Lock. Other smartphone manufacturers are also getting on board with this concept.

Jan 7, 2014 11:12 AM in response to lindows.exe

Maybe I had my iphone 4s 64GB stolen in NYC Christmas eve. It is AT&T compatible and had a turquoise Speck cover although I'm sure that is gone by now.

Jan 7, 2014 11:42 AM in response to lindows.exe

Maybe I had my iphone 4s 64GB stolen in NYC Christmas eve. It is AT&T compatible and had a turquoise Speck cover although I'm sure that is gone by now.

<E-mail Edited by Host>

Jan 7, 2014 11:42 AM in response to staceygreene2003

It's not a great idea to post your email address in a public forum viewed by millions of people, and scanned by evildoers looking for email addresses to spoof, phish against, or spam.

Jan 21, 2014 9:39 AM in response to culture.bii

Just to confirm what others are saying, with activation lock the only way they could get it unlocked is by you removing the device from your iCloud account, or if they can magically get their hands on proof of purchase. ACTIVATION LOCK FOR THE WIN!

Jan 21, 2014 8:02 PM in response to richardsoper

Hi richardsoper,

Proof of purchase is not something that will help with Activation Lock. The only way that the device can be retored is if the person who is logged onto iCloud on the device turns off Find My iPhone. The only way to turn off Find My iPhone is by entering the passcode that belongs to the Apple ID into the device when asked, or to log onto the iCloud account and to turn it off there.

Both actions require the passcode of the Apple ID in question. There is no way around this. Anyone who steals an iPhone that has Find My iPhone turned on, is basically holding a brick:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5818

Cheers,

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,227 points

Jan 21, 2014 8:33 PM in response to gail from maine

Which is, of course the point, given the huge uptick in iPhone thefts over the past few years.

Once it becomes known that theft of a Find My iPhone-enabled iPhone results in a useless brick, theft rates should begin to fall.

Jan 21, 2014 8:34 PM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Yup

Jan 22, 2014 2:11 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

I'm not so sure thefts will actually fall. Thieves wont care whether it works or not and just sell it on for the money... there's always some fool that will part with their money.

Jan 22, 2014 7:45 AM in response to wesley-nl

Well, you are right about that, but purchasers of 2nd-hand phones are becomming aware of the pitfalls of not checking to make sure that the previous owner does not still have Find My iPhone turned on on the device. Eventually, thefts will slow down because more consumers will be aware that a phone that is not totally wiped is likely a stolen phone.....

katypick

Level 1

0 points

Jan 28, 2014 4:10 PM in response to culture.bii

Hi culture.bii,

Just curious if your iPhone ever turned up??? My iPhone 5s was stolen as well, and I'm not sure if I should continue to wait for someone to turn it on again or if I should use another phone in the meantime. Hope you had some luck.

I locked my stolen iphone 5 at icloud