my iPhone 5 was stolen. It's erased and I have put a hold on my account. Can it still be used as an iPod and if so, why hasn't apple figured out how to disable the phone completely if stolen? Makes me furious that my phone can still be used by a thief.
It can be disabled completely > What to do if your iOS device is lost or stolen
No, it cannot be used as an iPod.
I tracked the phone and did not find it. I erased and reported to AT&T, but now that the phone is erased and can be opened, what stops it from being used as a camera or iPod? Can it be connected to another computer and music downloaded? I am not seeing this information in any of the support materials.
Depends. If you turned on/enabled Find My Phone, & are running iOS 7.0 or higher, then your phone cannot be restored/re-activated or used for any purpose without knowing your Apple ID/Password.
If you did not turn on Find My Phone, then your phone can be restored/re-activated & used as an iPod or a phone if your carrier does not offer Blacklisting. Carolyn is wrong about the phone not being used as an iPod.
Thats what I thought. I DID have find my iPhone turned on and watched it roam all over the city while trying to play detective…Thought maybe they realized it could not be used and it seemed to stay in one area for a long time so we checked all garbage cans and dumpsters in the area, then watched as they moved. Thats when I deleted all of my info and called AT&T to suspend my line and report it stolen. I did not have the latest update bc I did not want to delete my entire phone to update it. So wondering if they can still plug it in and download music…
Key here is if your phone was running iOS 7.0 or higher. If it was, then Activation Lock will prevent the phone from being reactivated for any purpose...it will be a useless paperweight. If not running iOS 7.0 or higher, then the phone can be reactivated, regardless if Find My Phone was turned on or not. If AT&T Blacklists the phone, then it can't be reactivated on their network, but can still be used as an iPod, if not running iOS 7.0 or higher.
stolen iphone 5, in what ways can it still be used?
