Once you exhausted all efforts to find the owner on the device, check with the police to see if it has been reported stolen or is needed for evidence. If all is clear with the authorities, you do have the option of selling it or even unlocking it and using it yourself.
Make Contact or Hand It In. If you find a lost iPhone, Activation Lock will prevent you from using it if it's protected by Apple's Find My service. It's essentially a paperweight for as long as you have it in your possession. So don't expect to use an iPhone you've found.
There are no restrictions on selling an iCloud-locked iPhone. You must be honest about it and ensure the buyer understands that you do not have the Apple ID or password to access the phone and unlock its features completely. If it is possible at all, remove the iCloud lock before you try to sell it.
What that means is even when a thief or a third-party has your iPhone, it's still tied to your Apple ID and can't be used with any other account. Your iPhone can even be wiped completely and it will still be locked down, making it almost useless to anyone but you.
Apple recommends users reset a found iPhone using iTunes partly because it not only removes the settings and information on your iPhone but it will also install the latest version of iOS automatically.
Look for your device on a map
To find your device, sign in to iCloud.com/find. Or use the Find My app on another Apple device that you own. If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch doesn't appear in the list of devices, Find My was not turned on. But you can still protect your account if Find My was not turned on.
It's illegal to sell a lost or stolen phone, so recyclers are duty-bound to cooperate with law enforcement here. Only ever sell a gadget that is truly yours to sell.
If it was stolen, report it to the police. There is no way to track an unopened, un-activated device.
Method 3: Use iCloud to Find Your Lost iPhone Even When It's Powered Off/ Factory Reset. You can also use iCloud's website to track your lost iPhone even if it has been powered off or doesn't have enough battery backup.
Thieves usually sell stolen iPhones on the black market or trade them. They may bypass security features, unlock, and factory-reset devices to make them untraceable. Alternatively, they may dismantle phones to sell valuable components like screens, batteries, or internal hardware separately.
If it has a passcode they can't access the data, but with no activation lock they could wipe it clean and put in a new SIM card and start using it. So just leave it as it is in Lost Mode, in your account.
Unlocking your iPhone is free of charge regardless of the Apple service store location. However, the process is so easy that you can do it yourself. iPhones often get disabled due to multiple wrong attempts to enter the screen-lock passcode.
Before you can keep something you've found, you must make a good faith effort to return it to its rightful owner. In some states, you must get the police involved if the item is over a certain dollar amount; check with your local laws before you just keep something you've found.
No, there is nothing you can do. If you activated Find My Phone before it was lost or stolen, you can track it only if Wi-Fi is enabled on the device. What you cannot do is track your device using a serial number or other identifying number. You cannot expect Apple or anyone else to find your device for you.
Can Police Track Your Phone? The police won't track your phone without reason, but they can access your device's location history in an emergency or if they suspect criminal activity. Once they have a warrant, the police can access a phone's GPS data through a cell provider and view its current or last known location.
If the missing iPhone is switched off or showing offline in Family Sharing, you can still activate Lost Mode or remotely erase its data via Find My iPhone. Note: The iPhone? s last known location remains only for one day. In case your device is offline for over 24 hours, you cannot trace its last location.
If you believe your phone has been stolen, file a police report. Although law enforcement agencies don't have the resources to investigate every case of a stolen phone, if you're able to tell them where your phone is (using a finder app), they will be more likely to be able to help you recover it.
Apple doesn't blacklist iPhones due to their policy of not handling stolen devices. It's up to phone carriers, such as AT&T or Verizon, to report stolen or lost phones. The iPhone's IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity) allows phone carriers to identify the phone.
With your phone, thieves can:
Make unauthorized purchases using your linked credit cards and Apple or Google Pay. Access your passwords and login information for various accounts. (As many as 99% of people reuse passwords across business and personal accounts [*].
If you can't remember your passcode when you try again, use a computer to put your iPhone in recovery mode. Recovery mode allows you to erase the iPhone, giving you access to set it up again. After you erase your iPhone, you can restore your data and settings from a backup.
Go back to Settings and tap General > Transfer or Reset [device] > Erase All Content and Settings. If you turned on Find My [device], you might need to enter your Apple ID and password. If your device uses eSIM, choose the option to erase your device and the eSIM profile when asked.
When the Find My iPhone feature is turned off, you can factory reset iPhone without Apple ID by entering Recovery Mode. This allows you to completely reset your iPhone without entering the Apple ID, and the iCloud activation lock will not show up.
Scammers steal your personal information.
SIM swaps require scammers to steal your identity in order to convince your phone carrier that they're you. Scammers may target you first with phishing emails or keylogging malware.
Even a dumb phone (i.e. not a smartphone) can track you through the SIM card. SIM cards connect to nearby signal towers for you to receive calls and send SMS texts, but that signal can be used to find out your location. Cybercriminals can also hack your SIM card without ever physically accessing your phone.