Stolen Iphone5

KrisR

Saturday night I was in a taxi home from a night club and I left my Iphone5 in it. I know this as I was using it when I got into the taxi. The taxi man turned it off within minutes when we tried call. I used the find my phone on iCloud and it says the device is turned off. One of the guys I was with remembers the the make and model and possibly the reg too.
Is there much I can do to help get it back or will I just phone apple up tomorrow and blacklist it.
All the help you have us really appreciated!

Sad Professor

Apple can't blacklist it. You'll need to contact your network. In the meantime, keeping checking Find My iPhone. It may eventually show a location.

In iOS 7, once Find My iPhone is enabled, the device can't be restored without your Apple ID. This is going to make things much harder for thieves.

guil

What about if it's put in DFU? Has anyone tried yet?

Sad Professor

guil wrote: »

What about if it's put in DFU? Has anyone tried yet?

Still won't work. Apple won't activate the phone without the original owner's Apple ID. I assume the only way around this would be with a jailbreak that bypasses the Apple activation. But without that they'd probably have no access to the App Store, etc.

yermandan

Yup, mine was stolen out of my pocket on Dublin Bus on Thursday. Set it to erase but no-one has even switched it on yet

KrisR

Alright cool I see. The phone is unlocked and since I bought the phone directly from apple does this mean they still can't blacklist it?
The disappointing thing is the taxi man was a local Dublin man.
I'm still waiting for it to be turned on and I'm even checking my Facebook devices to see if they make the mistake of clicking into the app. While I'm still logged in.
But i reckon they are probably able to wipe the phone clean without having to turn it on?
Thanks for your help!

Sad Professor

KrisR wrote: »

Alright cool I see. The phone is unlocked and since I bought the phone directly from apple does this mean they still can't blacklist it?

Apple can't blacklist phones. Only network operators.

luketitz

KrisR wrote: »

The disappointing thing is the taxi man was a local Dublin man.

What's the relevance of that, if it was a foreigner/bogger, you'd be less disappointed?! There's scummers in all walks of life, Dublin folk included!

Sh1tty tale though, never nice to hear of someone being robbed, particularly by a well-paid supposed professional in whom we're obliged to place our trust in if we want to arrive home safely at night.

Sad Professor

In fairness to the taxi driver, how do you know it was him who took it? It could have been the next passenger.

KrisR

Well said Luke that's just the way the world is.
There where two other passengers and one was my older brother the other one his best friends who I know we'll and would trust.
It seems to me the taxi man got himself a bonus that night! Seems like little can be done.

citytillidie

KrisR wrote: »

Well said Luke that's just the way the world is.
There where two other passengers and one was my older brother the other one his best friends who I know we'll and would trust.
It seems to me the taxi man got himself a bonus that night! Seems like little can be done.

What if the next person into the taxi took it and not the taxi man.

What if the battery was low and has fallen under the drivers seat with out the driver known and gone off.

Lots of ifs ands and buts to just go ahead and blame the taxi driver

DARK-KNIGHT

tbh you blaming the taxi driver without proof is rotten to the core. taxi drivers have a hard job as it is without them being branded thiefs.

if you track that taxi down and complain you could be leaving yourself open to slander unless you can solidly prove that taxi driver stole or took your phone.

i imagine next person who got into cab pocketed it. or you say you trust your brothers mate?? its 2013 not 1954 and its dublin not a rural village filled with morals etc.

DARK-KNIGHT

luketitz wrote: »

What's the relevance of that, if it was a foreigner/bogger, you'd be less disappointed?! There's scummers in all walks of life, Dublin folk included!

Sh1tty tale though, never nice to hear of someone being robbed, particularly by a well-paid supposed professional in whom we're obliged to place our trust in if we want to arrive home safely at night.

he wasnt robbed he left his phone in a taxi in dublin city its the ops own fault imo

KrisR

It was not in the city I live around fields in north co Dublin where another taxi fair would have been a bit away. I'm pretty sure the battery was in healthy life. But as you said there's no proof you're right I'm wrong well done to you.
And I've met very nice taxi men before where other people have left stuff the the car. The taxi man would drop the item later on that night and I handed him a few quid for being a gent.

DARK-KNIGHT

KrisR wrote: »

It was not in the city I live around fields in north co Dublin where another taxi fair would have been a bit away. I'm pretty sure the battery was in healthy life. But as you said there's no proof you're right I'm wrong well done to you.
And I've met very nice taxi men before where other people have left stuff the the car. The taxi man would drop the item later on that night and I handed him a few quid for being a gent.

were you under the influence of alcohol??

reason i ask is if you were drunk you might have dropped phone etc

luketitz

DARK-KNIGHT wrote: »

he wasnt robbed he left his phone in a taxi in dublin city its the ops own fault imo

It's not unheard of for unscrupulous taxi drivers to flog bits and bobs they've found in their car, although it is an exception to the rule as most taxi drivers are decent enough folk who value their livelihood above the lure of a quick, shady few bob on the black market.

If a taxi driver has found it and made no effort to either power it on and contact the owner, submit it to the carriage office or a Garda station then it has been robbed, effectively.

of course the OP isn't absolved of a bit of drunken idiocy leaving his property in a taxi, but if the driver has found the device and is of honest inclination, it will show up.

I do lend credence to the possibility that the next batch of passenger(s) who hopped in could have located it, as i doubt many drivers periodically check their cabs for property, perhaps other than at the end of a shift.

I doubt the brother's mate nicked it, as the OP would (hopefully) have a decent ability to judge the kind of person he spends his Saturday evenings on the piss with, and would have a fair idea if the lad was a scumbag who'd happily steal his phone or not - certainly the least likely of these three possible scenarios IMHO.

OP- have you tried ringing the carriage office and/or you local copshops? If no joy, I fear your initial assumptions are correct, lesson learnt the hard way, unfortunately. There's very little anyone can do to prove the driver has done anything wrong here, from a legal standpoint.

KrisR

Yeah that's correct I did have a few drinks that night.
I accept that the phone is gone.
I'll just call into the local Garda station to se if it was handed in on the off chance. I'll check find my phone. If no luck 48 network said they are able to blacklist the phone for me.
Didn't mean to offend anyone in the posts.

tractortom

The good thing about iPhones is the fact that Apple hold a central database. A small number of companies have access to the GSX. If you do a search online for "iPhone Network Finder" and enter your IMEI number you will get a report that looks like this:-

IMEI XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Serial Number XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Part Description IPHONE 5 16GB BLACK
Product Version 7.0.X
Coverage Status Apple Limited Warranty
Coverage End Date 24/12/13
First Unbrick Date 26/12/12
Last Unbrick Date 13/06/13
CTN XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Next Tether Activation Policy Description Retail Unlock.
Lock Status Unlocked

The CTN number is the bit you are interested in, its the Current Telephone Number, give that to the Gardaí.

Make sure who ever you run the iPhone Network Finder report with will provide the CTN.