A few years ago I found an iPhone 6 and I managed to successfully unlock it. In fact, it wasn’t so difficult since after an IMEI Check it proved to be only SIM Locked to T-Mobile. However, it isn’t always so easy because a found iPhone can have various issues with Find My iPhone Lock being the most important.
In this post, I will show you what to do with a found iPhone in each case, and which are the most appropriate unlocking services for each of them.
Updated On: 07/09/2019
What to do with a found iPhone
Like it or not, the right thing would be to hand over the iPhone to the police and let them find the original owner. But I’m not here to judge.
Anyway, you might have to hand it over in the end since unlocking it might be impossible or too expensive in the end. Let’s find out why.
When Passcode is enabled
As soon as you turn it on, you will have a first taste of what to expect. For starters what we really don’t want to face is an unknown passcode. There are no online services on that but there are a few tricks to use and possibly bypass it but don’t keep your hopes high.
When Find My iPhone is ON
Also crucial. The Activation Lock Screen when Find My iPhone is enabled not only can’t be missed but is as far as you can get without original owner’s Apple ID and password.
As long as the iCloud Status is CLEAN you can use an iCloud IMEI Unlock Service and remove Find My iPhone permanently but if it’s lost then you have only a few bypass options with medium success rate.
So, we get right to the most critical point. Even if iCloud Status is clean what else you may need to use the iPhone with your SIM card?
Why to IMEI Check the iPhone you found
You won’t be able to use the found iPhone at all unless Find My iPhone is removed but even so, there are many additional issues which need further “treatment”.
- SIM Lock
- Blacklist Status
- Outstanding Financial Balance
- Active On Another Account
Each one of them requires a different service and there is a big chance that the found iPhone has more than 1 or even all of them.
On top of that, it is wise to know in advance what exactly the device has, which network is locking it, what services you will need, in which order and of course, what the whole nut is.
An IMEI Check Service won’t only reveal all iPhone issues but show you the way to unlock it.
How to Unlock a found iPhone
If you are determined to try unlocking the found on your iPhone without experts help then here are your options.
When SIM Locked
If the iPhone is only simlocked you will probably get the SIM Not Supported screen but it’s not always sure. Anyway, contacting the locking Carrier, if you know which one it is (an IMEI Check will also show you), should be your first move since you may manage to unlock the found iPhone for free.
If this is not possible then Factory Unlock is the only solution.
When Blacklisted
As a matter of course, the original owner will declare that he has lost his iPhone on the network and that in turn will blacklist the device.
Of course, there are ways to unlock a blacklisted iPhone or even unblacklist it but it will be more expensive than a simple Factory Unlock Service.
When there is an outstanding finance
Either you are dealing with unpaid bills or a pending installment plan, the found iPhone will be blocked and there is no way to pay off anything unless you are the original owner.
Quite similar to blacklisted devices, you can unblock the iPhone under specific conditions as long as an appropriate service is available.
When it is active on another account
Some carriers like AT&T further link the iPhone with the owner’s account. You still need to SIM Unlock this iPhone but you will need an IMEI Unlock service specially developed on this purpose.
Before you go
For one last time, it would be fatal to try unlocking a found iPhone without a prior IMEI Check simply because not all iPhones can be unlocked but moreover, there is no full refund option in case of ordering a wrong service by any provider.
Perhaps you’ve got a new iPhone for free. Spending a few dollars to check it is not going to hurt but completely the opposite.
6 comments
Please help me, my ipad air having a problem of Activation Lock.. i gave my ipad to my eldest sister.. after a few years i found out that my ipad cant use already because of ACTIVATION LOCK.. i already forgot the apple id and the password.. pls help me to recover my ipad..
Model: A1474
FCC ID: BCGA 1474
IC: 579C-A1474
SERIAL: DMVLXWXJFK14
Hello Danica,
Please read our iCloud Activation Lock article or click to the “moving text” that we have to each article on the top of the page.
I found an iphone need to find the owner
MEID: 358571073743062
Hey Harry.
This is a really outdated article. We have created and iCloud unlock Guide and there is a way to find the original owner of the iPhone you found but it needs to be activated with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile & Verizon in the USA. Anyway, the link I provided has all your options. Ask me again if you have more questions.
Take care Harry
Like you, I found an iPhone, it was left at my work and no one ever came back for it, checked the IMEI and it says it’s clean. So what would you recommend is the best place to use to unlock it? I’m not too good with technology so I wanted some advice!
Hello Holly,
The first thing that you need to do, is to identify its SIM-Lock status, Identify in which network it is locked to (If it is locked), if it is Blacklist, its iCloud status, Contract and Financial status and if its IMEI/Serial has been replaced (Most likely not, but just to be 100% sure).
The following service will do a full IMEI Check of your iPhone (Which means that it will check all the above), and will also try to remove the SIM-Lock status from that device through its Lock Network (It is included to their service).
You can read more from the following link: SIM-Lock Deactivation service