Lost iPhone: can I prevent new "owner" from using?

[Upperleftcoast]

6 hours short of one week, and my iPhone is gone: left it on a table in coffee shop, and it disappeared less than one minute later. I called it, sent e-mail to it, to no avail. De-activated my number via ATT service, but was not convinced by ATT staff that new "owner" could not re-activate phone - MY iPhone. Does anybody know the facts on this? Would ATT or Apple know based on the phone serial number that an attempt is being made to activate a stolen device?

$600 bucks gone in a flash. Am I going to get a new one? Not.

 

[shift_2kmaxima]

6 hours short of one week, and my iPhone is gone: left it on a table in coffee shop, and it disappeared less than one minute later. I called it, sent e-mail to it, to no avail. De-activated my number via ATT service, but was not convinced by ATT staff that new "owner" could not re-activate phone - MY iPhone. Does anybody know the facts on this? Would ATT or Apple know based on the phone serial number that an attempt is being made to activate a stolen device?

$600 bucks gone in a flash. Am I going to get a new one? Not.

omg dude, while i was reading that i almost started crying, like no joke, i feel so bad for you, idk what i would do if i lost my phone, i would go nuts...but good luck with everything man, i hope someone returns it...did you go back to the coffee shop and asked manager if someone gave it back. cause' usually where i work (movie theater) i'll find at least one ipod and one cellphone everyday, and i mean "we have to return those" so iam guessing whoever found one would have to return it

later

 

[Pork Rind]

They can, and probably did, block the phone from registering on the network ever again based on it's unique ESN. When my phone was stolen, they were able to shut it off and block it and even tell me what neighborhood it was in when they blocked it.

Edit: Did you buy it with your credit card? Some credit cards have a certain amount of loss or theft coverage. Worth checking at least.

 

[Cash]

6 hours short of one week, and my iPhone is gone: left it on a table in coffee shop, and it disappeared less than one minute later. I called it, sent e-mail to it, to no avail. De-activated my number via ATT service, but was not convinced by ATT staff that new "owner" could not re-activate phone - MY iPhone. Does anybody know the facts on this? Would ATT or Apple know based on the phone serial number that an attempt is being made to activate a stolen device?

$600 bucks gone in a flash. Am I going to get a new one? Not.

LOL Lost iPhone.I do feel bad for you ,but you should know better than that.
Lost=Stolen.

 

[Maaz]

wow you should have better care of something that everyone wants and is so expensive,hopefully everything turns out ok.

 

[mango]

6 hours short of one week, and my iPhone is gone: left it on a table in coffee shop, and it disappeared less than one minute later. I called it, sent e-mail to it, to no avail. De-activated my number via ATT service, but was not convinced by ATT staff that new "owner" could not re-activate phone - MY iPhone. Does anybody know the facts on this? Would ATT or Apple know based on the phone serial number that an attempt is being made to activate a stolen device?

$600 bucks gone in a flash. Am I going to get a new one? Not.

Wow dude that's a tough break-
Did U have any type of insurance on it-Home owners insurance..?
I'm constantly checkin' three things while I'm out.
1.Keys.
2.Wallet.
3.Phone


All three must be presant and accounted for at all times.-

Good luck & keep ya head up-

-Mango-

 

[vrsc]

wow, sorry to hear about that. Good luck!1

 

[brinox]

yes i cracked mine, and im just sick to my stomach that i have to shell out nearly half the cost just to have Apple repair it... ><

my thoughts go out to you friend, truly sorry to hear that.

 

[jordan]

sorry bout that man, u might try to go back to the coffee shop and see if they have it maybe...

 

[nonu54]

yes i cracked mine, and im just sick to my stomach that i have to shell out nearly half the cost just to have Apple repair it... ><

my thoughts go out to you friend, truly sorry to hear that.

howd you crack it, I thought it was unbreakable?

 

[sammyb]

yes i cracked mine, and im just sick to my stomach that i have to shell out nearly half the cost just to have Apple repair it... ><

my thoughts go out to you friend, truly sorry to hear that.

you don't have to pay for repair take it to Apple and they will give u a new one they did for my wife, I love Apple.

 

[mlass]

6 hours short of one week, and my iPhone is gone: left it on a table in coffee shop, and it disappeared less than one minute later. I called it, sent e-mail to it, to no avail. De-activated my number via ATT service, but was not convinced by ATT staff that new "owner" could not re-activate phone - MY iPhone. Does anybody know the facts on this? Would ATT or Apple know based on the phone serial number that an attempt is being made to activate a stolen device?

$600 bucks gone in a flash. Am I going to get a new one? Not.

I'd post a Reward. Maybe you will get lucky and they will return it (only if the phone can be blacklisted with At&t, I know Sprint does it). I lost my HTC8525 after a 6months and now have replaced it with the iPhone. I'll take better care of it now.

 

[J-Sauce]

Im not sure about AT&T, but cingular did not do a good job of blacklisting phones. They say that a phone is blacklisted to reassure the victim, and possibly deter theft, but have never seen them abide by this policy. I can say from firsthand experience when I thought my old BB7290 was stolen, when it was only lost in my closet. After telling me it was definitely blacklisted, I found it a couple weeks later and popped in my brothers sim card. Sure enough, it worked and made phone calls like brand new.

My brother who used to work for cingular said that it's too risky to blacklist a phone because a person could sue, claiming cingular accused them of being a thief, when they really purchased the phone on ebay perhaps. It just really isn't worth the hassle for them. If they can get another customer out of it, and possibly you buy another phone, its a win-win situation for them.

Im sorry man, just post up a few signs at the coffee shop and the person who snagged it may contact you in search of a reward. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[listenclose]

home owners insurance. Claim it!

 

[Platinum]

I was thinking the othearday I should leave my empty iPhone box on a table at Starbucks and just wait for someone to take it, to catch them.

 

[JnC]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

This is an occasion to remind owners how to personalize your wallpaper with your contact info.

 

[applefreak]

Hm, you all realize he could be the person who swiped someone's iPhone and is wondering how to unlock it (if the owner locked it by contacting ATT) and switch services to himself.

 

[edstroyer]

I lost a Cingular phone and had to file a police report in order for Cingular to "blacklist" the phone to prevent further use. The phone was found at my job a few days later and returned to me. I popped in the SIM card from the newly purchased replacement phone and sure enough it worked.

You'll find very similar situations on other forums about this happening on other Wireless providers as well. The only carrier I know that actually prevented activation on a lost phone was Verizon.

But being that the iPhone is not your typical phone, you may have better luck.

The OP should contact Apple also.

Good luck!

 

[gbby65]

Condolences to You

Someone was probably scoping you out the moment you took out the phone. It may get you nowhere but does the shop have a surveillance cam? Thief/Jerk/Loser may be a regular.

Good luck and hopefully the thief'll get robbed himself.

 

[mango]

yes i cracked mine, and im just sick to my stomach that i have to shell out nearly half the cost just to have Apple repair it... ><

my thoughts go out to you friend, truly sorry to hear that.

How did U crack the iphone--
I've seen it dropped and survive--

--Mango--