Can a stolen iPhone be reused?

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.
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Can a stolen iPhone be reset and used?

Someone who has stolen your iPhone can actually use that site to get rid of the lock from the device. They can then use the phone without worries of any locks. To prevent that from happening, you can actually do one thing. You can mark your iPhone as lost with Apple and Apple will blacklist your phone.
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Can stolen iPhone be unlocked?

It is difficult to unlock a stolen iPhone because there are different types of locks for the security of the device. There can be the Apple ID lock, screen passcode lock, or MDM lock. All these security locks require a different method to bypass them. Normally, when you get any stolen device, it has a screen passcode.
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What do thieves do with stolen iPhones?

That's where the stolen iPhones go. Thieves who realize that they can't use the stolen iPhone will break the device into several parts and sell them to shady repair shops or stores for money. These types of stores need several parts of the iPhone, like the screen to fix someone else broken iPhone at a cheap rate.
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How do I activate a stolen iPhone?

Mark a device as lost
  1. Tap Devices at the bottom of the screen, then tap the name of the lost device.
  2. Under Mark As Lost, tap Activate.
  3. Follow the onscreen instructions, keeping the following in mind: ...
  4. Tap Activate (for an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, AirPods, or iPhone Leather Wallet) or Lock (for a Mac).
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How to Unlock Lost Mode iPhone without Passcode or Apple ID



What do thieves do with stolen phones?

Some thieves will use the information they find on phones (such as photos, texts or emails), then use it to hold the original owner to ransom. The best thing to do is to remotely wipe your phone as soon as you find out it's stolen – this can be achieved with apps such as Find My Device (free – Android and iOS).
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Can I put my SIM card in a stolen iPhone?

If you have inserted a clean simcard on a device that is reported stolen the simcard will work for sometime but when the system detected that the simcard is being used on a stolen phone, the simcard will be suspended. When you transferred the simcard to the original phone the simcard will not work.
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Can you use an iPhone you found?

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.
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Can you unlock a stolen phone?

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.
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Can I keep a lost iPhone?

Common law allows you to keep lost property until the owner comes back to claim it. If the property is mislaid, then the owner of the property where it was found gets to keep the property.
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Can I reset an iPhone I found?

SO, if you have found an iPhone with a screen passcode activated, then you can factory reset the iPhone you found. In addition to this, each iPhone comes with an Apple ID.
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How do I wipe my stolen iPhone?

Erase a device
  1. Tap Devices at the bottom of the screen, then tap the name of the device you want to erase.
  2. Tap Erase This Device, then tap Continue. ...
  3. If the device is lost and you're asked to enter a phone number or message, you may want to indicate that the device is lost or how to contact you. ...
  4. Tap Erase.
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Can stolen iPhone be tracked if SIM card is removed?

Yes, it is possible to track an iPhone if the SIM card is removed. The device just needs to be connected to the internet. Immediately it's online; it sends its GPS coordinates to Apple servers. The previous owner can therefore see the location on the map once they login into their account.
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Can Apple track a stolen iPhone?

Apple cannot track your iPhone, nor can your cell carrier except in extreme emergencies.
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Will the police do anything about a stolen iPhone?

Police simply don't consider a find my iPhone hit just cause to go to someone's home, and no court will issue a warrant based on just that anyway, so they'd not be able to go in or do anything.
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Can an iPhone be tracked after factory reset?

iOS 15: Find My network can still find your iPhone when it is powered off, or factory reset. With iOS 15, your iPhone is still traceable through the Find My network even when the device is powered off.
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Can the police track your phone if its off?

Moreover, phone location can be tracked using cellular data by a method called triangulation of signals. So, yes, your phone can still be tracked if location services are turned off, assuming other things are still ON.
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Can an iPhone be tracked when turned off?

You can find your iPhone even if its battery is dead or if it is not connected to the Internet. The 'Bluetooth location' feature by Apple enables you to locate an offline iPhone, as long as it is switched on.
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Does erase iPhone delete everything?

When you tap Erase All Content and Settings, it completely erases your device, including any credit or debit cards you added for Apple Pay and any photos, contacts, music, or apps. It will also turn off iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, Game Center, and other services.
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How do I know if my iPhone is erased?

Login to your iCloud account, and go to Find my iPhone. click on the All Devices dropdown, It should show you the status of your phone. If it has been erased, it will not show in the list( Again, assuming it was the find my iPhone setting was enabled by you and wasn't disabled by the thief).
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Can I use a phone I found?

While you can technically use a phone that is found, you usually should not do so. Instead, please do the right thing and make a genuine attempt to return it to the owner. I'm sure you would want someone to do the same for you.
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What happens if you find your phone after it was lost and claimed?

Yes, a lost phone can be reactivated. All you need to do is contact your wireless carrier and follow their instructions. Keep in mind that you may not be able to keep your old phone number in this case.
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How long does it take for an iPhone to erase?

The process of erasing all content and settings on an iPhone should take less than 10 minutes. If you're using an older model iPhone though, it could take a bit longer, depending on the phone's generation of data removal. Despite this, if it's taking up to an hour, you need to fix it.
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Do you remove SIM card before erasing iPhone?

So, even if no SIM card is installed, the iOS software including the reset process still works normally. It's advisable to remove your SIM card at this stage so that you don't accidentally pass it on to the next person.
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