Just found what looks like a newer IPhone. It’s powered up, but locked. Is there any way to find the owner? How about bringing it to an Apple Store?
Just keep it charged.
If the owner had half a brain cell, it’s registered with “Find My iPhone,” and they will be able to post a message to the screen for you to contact them.
My wife and I have our phones set up with and ICE (In case of emergency) setting. This also works with Iphones too.
If the iPhone is locked, follow these steps: Press the Home button. Tap Emergency. On the Emergency call screen, you can make a call or tap Medical ID to see ICE Contacts and any medical information stored on the device .
Worth a try. I am keeping it charged.
Most phones will tell you what service they’re on when the screen lights up, even if locked. When I found one, I went to T-mobile, they looked up & contacted the owner (If I remember they could look up the IMEI after popping the back cover off). I left it with them, only after the owner knew it was in that store to come pick it up there.
Keeping it charged for the half of humanity who aren’t Apple-ites is certainly easier now that Apple uses the same charging connector as the rest of the world.
Took racer72’s suggestion. It worked. I found his sister.
I have had my email address displayed on the lock screen for years now. Samsung phone.
I also have my email on my lockscreen. I figure it couldn’t hurt to make it easy for someone to contact me if they find my phone and want to be helpful. Mine’s a Pixel, but I’ve done that with every phone I’ve had for two decades, now.
I found one when hiking. I just waited for someone to call it. As with the OP it was the owner’s sister, so easy to arrange a time & place to hand it over.
As of six years ago, nearly 2/3 of US households owned an Apple product and its corresponding charger, a number that has almost surely gone up since then. So, no, it probably was never a big problem.
I’ve owned Apple products for years, but the chargers aren’t compatible. You can’t charge the phone with the laptop charger. So i think that number is overstated.
That being said, I’d hope the thing stayed charged long enough for someone to call it. My experience finding phones is that they are still charged when i find them, and i can poke around and look at the lock screen and probably the emergency contacts (although I’d have to Google how to do that )
Well, that says 1 time in 3 your precious Apple product will be dead within a day of you losing it. I don’t care, since I don’t have Apple products. But 1/3rd of owners of lost Apple products might.
My lock screen has always had my SO’s mobile number on it. Both for lost phone purposes and for “we found this guy unconscious; who should we call besides 911?” purposes.
Turns out, it’s not a significant problem. Find My iPhone will show the last location that the phone had power, and will automatically update that if it’s powered on. Modern phones will even update their location if nothing else in the phone has enough power to operate - even when “off.” So unless you find the phone and then stick it on a shelf and ignore it, the owner is likely to be able to contact you. Years ago, I bought an iPhone on ebay. When I plugged it in, I got a message to contact the owner. I did, and he said the phone had been stolen quite awhile before I bought it. We worked out a deal where he reimbursed me for what I had paid for it, and I shipped it to him across country.
but it’s only the latest fruit phone that uses USB-C & many people haven’t updated yet.
No, that’s wrong.
Apple power adapters that come with laptops and iPads can charge iPhones.
The point is, that’s probably just as good an average if you lose your Samsung or Motorola or any other.
Well, 2/3 of folks have non-apple phones, and those all use the same chargers. Used to be micro-usb, and now it’s usb c. Most non-apple households probably have both of those lying around.
I’m dubious. I have three apple laptops (an ancient one, the one i use, and my mother’s) and they each use incompatible power cords. They all use a form of the magsafe cord. A different form of it. The newest can also be charged with USB-C, which is handy.