Found a iPhone 5

[beeceedeecee]

I found a iphone5 3 months ago and handed it into the lost property office of the place I found it , it hasn't been claimed and it will become mine next week , the phone had a locked screen so I'm not sure how I go about resetting so I can use it , what steps do I need to take to get it working ? .
Cheers .

 

[cjmnews]

If it has IOS 7 on it, you can't.

IOS 7 has round buttons for the lock screen.
IOS 6 has rectangular buttons for the lock screen.

 

[beeceedeecee]

Surly apple can do something , it can just go in a bin .

 

[cjmnews]

One of the features of IOS7 was that a phone cannot be erased without the Apple ID and password of the owner.

 

[Sparkee]

Apple as well as other manufacturers have been pressured into adding these security features to help deter theft. They wouldn't be very effective if they were easy to crack. The best option would be to pop out the SIM card to see if you can identify the carrier who should be able to track down the rightful owner using the SIM card number.

iCloud: Find My iPhone Activation Lock in iOS 7

 

[hydrogen3]

The best option would be to pop out the SIM card to see if you can identify the carrier who should be able to track down the rightful owner using the SIM card number.

I agree 100% That should of done from the get go.. The owner has most likely reported the phone lost, the phone will be black listed and you will not be able to use it period.

 

[tronZ]

In ad identify the carrier by the physical appearance of the SIM card, you can always see the name of the network to which the phone is currently connected from the lock-screen. Unless it is a foreign carrier or the network is insufficient, the phone will always prefer to connect to the home carrier.

Ultimately, I'd take the device to the Apple Store who should be able to identify the owner.

 

[aprilster]

keep us posted - I guess somebody will be very happy to get his or her phone back (after probably having bought a substitute already).

 

[moorken]

too bd that when you cant find the owner back that the device is basically a brick....

 

[rockmyplimsoul]

Closing this thread since the OP found the phone almost 5 months ago (3 months before the January posting).