Warranty valid if phone is found?

[astrics]

I found an iPhone at the side of the road (no joke) After trying to locate the owner unsuccessfully, I decided to keep it. However, the home button is not working. Does anyone know if the warranty will be good for second owners. Do you have subscribe to ATT? Any info is appreciated.

As a response of the sharp criticism by thecompkid : When I found it, the battery was completely discharged. From the looks of it, i had been there for a while. I bought a charger to power on to see who it belonged to. It would not turn on. It just kept rebooting. At that point I did a complete restore. After that, there was nothing on the phone. As I said, the phone is malfunctioning. I am guessing limited water damage. Everything other than the home button is working. Could I have done more to try to locate the owner. Possibly. Could I have done less. Definitely. After reading many threads on HoFo, I know cell providers are not very keen in helping phones find their rightful owner, they are more interested in selling a new phone. As far as turning it in to the police. In most larger cities, the police is not very interested doing that either. I know how it is to lose a cellphone. My whole life is on mine, so I would want mine back. But I think I tried enough. So if you want to criticize, go ahead, but I doubt you would have tried any harder.

[dankie44]

I highly doubt you tried contacting the owner I'm sure you can call one of the numbers on his phone and let them get in contact with the real owner
But other than your lame excuse for keeping the phone im sure apple wouldnt know whos phone is whos. Bring it in see if the button is covered undered warranty

[thecompkid]

No one's going to help you. What kind of asshole decides to keep an iPhone he "found" (I highly doubt your story) and then thinks that he will get help from anyone in their right mind.

So you're telling us that there are no contacts on the phone. You called AT&T and gave them the IMEI? You went to the local police department and turned it in to see if anyone turned up?

There's absolutely no way that anyone would be incapable of finding the owner of a cell phone. Anyone that tries to convince us otherwise is just selfish and retarded.

I hope you get arrested for theft when you go to the Apple store and they run the serial number. Actually, all you need to do is turn the phone on and they will be able to find you, so you're already screwed. Have fun!

[neonkoala]

No one's going to help you. What kind of asshole decides to keep an iPhone he "found" (I highly doubt your story) and then thinks that he will get help from anyone in their right mind.

So you're telling us that there are no contacts on the phone. You called AT&T and gave them the IMEI? You went to the local police department and turned it in to see if anyone turned up?

There's absolutely no way that anyone would be incapable of finding the owner of a cell phone. Anyone that tries to convince us otherwise is just selfish and retarded.

I hope you get arrested for theft when you go to the Apple store and they run the serial number. Actually, all you need to do is turn the phone on and they will be able to find you, so you're already screwed. Have fun!

Dude get a life, this is the REAL world, chances are (even though you almost certainly won't admit it) you would have kept it in his situation... Flaming helps no one.

As for his question, I highly doubt the warranty would be valid under your circumstances as there is no AT&T contract.

[thecompkid]

Dude get a life, this is the REAL world, chances are (even though you almost certainly won't admit it) you would have kept it in his situation... Flaming helps no one.

As for his question, I highly doubt the warranty would be valid under your circumstances as there is no AT&T contract.

Okay, so you're telling me that if your iPhone was lost, and someone found it, you would have no problem if they just kept it? Last time I checked, cell phones have phone numbers stored in them almost 100% of the time. One of those numbers, at least, would contact either the owner or someone who could contact the owner. AT&T could also help with that if you were really determined.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to keep the phone. I'll be the first to admit that it would be very hard giving it back and doing the right thing. But I would do my best to find the person who lost it instead of just blowing it off and trying to get it fixed for myself, simply because that's what I would expect any other mature reasonable person to do for me if I lost my iPhone. Do I put too much of my faith in humanity? Well, if you guys are any example, then I have my answer right there.

The very fact that I have to explain this reasoning to you is a little discomforting. I guess you weren't brought up with morals and good judgment. Oh well, there goes society, proving me wrong again.

[SquareGravy]

Okay, so you're telling me that if your iPhone was lost, and someone found it, you would have no problem if they just kept it? Last time I checked, cell phones have phone numbers stored in them almost 100% of the time. One of those numbers, at least, would contact either the owner or someone who could contact the owner. AT&T could also help with that if you were really determined.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't want to keep the phone. I'll be the first to admit that it would be very hard giving it back and doing the right thing. But I would do my best to find the person who lost it instead of just blowing it off and trying to get it fixed for myself, simply because that's what I would expect any other mature reasonable person to do for me if I lost my iPhone. Do I put too much of my faith in humanity? Well, if you guys are any example, then I have my answer right there.

The very fact that I have to explain this reasoning to you is a little discomforting. I guess you weren't brought up with morals and good judgment. Oh well, there goes society, proving me wrong again.


You really are stupid man, stop flaming someone and read what they wrote first... he said the phone wouldn't boot passed the apple logo therefore he had to do a restore in recovery mode... THAT WOULD MEAN THE NUMBERS WOULD BE ERASED! And it would be next to impossible to find the owner after that. F-ing read before you try to prove your non-existant point.

[thecompkid]

You really are stupid man, stop flaming someone and read what they wrote first... he said the phone wouldn't boot passed the apple logo therefore he had to do a restore in recovery mode... THAT WOULD MEAN THE NUMBERS WOULD BE ERASED! And it would be next to impossible to find the owner after that. F-ing read before you try to prove your non-existant point.

Okay, yeah, that would be my mistake. I didn't see that the OP had revised his post (most people use the reply button). So, yes, that would definitely be an example of a situation where you wouldn't be able to call someone. Sorry for the unnecessary flame war and for doubting the OP :o .

Anyway, back on topic, I don't think that Apple will service it for you. Do you have any experience with electronics? You may be able to open it up and fix it yourself. If it's just the home button, it could be an easy fix. You could always try talking to the people at the Genius Bar. Often, they will give you a new phone on the spot (if you know what to say ;) ).

[lampcov]

I don't doubt that apple would fix it, perhaps not under warranty if it's evident that there's physical damage, not a manufacturing defect.

I guess the bigger issue would be trying to activate it on ATT (assuming at this point it's a locked phone used "as intended".) since the IMEI will be reported lost most likely. Might have luck unlocking it and putting it on Tmo, or selling it overseas, but that's about it in my opinion.

[thecompkid]

Yeah, thats the other thing. You can always sell it as parts. Of course, thats not really any fun :) .

[johnnfx13]

Sure.. it just so happen you had to restore it to get it to work.

But I was about to suggest you pop the sim that came w/ the iphone to see if you can pull any contact info from it. If it was an iphone att sim, then forget about it, as the iphone doesn't save contacts to the sim.

[thecompkid]

Sure.. it just so happen you had to restore it to get it to work.

But I was about to suggest you pop the sim that came w/ the iphone to see if you can pull any contact info from it. If it was an iphone att sim, then forget about it, as the iphone doesn't save contacts to the sim.

We've been over this. The argument is over. Stop trying to bring it back up.

If he is telling the truth, then he is not at fault at all.

If he is lying, he is way too determined to give the iPhone back anyway, so don't bother starting a pointless flame war.

Anyway, I'd like to know how this went. Where did the OP go?

[astrics]

I am still here.
Still thinking about what I should do. I do not know if I am brave enough to open the unit to try to fix it, or go to apple for repairs. I am also thinking that if it is water related damage, they won't fix it anyway. So I really do not know what to do.

If I do get it repaired, I will update the status here though.

[thecompkid]

I am still here.
Still thinking about what I should do. I do not know if I am brave enough to open the unit to try to fix it, or go to apple for repairs. I am also thinking that if it is water related damage, they won't fix it anyway. So I really do not know what to do.

If I do get it repaired, I will update the status here though.

So, let me get this straight. The _entire_ thing works except for the home button?

[astrics]

Yes, from what I gather the only thing that does not work is the home button. I thought it was completely dead when I found it, but after charging, it kept rebooting after the apple logo came on. Then after restoring, it seems to work, aside from the home button. Volume control and vibrate works. Screen works. Apps seem to work, although without any real way of testing it, I do not know.

Is the home button connected with wiring, or is it directly on the mainboard?

[thecompkid]

Hmm...we'll have to take a look at some disassembly pics.

[iphonewiz]

I found an iPhone at the side of the road (no joke) After trying to locate the owner unsuccessfully, I decided to keep it. However, the home button is not working. Does anyone know if the warranty will be good for second owners. Do you have subscribe to ATT? Any info is appreciated.

As a response of the sharp criticism by thecompkid : When I found it, the battery was completely discharged. From the looks of it, i had been there for a while. I bought a charger to power on to see who it belonged to. It would not turn on. It just kept rebooting. At that point I did a complete restore. After that, there was nothing on the phone. As I said, the phone is malfunctioning. I am guessing limited water damage. Everything other than the home button is working. Could I have done more to try to locate the owner. Possibly. Could I have done less. Definitely. After reading many threads on HoFo, I know cell providers are not very keen in helping phones find their rightful owner, they are more interested in selling a new phone. As far as turning it in to the police. In most larger cities, the police is not very interested doing that either. I know how it is to lose a cellphone. My whole life is on mine, so I would want mine back. But I think I tried enough. So if you want to criticize, go ahead, but I doubt you would have tried any harder.
I bought so far 4 dozens of Iphones both from Apple Online and the Local AT& T store , each and every time they ask for my name home phone number and email address so that it goes in their database along with the phone serial and IMEI numbers, I even retrieved at AT&T store some receipts giving them the serial numbers, so it will be really easy to trace the Owner just by giving Apple the serial number. They know whom it belongs to.
But greed and dishonesty will prevent you from doing so! I kno

[dogzilla]

Yeah, frankly I don't want to let this kind of thing go by either. It's clear that a quick call to AT&T and/or Apple with the serial number - which is always available and always the same no matter how many restores you do - would have made it simple and easy to track down the owner of this phone.

I don't think it's ok to keep this phone. Far as I'm concerned, this is stealing. It's lame. It's weak. And I would be absolutely bullshit if it happened to me. You can bet your ass I would do everything in my power to track down whomever had taken the phone.

The scenario presented here has too many holes in it. My guess is the phone wasn't found - anyone who had the ability to restore the phone and had any interest in finding the actual owner would have done so easily. The OP almost certainly either swiped the phone outright or bought it from someone who did. Either way, it's incredibly lame.

If you weren't lying and want to return the phone, but don't want to go through the hassle - just post the phone's serial number here. I'll track down the owner myself.

Actually trying to use the phone via AT&T or having it serviced by Apple strikes me as an incredibly stupid thing to do. If the original owner has reported as stolen, then you're in possession of stolen property. Probably wouldn't go to jail, but you'd almost certainly spend some quality time with the police.

[thecompkid]

Yeah, frankly I don't want to let this kind of thing go by either. It's clear that a quick call to AT&T and/or Apple with the serial number - which is always available and always the same no matter how many restores you do - would have made it simple and easy to track down the owner of this phone.

I don't think it's ok to keep this phone. Far as I'm concerned, this is stealing. It's lame. It's weak. And I would be absolutely bullshit if it happened to me. You can bet your ass I would do everything in my power to track down whomever had taken the phone.

The scenario presented here has too many holes in it. My guess is the phone wasn't found - anyone who had the ability to restore the phone and had any interest in finding the actual owner would have done so easily. The OP almost certainly either swiped the phone outright or bought it from someone who did. Either way, it's incredibly lame.

If you weren't lying and want to return the phone, but don't want to go through the hassle - just post the phone's serial number here. I'll track down the owner myself.

Actually trying to use the phone via AT&T or having it serviced by Apple strikes me as an incredibly stupid thing to do. If the original owner has reported as stolen, then you're in possession of stolen property. Probably wouldn't go to jail, but you'd almost certainly spend some quality time with the police.

Well, where the f*** were you guys when I was fighting a one sided battle with these pricks?

I kid, I kid. :) (not about the prick part, you guys are pricks)

But anyway, yeah, it's wrong, but what ya gonna do? The OP obviously lacks the maturity to see the truth in this, as do most of the people on this thread. So I figure, I try and get him to a point where the phone is operational or I get him to take it to an Apple store, and he gets busted. Badda bing! Justice, semi-revenge style. By the way, OP, don't read this section lest you discover my cunning plan, mkay?

[astrics]

If you weren't lying and want to return the phone, but don't want to go through the hassle - just post the phone's serial number here. I'll track down the owner myself.


Well, this is getting interesting. :rolleyes: What privacy laws are you going to break in order to access someone else's account information. Are you telling me that if Joe off the street walks into an ATT store, or calls them and tells them that they have found a cell phone on the side of the road and please tell me who it belongs to so I can return it to him. Yeah, and while you are at it, tell me where he lives and works, his SS# and birthdate too. Come on. Number one, I have read countless threads on HoFo about the subject how willing providers are in getting phones back to their original owners; they don't give a cr@p. They want to sell another phone. I suggest reading up on it. Secondly, it would be a complete violation of privacy if they gave out any information, including the fact that the owner is even a subscriber. Thirdly, we are talking about a water damaged phone that would probably not be repaired to begin with.

Think about it, if a malicious person, who already has your cellphone, would call up your provider and ask even more information about you. If ATT would volunteer any information, they would be liable for any damages. What if that person was a stalker etc. If this worked, what a great way for people to get personal information about other for identity theft. Just get a serial # and call up ATT to get personal info.


Get off your soap boxes and think before you put your foot in your mouth again.

[dogzilla]

Please don't be a tool. All you have to do is say "Hey - I found cellphone serial number ####. Can you contact the owner and let him/her know?"

Kinda short circuits all the other blather you posted, so I'll ignore that part and just hop right on that soapbox and say again: this is stealing. What AT&T would or wouldn't do to sell more cell phones is utterly irrelevant, because they didn't steal the phone. Again, if the OP didn't steal the phone, post the serial and I'll make sure AT&T or Apple contacts the owner. Or the OP could do the right thing and do it themselves.

I honestly cannot believe that anyone is so utterly brain dead as to argue this. It's incredibly clear cut - it ain't yours, you don't pretend it is, you don't rationalize or dance around and come up with excuses to keep it.

[thecompkid]

First and foremost, I think we all find it very convenient that you had to restore the iPhone before you did anything. What happened? Did the software get water damaged? News flash, restoring does nothing to repair hardware, and you describe the phone as working perfectly except for the home button, which brings up another point, how did you get this phone into restore mode without the home button? You knew that there was personal information on that phone, and if your priorities were in the right places, getting that info would be at the top of your list. What was the point of restoring the phone if you weren't planning on keeping it?

[neonkoala]

Let it go already, if the iphone had indeed been there as long as he claimed, long enough to leave the battery completely dead then whoever the original owner was has probably already long since left it for dead and perhaps even claimed on his/her insurance. How about putting some faith in the guy that found it for once rather than the self righteous prick a few posts back and yourself, thecompkid.

[thecompkid]

Let it go already, if the iphone had indeed been there as long as he claimed, long enough to leave the battery completely dead then whoever the original owner was has probably already long since left it for dead and perhaps even claimed on his/her insurance. How about putting some faith in the guy that found it for once rather than the self righteous prick a few posts back and yourself, thecompkid.

Well, when it comes down to it, the OP is just gonna do whatever he wants to do. It's not like a post on a forum is suddenly gonna make anyone think differently about what they did. If your opinion is that the OP is right in his decision, I respect your right to say it, but I also respect my own right to say you're wrong.

I think that the one thing that we all have to remember here is that we don't know what we ourselves would have done because this is definitely the kind of thing you'd need to experience to know. So, for the people who seem to be on the OP's side, you don't need to convince him to keep the phone. I'm sure he's made up his mind on that one.

[oortcloud]

I found an iPhone at the side of the road (no joke) ...

This is pretty common actually. My brother's cousin's grandfather found one on the side of the road last week too and he got it fixed right away.

I just took a look at my warranty document. It clearly states that if you find the phone on ths side of the road you can bring it into an apple store and they will fix it for you for free!

[dgafxxx]

maybe the previous owner got so fed up with the home button not working that he through it out the window... one mans trash is another mans treasure.

finders keepers. get it fixed and enjoy.

[cr535408]

honestly.. you're better off contacting apple, giving them the IMEI # and getting them to contact the owner.. because they can do it.

if you were to try getting this phone turned on, you're pretty much signing a contract to go to jail. chances are, these people have probably contacted att and let them know the phone was lost or stolen, so even if you tried to activate it, it wouldn't work.


on the other hand, you did find it, sounds like it may have been there for days. just sell it on ebay, sold as-is

[JD914]

I found an iPhone at the side of the road (no joke) After trying to locate the owner unsuccessfully, I decided to keep it. However, the home button is not working. Does anyone know if the warranty will be good for second owners. Do you have subscribe to ATT? Any info is appreciated.

So after "finding" a phone that you'll keep at no cost to you your still concerned about warranty repair? Dude you got it free! What else do you want? :rolleyes:

[ilikepudding]

From a legal standpoint, the phone can probably be considered abandoned, and thus it's pretty safely the OP's property.

If it was left on a table in a starbucks or something, it would be reasonable to think that it may have been lost or forgotten.

However, this was a broken phone tossed on the side of a road.

Stop flaming the poor guy.


As for my opinion, you can probably go to the Apple store and claim that you recieved the phone with a broken home button. (as this would actually have some sembelance of truth)

They might replace it for you. However, this would probably depend on how "used" the iphone looks. If it looks pretty brand new, I'd say you're pretty much set.