You found a lost iPhone and you want to be a decent human being. First of all, good for you, because not everyone has this moral compass in them. But it's not always an easy task to return a lost iPhone to its owner if you don't know who the owner is or how to contact them.
Contents1. Use information provided by iCloud2. Use the iPhone3 Medical ID. Use the IMEI number to contact the carrier4. Go to the police
Luckily, there are a number of ways in this iPhone itself that can indicate who the rightful owner may be. More importantly, they don't require you to unlock the iPhone, which means you don't need to know the passcode or use a Touch ID either. Here are some methods to find the owner of the device.
Hopefully, the person who lost their iPhone realizes it by the time you find it. If so, they may have sent signals to the iPhone through iCloud or put it in Lost Mode. Lost mode leaves a message on the screen that the iPhone is actually lost. Optionally, the owner could leave a message potentially with contact information that you can use to get in touch.
All you have to do to be able to see if the iPhone is in Lost Mode is turn it on and take a look at the lock screen. If you don't see a message, skip to our second option.
Tip: If you ever lose your iPhone, you can do the same by going to icloud.com, clicking Find My iPhone and selecting Lost Mode .Apple's Health app on every iPhone (installed on iOS 8 or later) comes with a feature called Medical ID. Medical ID allows you to fill in personal and private information about yourself, such as medical conditions and emergency contacts that someone can access directly from your phone in an emergency.
You can check if that person has filled in their Medical ID by turning on the iPhone and swiping right to reveal the passcode screen. At the bottom left, tap Emergency . Now you should get a different keypad just for calling emergency services, but again on the bottom left you should see Medical ID if the owner has completed one.
If so, tap to open their Medical ID. Perhaps use one of the provided emergency contacts to call someone and let them know about the missing iPhone.
Every iPhone in the world comes with a unique identifier called IMEI, or International Mobile Station Equipment Identity. The IMEI contains information about the device as well as the carrier. This method is useful if you cannot turn on the iPhone.
Assuming you don't have access to the settings of the lost iPhone, you can also find the IMEI burned directly to the hardware. On the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the string sits on top of the SIM card tray, which means you'll need to pry it out the side using a paperclip. On all other iPhone models, the IMEI is engraved on the back in very small print.
If you have the IMEI, you can use an IMEI lookup website like imei.info to find the carrier. Then you can call a local carrier store reporting that you have the IMEI for a lost iPhone. A representative should be able to track it down, find the owner, and handle the situation from there. (You may also need to take the iPhone to the store.)
When all else fails, just turn the iPhone into a police. Your local police station should act as some sort of lost and found safe. Avoid bringing a lost iPhone to an Apple Store.
READ ALSO: 5 Features You Might Not Know About in iOS 9
