Lost my iPhone 4s in Manhattan

July 28, 2015 7:49 PM

My iPhone 4s was lost in Manhattan today, and has been traced to a very different neighborhood. I went there with a friend and it's in an area with lots of cars and apartments, so finding it's exact location is not as easy as if it were in a house that had a big yard. Or any yard. What else can I do to potentially get my phone back?

Things I have done:
Had friends send text messages to my phone
Used the "phone is lost" feature on iCloud
Called the police - they undestandably won't go to the place where my phone is to investigate without me. The person I went searching with did not call the police while we were up there.

Bonus fun points, my debit card and ID were in the phone wallet. So Bank of America told me that the debit card might be returned to a branch. They blocked it and are sending me a new one. No attempts to use my debit card were made.

I will be able to get a new ID next week. The mail at the ID address is being watched for the arrival of a phone shaped lump.

Considering that I can't afford to buy a used phone, what else should I try to get my phone back?

posted by bilabial to Law & Government (12 answers total)

I've had someone come to my apartment and insist that their lost iphone was inside, which I am sure was not the case. So be aware that the "find my phone" feature is not a certain thing.
posted by ryanrs at 7:51 PM on July 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

Post signs around that particular neighborhood and on car windshields? Maybe offer a reward (if you can afford it).
posted by greta simone at 8:18 PM on July 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

If it were me, I would send an email or post to a social media account watched by friends asking if anyone can give you an old iPhone. Literally last week, I gave an old Galaxy S4 to an acquaintance who posted a request on Twitter.

As for getting back your phone, I think at this point the best chance is hope and wait. Keep calling it and sending texts although at some point soon you need to report it lost.
posted by AugustWest at 8:19 PM on July 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

If someone picked it up and took it home, I think odds are very low that they did it with any intentions of returning it to its rightful owner. There's nothing wrong with posting signs or asking around, but I would be amazed if you ever see it again. I think you need to figure out how to get another phone.
posted by primethyme at 8:34 PM on July 28, 2015 [5 favorites]

I think your phone is probably gone for good. If you haven't already done this, perhaps you can find a way to decrease the cost of your monthly phone bill (there are workable options for $30/month, like Page Plus) and use the savings to buy a new phone.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:56 PM on July 28, 2015

Yeah, its probably gone for good. If its any consolation, if the phone had iOS 7 or later, the phone can't be activated/used if you have set it to lost mode. Maybe put a message on the screen saying you'll offer a reward? You can also make it play a sound via iCloud. Maybe you'll get lucky and hear it?
posted by bluloo at 9:06 PM on July 28, 2015

It's gone. I lost my phone similarly a while back, and after going to the location I was like "yeah right" and hit android/google's remote nuke button to at least wipe the phone.
posted by MillMan at 9:23 PM on July 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Called the police - they understandably won't go to the place where my phone is to investigate without me. The person I went searching with did not call the police while we were up there.

...they're willing to go there if you're there? Why not do that?
posted by kmennie at 9:55 PM on July 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

My brother lost his phone, texted the number and offered a reward, obviously phrasing it to sound like he assumed a Good Samaritan had found it. The guy met him & returned his phone. Brother gave him the reward.
posted by stellathon at 3:45 AM on July 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I went to where the phone "is" but there are too many possible places for a phone to be in that area, and I don't have a phone. So the person I was with would not call the police, which I know was reasonable even if I was feeling emotional about it. The police here have muuuuuch more high priority things going on, so who knows how long we'd be standing around in a strange area waiting for them to arrive.

The battery has died and the phone has not been recharged.
posted by bilabial at 4:25 AM on July 29, 2015

> The police here have muuuuuch more high priority things going on, so who knows how long we'd be standing around in a strange area waiting for them to arrive.

Yeah, the NYC police barely even care if your apartment was burgled and treat it as a pretty much laughable nuisance (ask me how I know), so I'm pretty confident they wouldn't give even one little damn about a missing cell phone.
posted by languagehat at 7:55 AM on July 29, 2015

Don't bother with a reward. Get the cops to help you. If it doesn't work out, oh well. The iPhone 4s is less than $150 on eBay.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:41 AM on July 29, 2015