Help urgently pls - Dad has lost his phone

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Help urgently pls - Dad has lost his phone - what can I do?

kiwifidget

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#282769 10-Mar-2021 20:47

As per title, Dad has lost his phone enroute to Wellington from Tauranga, probably in Turangi.

I am struggling to find the appropriate instructions while I have mum panicking on a landline.

How do I get the number cancelled, and can it even be done at this hour?

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#2671318 10-Mar-2021 21:00

Maybe try live chat here https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile/manage/keep-phone-safe/

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kiwifidget

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#2671320 10-Mar-2021 21:16

@kiwiharry thank you, will try the live chat.

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lurker

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#2671322 10-Mar-2021 21:24

Is it an Android phone with a Google account? If so you can log into your account from any browser then Google "where is my phone" to locate it and you get some options for secure/erasing the phone if need be

kiwifidget

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#2671327 10-Mar-2021 21:38

its an iphone which i know zippity-do-dah about

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kiwifidget

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#2671328 10-Mar-2021 21:39

anyways, Spark have blocked it for now. and we will have to try and see if turns up in Turangi tomorrow

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Bung

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#2671329 10-Mar-2021 21:42

Has your father tried ringing wherever he stopped for petrol or whatever just in case?

Kiwifruta

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#2671336 10-Mar-2021 21:46

since it's an iphone, use Apple's find my iphone service, provided he turned this on, on his phone. I've used it more than once.

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kiwifidget

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#2671337 10-Mar-2021 21:47

he didnt realise the phone was missing until just over an hour ago.

he thinks he remembers the name of the place in Turangi they had lunch, so i will call them tomorrow, they only open from 8am-3pm.

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kiwifidget

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#2671341 10-Mar-2021 21:52

Kiwifruta:

since it's an iphone, use Apple's find my iphone service, provided he turned this on, on his phone. I've used it more than once.

I gave that a go but it says all devices offline, i dont know if that feature was turned on though.

If we find his phone, or have to replace the phone, I will be more involved in its setup and maintenance for sure.

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kiwifidget

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#2671348 10-Mar-2021 22:12

Thank you all for being the voice of reason while I had a distraught person on the phone, it was difficult to keep a logical train of thought.

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1024kb

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#2671398 11-Mar-2021 07:27

Turning the account off @ Spark was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry to tell you.

Apple's FMI system is pretty comprehensive, but it does need a connection to the phone so that you can sign in to iCloud on another device & ask it "where are you?" & the iPhone is then able to respond "I'm here". You then have the choice of various options including wipe & play alarm @ full volume.

If the phone has run out of battery or been turned off, it'll have sent it's last known location to iCloud.com.

It's the same with Androids too, although they have some even handier options including sending a Call Me button to the screen that'll only call the number you nominate.

My advice is to get hold of Spark asap, turn that SIM card back on. Then log in to iCloud.com & find your iPhone.

The other quick & dirty option is, if your Dad had Google Maps installed, to log into G Maps another device & hit Your Timeline. That doesn't need a current connection, it'll tell you where the phone stopped moving.

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kiwifidget

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#2671400 11-Mar-2021 07:34

Phew! I just rang the cafe and they have his phone.

Will get Spark to turn it back on.

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alasta

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#2671411 11-Mar-2021 08:34

1024kb: Turning the account off @ Spark was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry to tell you.

Apple's FMI system is pretty comprehensive, but it does need a connection to the phone so that you can sign in to iCloud on another device & ask it "where are you?" & the iPhone is then able to respond "I'm here". You then have the choice of various options including wipe & play alarm @ full volume.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think logging into iCloud via a web browser requires 2FA? If so, then you'd need to have access to another device that happens to be logged into the same iCloud as the lost device?

In my case my iPhone and Macbook Pro are the only devices that I have logged into my iCloud account, so I am conscious that I need to have access to one of them if I lose the other.

kiwifidget

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#2671416 11-Mar-2021 08:43

But that forces you to have 2 devices??

He only has 1 phone and thats it.

The find my phone tool did not ask for any info other than the icloud credentials.

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xpd

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#2671424 11-Mar-2021 08:54

I have Prey installed on my kids devices, as a backup to the Google/Android options. Piece of mind rather than shelling out for more devices...... and lets me know if the device wanders out of the local region.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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