Bypassing screen lock for lost phone

Forums › Android › Bypassing screen lock for lost phone

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583 posts

Ultimate Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#977269 30-Jan-2014 12:05

have you tried connecting it as a USB device to check photos for places of interest or rego numbers, or failing that phonebook backups VCF001.BAK i think from memory,,,,,,, or downloaded facebook photos that you then throw into google image seargh and see if it can match another image then follow that to HOPEFULLY a facebook page.

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stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#977273 30-Jan-2014 12:11

I wouldn't bother with the stress, just take it to the cop shop. Avoids the potential "why were you looking at my stuff?" conversation from a potentially ungrateful owner.

If the owner has reported it stolen to a TelCo and they've blocked the IMEI then it'll be a virtually useless brick anyway.

@KnightNZ

KevinL

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#977286 30-Jan-2014 12:18

appa:
tardtasticx: have you tried putting the sim into another phone, and seeing if theres any contacts on the sim itself that you might be able to reach? Even if the sim is blocked I think you can still see the sim contents.

Best of luck, and good on you for trying to get it back to the owner.

Thanks.

No luck unfortunately. No personal numbers on the SIM. Only a couple of speed dials from the Telco.

Tried googling the number, in case it's been listed elsewhere on the web?

garbonzai

315 posts

Ultimate Geek

#977289 30-Jan-2014 12:20

Take it to the Police, (yes they do more than write out infringement notices)

2 weeks is far to long to have been in your possession, the owner could had already contacted the Police about it,

If its not claimed in a reasonable amount of time, you will have a brand new second hand phone and then it will be yours.

appa

15 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#977299 30-Jan-2014 12:34

wasabi2k: Not knowing you was noone else thinking this was slightly suss?

a "lost" phone you want to "return to owner" by bypassing PIN?

As opposed to simply factory resetting the phone, and putting in a new SIM?

The IMEI is not blocked btw.

wasabi2k: Apologies if you are an upstanding citizen trying to do the right thing...

If you have any suggestions as to how I can determine the owner without unlocking the phone then I'm all ears.

appa

15 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#977306 30-Jan-2014 12:39

phantomdb: have you tried connecting it as a USB device to check photos for places of interest or rego numbers, or failing that phonebook backups VCF001.BAK i think from memory,,,,,,, or downloaded facebook photos that you then throw into google image seargh and see if it can match another image then follow that to HOPEFULLY a facebook page.

Yes, I did try that in the hope of getting some (any) lead.

Unfortunately, the phone didn't have a MicroSD, and I couldn't "see" it's resident storage unless I unlocked it.

stevenz

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#977312 30-Jan-2014 12:47

appa:
wasabi2k: Not knowing you was noone else thinking this was slightly suss?

a "lost" phone you want to "return to owner" by bypassing PIN?
As opposed to simply factory resetting the phone, and putting in a new SIM?

The IMEI is not blocked btw.

How do you know that without making a call to/from the device?

@KnightNZ

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jeffnz

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#977315 30-Jan-2014 12:52

stevenz:
appa:
wasabi2k: Not knowing you was noone else thinking this was slightly suss?

a "lost" phone you want to "return to owner" by bypassing PIN?
As opposed to simply factory resetting the phone, and putting in a new SIM?

The IMEI is not blocked btw.
How do you know that without making a call to/from the device?

I'm assuming that when they rang the Telco they told him as much.

as an aside, I don't think the Op has bad intentions here as they have been a member on GZ for a while.

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Garmin Fenix 5

timmmay

20581 posts

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#977326 30-Jan-2014 12:56

Drop it to the police and be done with it.

gundar

488 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#977328 30-Jan-2014 12:58

Has it occured to you that the phone is blank and untraceable because it may have been used in a crime? And the NSA is now tracking your movements - "sir, the handset has been activated, we have located it near the suspects place of residence"...

Oh no, wait, that a badly scripted movie.

If I was you - I'd give it to the police, with your details and place found. There are some nasty conversations that come out of "why did you look at my stuff" rather than "thanks for returning my property" based on my personal experience.

Cheers

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#977355 30-Jan-2014 13:18

Was thinking the same thing. Why were you given the phone? If it's not your property hand it to the police. You could get charged for theft by finding or receiving stolen property. Great if you are trying to do the right thing, but asking how to get around security does sound dodgy to me.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

appa

15 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#977361 30-Jan-2014 13:23

Sounds like the police is the best/appropriate option.

Thanks all.

appa

15 posts

Geek
Inactive user

#977374 30-Jan-2014 13:30

scuwp: Was thinking the same thing. Why were you given the phone? If it's not your property hand it to the police. You could get charged for theft by finding or receiving stolen property. Great if you are trying to do the right thing, but asking how to get around security does sound dodgy to me.

I don't know what the the Police process is when it comes to lost phones.

If it boils down to them simply waiting for someone to come in to identify the phone, then I figured it would be at least worth attempting to locate the owner myself. I'm not sure how high on the crime priority list lost phones are.

It didn't occur to me that someone would be unreceptive if I unlocked their phone so I could find out who they are (so I could return it).

Hiamie

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#977474 30-Jan-2014 14:42

If you haven't done so already, you may be able to work out it's phone number by putting the SIM into another phone and calling a number with caller ID (IE another cellphone). Once you know the number attached to the phone, you can Google to see if that number shows up anywhere, and you can also call the number from your own phone to see if it goes to voicemail. If it does, leave a message on the voicemail giving details of where the owner can uplift the phone from, or which police station you intend handing it in to. The owner may still be remote checking the voicemail and receiving messages from it.

I think both these suggestions are mentioned in earlier posts, but that's what I would do.

Good luck.

MadEngineer

4291 posts

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#977513 30-Jan-2014 15:48

Can you access the camera from the lock screen? If the data connection is still working on the phone you could take a picture of your phone number in the hope that it gets uploaded to them. Otherwise keep the phone charged and carry it with you - surprised it hasn't had any calls? Perhaps they've moved their number onto a replacement sim card. Does it still show reception?

Worth noting that on an iPhone, you can call back missed calls from the lock screen. Used this recently on a phone I found of a customer's at work

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