Apple iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.)

[theseat]

Hi
found an iphone down the back seat of my cab and after phoning O2 and giving them the imei no. They told me the phone had already been replaced and as far as they were concerned i could bin it as they have blocked it.
I'm thinking its worth something and have decided to ebay it and give the money to charity. Am not sure if the phone is technically mine to sell thou. Can O2 register me as new owner to save hassle.
Is the phone mine if the person has been sent a replacement?
Any help much appreciated

[wegras]

I would suggest the owner is whoever provided (funded ) the replacement
if not O2 the owners may have a problem with your action
personally I would hand into the Police and I suspect if it is not claimed
you may be given it ( not sure about this )

[jonsie Level 59: Quartermaster]

You need to hand it to the police, the owners would be the insurance company who replaced it or the original owner if they replaced it at their own expense.
Either way if the IMEI is blocked you really don't want to pass it on to anyone else.

[perksie Level 58: Overseer]

That's an interesting one.
I wonder if it were returned to the OP as unclaimed lost property by the police, would O2 unlock it then, as they would become the legal owner?

[camperdown9]

Hi
A few years ago we had our car stolen. One of the things in the car was my Blackberry. So I called T-Mobile (the network it was on) and they blocked the IMEI.
Within a couple of days the police found the car. However as the car was a company car and it was leased, the police had to return it to the lease company and then they had it taken to a garage to have the locks changed etc. So it was a couple of weeks before we got the car back or had access to it. When we did my phone was still in it.
So I called T-Mobile and they were able to un block the IMEI and I had my phone back. The contract ended and I wanted to sell the handset on to a recycling company but no one would buy it as the imei had been at one point blocked and reported as stolen.
If you were the customer that the handset was supplied to, then I think you might be able to get O2 to remove the IMEI block. However whats to stop someone stealing a handset, holding onto it for a month or so, until the owner gets a replacement from the insurance. Then calling the network and saying I found this phone and when they say they are not interested asking for the lock to be removed under the excuse that they want to sell it for charity. I know this is not wants happened or what you are trying to do, but it would be a way to get round the issue of the IMEI lock.
Best bet is to hand it in to the police or if you don't want to do that, stick it in an envelope and mail it to O2.
Alex

[canwefixit]

You won't get O2 to unlock the phone. No way.
The phone was the property of the person who lost it. If they then had an insurance claim, it's now the property of the insurance company.
O2 will only ever remove an IMEI bar after the owner calls in, is verified as the owner, their mobile number shows as having been used in the handset and it's verified an insurance claim hasn't been made.
The iPhone can still be used, in effect, as an iPod touch as all the functions that don't require a cellular connection will still work.

[mitchja]

You need to hand it in to the police. It's simply not yours to sell or pass on to anyone else.

[sheepdog Level 19: Quirky]

Don't forget that selling a phone knowing its been blocked can also open you up to a myriad of accusations by the future buyer. May even mean having a visit from the Police!
As above, either return it to o2 with a note but get written confirmation from o2 that you can keep it.

[ancientferguson]

To the Police Station without delay.
Don't be listening to somebody from O2 that clearly doesn't know the law.

[Anonimouse]

The police crush them so you won't get if unclaimed