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Found a MyTouch, now what?

S

SirLoins

Lurker
Hi,

I've found a T-Mobile MyTouch 4G last week. I wasn't able to access the phone as the screen was locked. I've waited for a phone call and or text from the owner but still nothing. The phone's battery has died and now I'm not sure what to do with the phone. I'd take it back to T-Mobile but what would they do with it? If I bought a charger is their anyway to bypass the lock screen to access the phone?

I apologize in advance if this type of question isn't allowed on this forum. I've tried multiple searches for this topic with no results.

Thanks.
 
pull the battery out get the IMEI number, contact TMO and give them the number. they should be able to contact the owner for you.
 
SirLoins said:
Hi,

I've found a T-Mobile MyTouch 4G last week. I wasn't able to access the phone as the screen was locked. I've waited for a phone call and or text from the owner but still nothing. The phone's battery has died and now I'm not sure what to do with the phone. I'd take it back to T-Mobile but what would they do with it? If I bought a charger is their anyway to bypass the lock screen to access the phone?

I apologize in advance if this type of question isn't allowed on this forum. I've tried multiple searches for this topic with no results.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Do a factory reset - it is the first thing you should do whenever you get a used phone. You can do it from boot.
 
RavenWulf said:
he didn't get a used phone... he found a phone belonging to someone else
Click to expand...
In which case the phone cannot be activated anywhere as the IMEI will be on the list of "lost" phones. Resetting to factory also wipes out most personal info that the person who "lost" the phone probably values more than the phone itself.
 
SirLoins said:
Hi,

I've found a T-Mobile MyTouch 4G last week. I wasn't able to access the phone as the screen was locked. I've waited for a phone call and or text from the owner but still nothing. The phone's battery has died and now I'm not sure what to do with the phone. I'd take it back to T-Mobile but what would they do with it? If I bought a charger is their anyway to bypass the lock screen to access the phone?

I apologize in advance if this type of question isn't allowed on this forum. I've tried multiple searches for this topic with no results.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

There are places u can go that can unlock the phone for you. It might cost around 50 dollars. Are your intentions to return the phone to it's owner.? Or swap the sim and keep it for yourself .? If you're willing to buy a charger just to turn it on and give it back, that doesn't sound right lol.
 
BurgDog said:
In which case the phone cannot be activated anywhere as the IMEI will be on the list of "lost" phones. Resetting to factory also wipes out most personal info that the person who "lost" the phone probably values more than the phone itself.
Click to expand...

I just thought that T-Mobile would take the phone and resell it as a refurb if I took it back to the store.

Dkelz313 said:
There are places u can go that can unlock the phone for you. It might cost around 50 dollars. Are your intentions to return the phone to it's owner.? Or swap the sim and keep it for yourself .? If you're willing to buy a charger just to turn it on and give it back, that doesn't sound right lol.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I was weighing out my options. If I power the phone back up after two weeks and their are no messages from the previous owner then I'll decide what to do.
 
Welp, you've had it for a week and said there were no calls for it. So the original owner must not be too eager to get his phone back. Maybe he/she has insurance and got a new one by now. Personally, if I were to find another MyTouch 4G I'd keep it for my self as a back up phone.
 
Dkelz313 said:
Welp, you've had it for a week and said there were no calls for it. So the original owner must not be too eager to get his phone back. Maybe he/she has insurance and got a new one by now. Personally, if I were to find another MyTouch 4G I'd keep it for my self as a back up phone.
Click to expand...
The phone is useless. When the owner reported the phone lost or stolen the IMEI was invalidated, the SIM was invalidated. The phone won't work. Only the owner can get it reactivated.
 
BurgDog said:
The phone is useless. When the owner reported the phone lost or stolen the IMEI was invalidated, the SIM was invalidated. The phone won't work. Only the owner can get it reactivated.
Click to expand...

actually that person could have bought the phone used and tmo might not have the imei number. when i buy phones NIB on ebay or something like that when i pop my sim in and change my data plan, they never ask for the imei.
 
BurgDog said:
The phone is useless. When the owner reported the phone lost or stolen the IMEI was invalidated, the SIM was invalidated. The phone won't work. Only the owner can get it reactivated.
Click to expand...


I charged the phone and manually reset it to factory settings. Bypassed the lock screen and put my SIM card in, works fine. I'm going to switch back the SIM and wait a couple of days, after that I'm keeping it as a back up phone.
 
I suspect the SIM doesn't work anymore. I know the first thing I'd do if I lose my phone to invalidate the SIM. So, I doubt you're going to get any calls. If you really want to try to return the phone, you should contact T-Mobile.
 
It's pretty obvious that he never had intentions of returning the phone, but otherwise was trying to secretly get advice on getting into the phone, so he could use it himself. Just remember man, Karma comes around!
 
Swellstew said:
It's pretty obvious that he never had intentions of returning the phone, but otherwise was trying to secretly get advice on getting into the phone, so he could use it himself. Just remember man, Karma comes around!
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How you know he didn't find it off of that persons bad karma .?
 
This is pretty bad for all of us giving advice to this guy and his criminal act so he can use a phone that is lost or stolen that doesn't belong to him.

We all love our phone. Wouldn't you hope if someone found your lost phone and return back to you?

SirLoins said:
I just thought that T-Mobile would take the phone and resell it as a refurb if I took it back to the store.
Click to expand...

You should take the phone to police. I think if nobody claims the phone after certain time, the phone will belong to you legally. That's just all BS he thinks if he brings the phone to tmobile, they will resell it as refurbished.
 
if he would have brought it to tmobile they would have found a way to get the phone back to its owner. Either by the sim number or the imei. I hope for your sake if you ever lose your phone that someone trys to get it back to you.
 
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