iPhones reported as stolen will no longer be repaired by Apple

• Until now, Apple rejected repairs of iPhones with the Find My feature enabled.
  
• Now, the company will use a database to check if an iPhone has been reported as lost or stolen before accepting it for repairs or replacement.
  
• Here’s everything you need to know about before you send your iPhone for repair or replacement.
  

Until now, Apple has denied repairs and replacements for devices which had Find My feature enabled. Now, even if the Find My feature is not enabled but the iPhone is reported as stolen, Apple will not accept any repair or replacement requests.

According to a report by MacRumors, Apple has sent an internal memo to Apple Store employees and Authorized Service Providers, asking them to check if an iPhone sent in for repairs has been reported as stolen before accepting the request.

For this, Apple will use the GSMA Device Registry database to determine if an iPhone has been reported as lost or stolen. If the results suggest that the iPhone has been “reported as missing” – that is, lost or stolen – then the Apple technicians must reject the repair request.

Nothing changes for iPhones which have the Find My feature enabled. Apple currently has a policy of rejecting repairs or replacements if the owner of the device does not disable Find My.

For those devices which do not have Find My enabled, Apple will run the IMEI check with the GSMA Device Registry database.

For the uninitiated, the GSMA Device Registry is a database that allows smartphone owners to report their devices as lost or stolen. The reported devices are then marked as such in the database and companies can cross check the IMEI numbers of devices they receive for repairs or replacements. If a device is flagged in the system, these companies can deny the request.

How to track a lost iPhone

In case you have the Find My feature enabled on your iPhone, you can track its whereabouts. On iOS, Apple has included the Find My iPhone app that can be used to track your lost iPhone.

• Open iCloud in any browser and login to your account.
  
• Click on the Find my iPhone option.
  
• Apple will now list all the iOS devices connected to your iCloud account. It will also show the last time the device was located, in addition to the location of the device on the map.
  
• Just like Google, Apple also has three options – Play Sound, Lost Mode and Erase Device. These features are exactly like the ones on Android mentioned above.
  

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