I found a mobile phone in the mud at a party. By morning, it required sim registration. Is it now useless?

Question

It is an LG KP202, and it's owners must have reported it missing. It seems allied to Orange. Can a new SIM be used? I have found a charger on ebay cheaply enough. But of this issue i am very ignorant, as i have been phone-free for 3 years.

Thankyou for reading.

The deed is done. The phone could, within a short walk of my computer, be given to a friend of a friend of the owner. Sorted.

But if unable to return a found phone, surely the ecological ethic must be to recycle. Why drive to a police station, and have countless forms and man-hours be expended on something that will probably go to landfill?

Better, i would say, to use it. It is a mobile phone; it is FOR mobile phoning. By me or another.

Answer 1

you take it to the police and report it lost. You dont ask on a public site about what is essentially theft you idiot.

Answer 2

Mobile phones are now blocked as soon as someone looses them and makes the call for them to be blocked.

Modern technology these days logs the mobiles IMEI number, and the SIM registration data so that other sim cards cant be used in the phone. The phone provider ie. orange, O2 etc. can either trace back a different numbered sim being used in the phone or unblock and monitor for that to happen and your location can be traced within a certain cell network, or location. These details are then passed on to the police.

Some modern phones are even fitted with tracers, trackers and sound recording software and can be activated even when the phone is turned off. I would hand a lost phone is asap, its simply useless and of no value to anyone other than the rightful owner.

Answer 3

I quote 'But if unable to return a found phone, surely the ecological ethic must be to recycle. Why drive to a police station, and have countless forms and man-hours be expended on something that will probably go to landfill?

Better, i would say, to use it. It is a mobile phone; it is FOR mobile phoning. By me or another.'


Hey, I know - how about referring to any item of property in the same way, like with the old finders keepers phrase..
Good grief. Reading stuff like this just reminds me how some people think.

Answer 4

First of all, the owner was clever to render the phone useless, so putting in another SIM card may not work if the owner has actually blocked the SIM card number from the telecommunications service and has given in the phone's serial number too.

Secondly, it should be returned to the host of the party- explain to them where you found it. The owners may have already asked them about it.

Answer 5

Maybe the someone removed the sim card, or the owner of the mobile has reported it's missing. You can buy another card and use the phone.

Answer 6

I think you have to find it around the box and stuff like that. The SIM card should be coming with the phone. If you couldnt find it, so just call to T-mobile and ask for it, maybe they have forgotten to ship the card with the phone, and they will reshipping it again.

Answer 7

If you were going to do the moral thing you would go about returning it to owner. I found a phone most people have got mum or dad no in the phone so ring it and tell them you have the phone and arrange to give it back, because apart from anything else that person may have pictures and numbers they cant replace.

Answer 8

I know on my phone the sim is saved on the phone in the menu. Im not sure if you can scroll through all the menu options based on your question but if you can you might want to try it. Also I bought a tracfone one year for only 25.00 at a Wal-Mart, you only pre-pay either online or with a card you can purchase for really cheap. I know it really came in handy when I didnt have another phone to use! It was a really nice flip phone with color screen so you might want to look into that also!

Answer 9

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Answer 10

If the sim has been cancelled there is a good chance the IMEI will be blacklisted too. This will make it useless on any network. See if you can find out who lost it and return it.

Answer 11

better to hand it in to a police station.

it won't work probably as it's been reported lost or stolen or the owner is trying to get a new phone, who knows