Find the Owner of a Lost iPhone Using Siri

If you’ve ever found a lost iPhone, you know it’s next to impossible to get to the Contacts app to see who owns that smartphone. Courtesy of Apple’s tight security, the passcode feature and fingerprint sensor leave you locked out of any iPhone that doesn’t belong to you.

If you happen across a lost, stolen or otherwise misplaced iPhone, have no fear because Siri will come to your rescue.

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How to access Siri on any iPhone

Siri can normally be accessed from any iPhone simply by holding down the Home button on the phone and waiting for her “What can I help you with?” message to pop up. The Home button, by the way, is the round button on the front side of your iPhone, located near the bottom of your device. For those with newer iPhones, the Home button is also the fingerprint sensor.

Find the owner of a lost iPhone

Siri is incredibly knowledgeable of all things related to the device she’s associated with. In addition to giving you directions, defining words for you and telling you what’s coming up on your calendar, she can also tell you who owns the iPhone you’re holding.

To get Siri to spill the beans, just press and hold the Home button to activate Siri, and then ask “Whose phone is this?” Siri will spit back a contact card containing the phone number, name and address of the person who owns the phone, provided they’ve entered this information into their iPhone Contacts. These days, it’s pretty much a requirement for iPhone owners to enter a contact card for themselves, but if you happen an older device that doesn’t have Siri installed or a contact card for its rightful owner, take any lost iPhone to an Apple Store and they’ll get the phone back into the right hands.

Note: Siri must be enabled from the lock screen in order for this to work. You can set your own iPhone to deploy Siri when you press and hold the Home button from the lock screen by following these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
  2. Tap on Touch ID and Passcode
  3. Enter your numeric passcode when prompted
  4. Scroll down to Allow Access When Locked
  5. Click the slider to the on position for Siri

 

Setting Siri up to work from the lock screen can help you get your iPhone back quickly should you ever misplace it.