Apple is not going to repair iPhones that have been marked stolen or lost

Apple is not going to repair iPhones that have been marked as lost or stolen on the GSMA Device Registry. All Apple Store employees and Apple Authorized Service Providers have been asked to deny repairs to users who bring in iPhones that have been marked as missing or lost in the MobileGenius or GSX systems.

According to MacRumours, the company has sent an internal memo to the employees who work at Apple Stores and at Apple Authorized Service Centres that mentions that Apple is going to now use the GSMA Device Registry database to check if an iPhone brought in for repairs is marked as stolen or lost before they proceed for repairs. If the iPhone in question has been “reported as missing” on that database, the technicians in both the centres must deny repairs.

The GSMA Device Registry that Apple is going to use to check the lost/stolen status of an iPhone is a global database that contains the serial number of devices that have been lost or stolen. Once a phone is reported as lost or stolen, the police mark it as such on this database. Mobile companies also use this data and match it with the device’s IMEI number to check the device status.

Essentially, Apple already has a policy in place that denies repairs for lost and stolen devices and is applicable to iPhones that have the Find My feature enabled, and that will still hold. Additionally, this new memo extends that policy to cover iPhones that have the Find My feature disabled.

The new inclusion has been done to stop the sale of stolen iPhones. However, if your iPhone did get stolen, or you lost it, and then you managed to find it and then took it in for repairs, Apple is going to consider it only if you can provide proof of purchase.

Proof of purchase includes the bills, etc. Without this, even if your device’s warranty period is active, both the Apple Store and the authorised service provider is not going to fix it.

A stolen or lost iPhone can be marked as missing on the Find My service from any of your other Apple devices, like the iPad or the Macs. You need to log in with your Apple ID to register this. Once this information has been updated on the network, if any person in possession of your lost device tries to get it fixed at an Apple Store or from an authorised service provider will be denied.

Also Read: Apple might announce WWDC 2022 dates soon: What to expect

Also Read: Apple’s subscription service for iPhones, iPads: What we know so far