Nice phone too. I tried some std pin codes with no luck and of course ended up with the pin locked and the phone asking for the puk code (whatever that is). Is there any way I can get the phone unlocked so I can try and phone a contact in its address book to get the phone back to the owner, or is it now a bin job?

Shop? Is it a branded one ie. with the mobile phone company printed on it?

Its a samsung
.

I'd take it back to the service provider and let them sort it.

Asking to unlock a phone could be percieved as dodgy, however helpful you're trying to be.

Can you tell which network it's connected to? If so contact them with the IMEI number inside the phone. That might help if it's original owner.

It's IMEI code should be inside the battery compartment. If you know the provider it operates on then taking it to a shop would be what I would do. Otherwise take it to a police station. Although, I did hear of one poor soul who did that, and was arrested for theft because the owner had reported the lost phone as stolen! Insane. I had a phone returned after a girl found it on her way to work and phoned my boss when she found my work number on it. I didn't use a PIN ten years ago.

Its got an O2 card in it and the IME number is there too so I'll give them a call.

If you are bored you might like to try this site.

Of course, I trust the site I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't. There are utilities there which you can download. I would still suggest virus checking anything you download just to err on the side of caution though.

Otherwise phone the provider for the PUK. They may not give it to you though if they fathom you are not the legitimate owner of the phone.

as it's locked hand it to the police

my mate is a taxi driver and when he finds a phone dropped in his can he searches for home or mum in the contacts

Although, I did hear of one poor soul who did that, and was arrested for theft because the owner had reported the lost phone as stolen! Insane

Don't know where you heard it, but that also happened round here. Guy fouind the phone, tried to ring the owner, then took it to the polis. Next thing he got taken to court for theft. Madness. Magistrates were withering in their condemnation of the police state in which we now live. Tread carefully. Bin it. (Or bin the SIM card!)

Hand it into the Police station-end of.

Just tried putting a non pin protected sim card in and it started up. For some reason among my contacts there were some others which were obviously the phone owners. Phoned one and it was the owners boss who was very relieved to hear I found it. So will be handing it over on my ride tomorrow as he lives on my route. Could easily have kept it after it worked with my sim but glad I didn't. What a good boy I am.

nice work!

*pat on the back* not that you need it 🙂

I found a mobile once in some shrubbery and handed it in to the Police Station. The amazing thing was that it had been lost a couple of months beforehand and still worked!

I found a phone on the train late one night, it must have fallen out of the owners pocket and was under a newspaper.
Anyway there was no obvious home contact or anything and it was really late at night but then a text arrived so I phoned the person who'd sent it and he then phoned some mutual friend who knew the owners home phone number. While all that was going on the owner actually rang the phone himself and was a bit puzzled when I answered it by saying "John's phone". He said "I know it's John's phone, I'M John!"

He only lived a few miles away so I cycled round with it the following day. It turned out to be a guy who, years ago had worked in the same orchestra as my Dad!

I found a phone today too. Tried phoning 'husband' and 'home' and left a message saying I'd take it to the local station. Couldn't get to the station fast enough – for the reasons alluded to above. Handed it in and got to leave without giving details.

And I was on the other end earlier this year, dropped the phone in the street, rang it when I discovered it missing and spoke to the finder who handed it in to the police. It took quite a bit of work to prove the phone was mine before I could get it back.

I found a phone at Glastonbury, phoned 'Mum' and left a voicemail saying your son/daughter has lost their phone and I'll leave it in Mandela Bar. I hope I didn't grass someone up when they weren't supposed to be there!

As an odd addition to this I picked up a nice Casio digital watch after a gig in Bristol that had come off in a particularly energetic mosh at the front. I just stuck it in my pocket, but when I had a good look at it it turned out to be a data type watch, with loads of phone numbers on, one of which was 'home', so I called it, and spoke to the student's mum, who said he was really cross to have lost it, so he was really delighted to get it back. Bumped up my Kharma points a bit. Good thought with the SIM, have to try that if I find a locked phone, I've got Orange and O2 sims.