The aftermath of a stolen iPhone and the long road to a new device
The long way to Singapore (and back)
This is a post I don’t really want to write…but I hope you’ll pick up a few notes in case the worst happens during your trip.
In this adventure
Editor’s note
For context, I’ve already written a lot about “Does AppleCare+ work around the world (at least in Singapore)”? This provides further details about the event, such as device recovery.
I’m working on this piece…in Stockholm to be honest, prototyping and trying to be as true to the facts as possible, but the raw emotion takes over.
So there is no swearing in this sentence, but there is a lot of implied language.
Next.
“Oh hell no” moment (swap your expletive of choice)
It was getting dark at Marina Bay Sands, and as I tried to reach into my pants pocket to take some nice photos in the dark, I realized something… something was missing.
iPhone.
got it. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, so I threw it in my backpack for safety. My memory is like that.
No, it will not be displayed.
Oh hell.
I stepped into the light because I needed help at that exact moment. And a security alert.
We also checked out a Xiaomi wristband that allows you to talk to your phone. It didn’t work because it was out of Bluetooth range.
The words that came out of my mouth were…many, but restrained.
There was considerable discussion and assistance provided by Marina Bay Sands security while the police report was sorted out. One of the staff members was kind enough to lend me his phone. From there, you can send your iPhone annoying pings and messages, or put it in lost mode, making it useless to anyone.
Once the 45 minutes were up, there wasn’t much else to do. And I wanted to get out of Skypark. I was kind enough to skip the line back to the downstairs elevator (rather than waiting in line for the elevator) and took a taxi back to Mercure Bugis to make other plans and dispatch an emergency contact.
Fuck. At that point I was depressed.
I went into my room, logged on to my laptop, and noticed that my Instagram messages were weird and that friends and people were contacting me.
Apparently, a French couple found my phone on the first floor outside of Marina Bay Sands, delivered it to me, and told me where they had dropped it.
Did the gods smile on me?
There was one way to find out. Grab your laptop and head back to another Singapore taxi. The extra Singapore dollars were quickly spent, but if I had a chance to get my phone back, I would take it.
When we arrived at the concierge desk at Mariana Bay Sands, we were a little confused, but were advised to head to another desk closer to the river.
When I got to my desk, I was excited. There was a hint of sadness in their eyes.
Oh, oh.
After confirming who I was on the phone and the message on the lock screen, it was handed to me.
good. The frame was intact. Glass is…oh my gosh.
Photographed a little later at the Apple Store at Marina Bay Sands.
You can see what condition it is in – barely there. Don’t ask me about cell phone cameras….
I had the staff confirm that it was mine, and I signed it with regret, thinking of my next steps. Upon inquiry, we were able to confirm that there is an Apple Store within this complex.
There were a few things I needed to do before going to the Apple Store. First things first:
- The OLED screen on the front was working, but most of it was broken and most of the colors were off when I tried to turn it on.
- There didn’t seem to be any holes in the back of the phone, but all the broken glass didn’t help.
- Yes, that’s broken glass for Annie Lennox to walk on.
They are…at worst, superficial.
More importantly, Data and security elements on the phone. Today, many of us use our phones for everything from mobile wallets, maps, cameras, and boarding pass storage.
So my next concern was about the secure elements of the phone. Could the person who decided to rent it compromise the secure elements of the phone? We’re talking FaceID, PIN code, and banking apps.
I checked my banking app and wallet and nothing was hit or authenticated, indicating that whoever broke my phone did not have access to the secure module.
If there was one small mercy in the world, I would take it.
How can I recover from a broken phone?
Now, the next question is: Do I need to get my iPhone replaced in the UK, or can I have it repaired while I’m in Singapore?
I had quietly given up on trying to solve this problem when I got home, and in the morning I went to Little India or Sim Lim Square to get a “temp phone” and a protective pouch to put my phone in. I was planning a trip to The power was off during the trip. The glass was peeling off so if you think I’m going to use this on the way home you’ll think otherwise.
And that’s above all from a battery safety perspective.
When I went to the Apple Store at Marina Bay Sands at 9:30pm, I honestly didn’t have any expectations.
When I arrived at the Apple Store, the staff were sympathetic and tried to help me with what I saw, but they were a little shocked when I explained what had happened. Staff ran diagnostics and began searching for replacement parts.
The company also confirmed that the iPhone 14 Pro is covered by AppleCare+.
This means that replacement costs are minimal.
After a little research, they discovered one purple iPhone and 512GB Storage locations across Singapore – orchard road. After some interaction with staff, a work order was issued and the device was reserved for pick-up the next day.
That way, you’ll have time to prepare for your appointment considering you need to transfer data from your current iPhone to your new iPhone.
After finishing everything, I headed to the MRT station for the evening.
Now that the emergency situation is over, I felt like taking it easy. At least my MRT ticket this time was a smart card. At that point it was one less thing to worry about. I think if I had taken a taxi at that point I would have been heartbroken.
On the MRT back to Bugis, I used my phone through a plastic bag just to check the data, but nothing happened. Call me completely paranoid.
At this point, the physical SIM could not be connected to the phone and went offline. Thankfully, the eSIM was still connected at that point.
I sigh.
There’s always one more thing.
overnight
Returning to the Mercure Hotel, we were able to secure a late checkout first. I felt like I would need to check out the next day as well.
But once we got back (although we forgot to eat dinner on the way), there was so much to do.
I had to finish backing up my iPhone, so it was going to be a long night. Rather than using a cloud backup service, I had to sync the device with my MacBook Pro. I can’t use iCloud because I have 300Gb of data on my device. Considering the purely ongoing costs (not to mention the time required to copy all your content to iCloud).
That works out to £8.99 per month…. fast. Because everyone likes a subscription to a service (and can pay that much for AppleCare+).
While I started backing up, I did some spring cleaning of my computer. Considering I needed to move 300 GB of data from my laptop, this was also a challenge I didn’t need.
In addition to this, I was keeping an eye on the device like a hawk (with all this glass, there was a glass of water nearby – in case the lipo battery got damaged and caught fire). Be prepared).
watching this like a hawk
May the backup gods work their magic while your OLED screen is at its safest during this process. off.
By 3am, I had a working backup and a large amount of data migrated from my laptop. I wish Apple would implement USB3.2 on all of their devices (even new ones, some of which only run at USB2 speeds with a USB-C interface). Yes, that meant doing a differential backup as well as the main one.
It is called point i and intersection t. Or you can be extremely paranoid about your data.
Now, I needed sleep and the instant noodles I brought with me in case of a “just in case” emergency (I skipped lunch and dinner that day).
I turned off my phone, and with a full stomach, I dozed off to sleep.
the next day
I was quite tired the night before, so I stayed up late. When I turned on my iPhone, it was still working even though my regular SIM card wasn’t registered (at least the eSim was).
I managed to grab a Grab to the Apple Store on Orchard Road. This is another place you don’t want to be first thing in the morning. I’ve never been the first one into an Apple Store, but here I am on Orchard Row just before opening time.
Apple Store on Orchard Road.
I was pre-processed outside by store staff and checked in for my reservation. When the door opened, I headed upstairs to process.
The employee looked over the case notes (and looked up multiple times) and I confirmed that this was covered by AppleCare+. I was told that the rest of my AppleCare+ would be transferred. There are 15 days left.
If disaster was to strike, it was at this moment.
Once the paperwork was completed, a replacement phone was issued and the old phone met its fate.
It was a matter of the phone registering with Apple servers and the physical SIM card being reinstated in the new device. Once you’re up and running (to the point where you can start something), it’s time to worry. Restore your iPhone and hope your backup is valid.
In-flight data recovery.
For most of the three-and-a-half hours, I sat and watched the progress bar go by (and the process monitor was visible as well, allowing me to see how much data was being written to the phone).
This doesn’t help, especially since I had to meet a checkout deadline (and failed spectacularly). However, through a combination of luck and patience, the phone was eventually restored and restarted.
I took this opportunity to return the lightning cable I had borrowed to the staff and try to start up the phone. Eventually, I saw a message on my phone saying “Hello” on Orchard Road. From here it was the usual Apple onboarding process of completing the activation of the phone and ensuring that data, password chains, etc. were restored.
Once that was done, the first app I downloaded was Grab (because I had free time in a taxi on Orchard Road). I returned to the Mercure Hotel to apologize profusely and check out.
The next few hours were spent watching applications reload, security checks triggered, and many applications with cache mismatches reinstalled.
The only thing I lost was the eSIM I had for Singapore.
To be honest, it’s part of my travel confidence.
What can we learn from this?
First, no matter where you are in the world, never let your guard down and always keep your wits about you. Even in the safest countries.
Second, AppleCare+ covers iPhones worldwide. If you’re planning a trip and the worst happens, be thankful for it. If you don’t want hero colors on your phone, avoid them.
Third, always make proper backups of your device, whether it’s on the cloud or on a storage device. You never know when you’ll need it.
Finally: never underestimate the kindness of the people who work and live in Singapore. Their kindness, along with the kindness of strangers, made a terrible situation recoverable and turned a terrifying night into a day of successful recovery.
Next:
Return to Changi and the Pokemon Center. It’s time to get moving again.
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