Owing an iPhone is a luxury but losing it can be equally dreadful. Now, Apple’s iPhone has its own defence mechanism to cope with such situations. It’s called “Find My iPhone”, and you probably know about it if your devices belong to Apple’s ecosystem. This feature lets you track your iPhone, other Apple devices and accessories. Remember, this system only works if your phone is powered.
So, does that mean a lost iPhone can never be found? The answer is No. With the debut of the iPhone 11, Apple started equipping their phones with a chip that sends signals even when the device the turned off. It pings nearby iPhones and uses their network to update its location. While this feature works great, thieves can find loopholes like hardware bypassing which can make iPhone unfindable. To add a few more layers of security, we suggest these additional steps to improve the chances of finding your lost iPhone.
Turning on “Find My”
“Find My” formerly known as “Find My iPhone” is your phone’s core security centre. This feature should be active by default. However, sometimes we may turn the feature off manually while resetting the phone or messing with the network settings. Now is a good time to double-check this setting. On your iPhone, go to Settings and click on your profile picture at the top. Next, tap on Find My and ensure the Find my iPhone setting is enabled.
Remember the special chip we just spoke about? To enable finding a turned-off iPhone, make sure you also activate the Find My Network tab just under the Find My iPhone setting. You can also turn on Send Last Location feature which automatically updates your iPhone location on iCloud when the battery is critically low.
This feature also automatically updates your location to your family member if you have turned on the Family Sharing feature. This means your family members can immediately start looking for your iPhone once you realize it’s missing. While this feature helps find the location, you can also use it to share paid apps with family members.
Turning on Lost Mode
We also recommend turning on the Lost Mode once you realise your iPhone is missing. You can activate this by going to https://www.icloud.com/find from any phone or computer. Once you Sign in, select the lost device from “All Devices” and tap on “Mark it as Lost”. Once enabled, it displays a phone number and a message on the iPhone’s screen, leaving everything else inaccessible. This feature also notifies you about your phone’s location via e-mail, whenever it connects to a network.
Stricter Access When Locked
iPhones allow you to access commonly used features like Wi-Fi access, network data, media playback and widgets even when the screen is locked. While this feature brings convenience, it can be a big problem when your phone is in the wrong hands. A person who found your phone can put your device on Airplane mode, making the Find My feature unusable. To tackle this, turn off Lock Screen access by going to Settings > Face ID and Passcode. We recommend turning off most access features, except Return Missed Calls, so a person who finds your iPhone can call back.
Using a stronger passcode
An iPhone without a passcode, fingerprint or Face ID is like a vault that needs no key. Without a passcode, anyone who finds your phone can access your photos, notes, banking apps and even erase all the data on your iPhone. We highly recommend having a six-digit Passcode, to make it more secure. You can turn the Passcode on by going to Settings > Face ID and Passcode > Setup Passcode. After successfully setting up Face ID and Passcode, you can also turn on Erase Data feature that deletes all data on iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. We also recommend turning on Two-Factor Authentication to make your device more secure.
Using an e-SIM
Most new iPhones come with an e-SIM feature allowing you to have two network carriers on your device. This feature is super-convenient and also puts an additional layer of security. When you have an e-SIM activated on your iPhone, your device will have network and data access even if the physical SIM card is removed. If you have a good Passcode with strong lock screen access, it becomes impossible for anyone to reset your iPhone without updating its location.
Toggling these settings we described can drastically improve the chances of finding your lost iPhone. In case you have located your iPhone in an apartment or an unknown locality, it’s best to contact the local authorities rather than confronting the situation on your own. For more such tech tips and all the latest on technology, keep following us at www.reliancedigital.in.
