Losing your iPhone can be frustrating, you have not only lost money but also your contacts and personal information which can be misused. In this article we will show you how to find your lost or stolen iPhone.
How to Track and Find Lost iPhone
One of the easiest ways of tracking and finding your lost iPhone would be to call your phone number from another phone. You should be able to hear it ringing or vibrating in case it is somewhere nearby in the house or place of work.
If this does not work you have other ways of tracking and finding your lost iPhone.
1. Use Find my iPhone
Find my iPhone is an app created by Apple. It can be accessed on a computer and on another iOS device. The good thing about Find my iPhone is that it is an iCloud service and it still works even if the app wasn’t installed onto your iPhone before it was stolen. Here is how to use find my iPhone.
1. On your computer visit icloud.com
2. Sign in to your Apple account associated with the stolen iPhone.
3. From the iCloud homepage click on Find my iPhone app (see image below).
4. You may also have to enter your Apple ID and password again
5. The app will automatically start trying to find all the devices associated with your Apple ID if you have more than 1 Apple product, in this case select your lost iPhone from the list of devices.
6. Tick the Notify me When Found option, in case the app says that it cannot locate your phone. This can happen in case your phone is out of range or switched off.
As soon as your iPhone is turned on, you will receive a notification at your email address associated with your Apple ID.
7. If your iPhone happens to be online “Find My iPhone app” will provide information about the location of your iPhone on a Map.
The Find My iPhone app basically provides you with 3 options. Choose the option that best suits your own condition. Please note that if your iPhone’s battery is dead these options may not work.
- Play Sound
- Lost Mode
- Erase iPhone Data
Play Sound: If the location shows that the iPhone is in your house select the play sound option which will cause the device to ring at full volume.
Go into every room of your house, the device may be in a bag or hidden under a table or the sofa.
Lost Mode: If the location shows that your phone is not in your house then turn on the Lost Mode option. This will lock your iPhone with a password that you can set on your computer.
The Lost Mode option also allows you to display your contact information and a message on the phone saying that you have lost your iPhone.
Erase iPhone: If there is really important information on your device then click on the Erase iPhone Option to erase all data from your device.
This would be your last-resort option, to prevent possible misuse of your personal information. Here we would like to inform you that your information is not retrievable in case your phone is password protected.
2. Inform the Police
In case Apple informs you about the location of your iPhone, make sure that you inform the police immediately. Do not make the mistake of going to the location by yourself.
Make sure that you are filing a report with police even if you are unable to track the location of your iPhone using Find My iPhone app.
This ensures that the police will get in touch with you in case anyone finds your phone and deposits it at any police station.
3. Contact Your Phone Company
Contact your phone company in case it is more or less sure that you are not going to find your phone.
Your phone company will immediately shut off the service to your phone, preventing its potential misuse. Also, you may be able to get a new phone in case your plan covers for a lost phone.