For a modern person, a lost or stolen smartphone is a serious nuisance. The first reason for frustration is the loss of the apparatus itself, which costs a lot. The second is that the iPhone's memory stores information that is extremely necessary for the owner and is not intended for outsiders. This can be both personal data (photos, videos, personal correspondence), as well as secret passwords from payment systems, mailboxes, social network accounts. How are iPhones found if lost or stolen? The article provides ways to search for smartphones even if they are turned off.
Description of the Find My iPhone utility
The place of loss or theft of the phone can be a street, public transport, a store, a cafe … How to find an iPhone from a computer? There is a method by which it is quite possible to establish the location of a cellular device. We are talking about the Find My iPhone program, which is built into the iOS operating system no older than version 5 by default.
Using this utility is extremely simple. But there is one important nuance: all settings regarding the Find My iPhone application must be made before the phone is lost. OtherwiseIn this case, determining the location of the mobile device will be almost impossible.
The Find My iPhone service allows you to see the current coordinates of the location of the smartphone, block the device if necessary, or delete any information from it. All these actions are possible if the phone is connected to the Internet.
How to find an iPhone if it is turned off? This process will be described below, but now it is time to consider what settings must be set for the Find My iPhone utility in order for it to work correctly.
Setting Find My iPhone
How to find the Find My iPhone feature? To do this, open the “Settings” section on your mobile device. Next, select iCloud. When prompted for an Apple ID and password, enter the required information. If everything is done correctly, the iCloud application menu will open. In order to enable the Find My iPhone function, you should move the slider opposite it to the right. Then click the "Allow" button in the request window that appears.
After you need to activate the geolocation application. If this is not done, the mobile device cannot be found even if the Find My iPhone utility is running correctly. You should go to the "Settings" section, select the "Privacy" item and by moving the slider to the right, make the "Geolocation" function active.
In the seventh version of iOS, the Find My iPhone utility has acquired a new Activation Lock feature, which is automatically enabled when you try to change these settings. Thanks to this innovation, the attacker will have much moreproblems when using or trying to sell a stolen phone.
Now you know how to find the Find My iPhone feature on your mobile device and set it up properly. The next step will be to set a ban on disabling the definition of the current geolocation.
Lock disabling geolocation detection
How to find an iPhone if it was stolen? To do this, you need to make sure that attackers cannot make certain changes to the settings of the mobile device. The first thing experienced thieves try to do is disable the Geolocation feature, which allows you to determine the current location of your smartphone. In order for them not to be able to do this, you need to take care of closing access to this section in advance. You should follow this route: "Settings" - "General" - "Restrictions" - "Privacy" - "Geolocation". The system will require you to enter a password consisting of four digits. You should come up with such a code and write it down on paper so that you don’t forget later.
After that, the function of determining the current location can be disabled, either by knowing the access password, or after a complete flashing of the device. While the thief is trying to carry out the last transaction, the legitimate owner of the phone will have more time to find the mobile device.
How to find an iPhone from a computer? To do this, you need to use the iCloud system. Read more about this below.
Search for a smartphone using iCloud
How to find an iPhone 4 that was stolen? outsideDepending on the device model, the iCloud search process will be the same. To find your phone, you need to go to www.iCloud.com from your computer and enter the requested data. The system will require an Apple ID and password.
If the data is entered correctly, you will be logged in to the site and the "Find iPhone" button will become available. After clicking on it, the "All Devices" tab will appear. In the drop-down list, select the device whose location you want to set.
Next to the name of the lost smartphone there will be an indicator in the form of a green or gray dot. In the first case, this signal indicates that the mobile device is connected to the Internet, and its coordinates will be determined. If the dot is gray, then the iPhone is disconnected from the network. Do not give up in this case. The article will describe how to find a lost iPhone if it is turned off.
After completing the above steps, a special map will show the approximate location of the missing mobile device. The smaller the radius of the green circle that appears, the more accurately the geolocation is determined.
After that, all that remains is to write down the coveted coordinates of the location of the iPhone and take them to the police so that its employees can help return the phone to its rightful owner.
Additional iCloud features
Now you know how iPhones are found using the iCloud system. But in addition to determining the location of the stolen device, this service has a number ofother useful features. For example, you can completely erase all the information stored in the memory of the missing phone. It is also possible to send an SMS to a stolen cellular device. And the owner of the phone can turn on the iPhone's emergency siren directly from the iCloud website, which will continue until the rightful owner of the device turns it off. This alarm is very loud and sounds even when the phone is switched off.
Another handy feature is "Notify me when found". When it is activated, a notification will be sent to the email of the owner of the smartphone if the device appears on the network, even if the SIM card is changed.
How to find an iPhone if it was stolen? One way could be the new My Friends app, which is detailed below.
My Friends Program
How to find an iPhone 5 that is stolen or lost? The My Friends application allows you to locate on the map the location of people who use Apple products, regardless of the models of these devices. If two people have installed this program on their gadgets and activated it using their Apple IDs, then they can see each other's geolocations. This can be used as a way to find a missing phone. A prerequisite for determining the location is that the device must be turned on.
How do I find iPhones using the IMEI code?
You can find a smartphone using the iCloud service in 80 percent of cases if the owner hurried up and tried to determinethe location of the mobile device within hours of being lost.
But how to find an iPhone if you lost a device in which the iCloud service is not configured properly? In this case, the IMEI code can come to the rescue. This individual number consists of 14 digits. It is unique for each gadget and remains unchanged even when using a different SIM card.
How to use the IMEI code in the search for a missing phone? Firstly, it will definitely be needed when the owner of the cell phone contacts the police for help.
Secondly, the IMEI number must be reported to your mobile operator in order for it to assist in finding the device using satellite equipment.
Also, the IMEI code can help when the owner of the device, for example, lost his iPhone in another country. How to find if it's off? In this case, it is recommended to leave the unique number of the cellular device in a special database that is globally accessible. If someone finds a smartphone with the specified IMEI code, he will contact the owner of the device using the coordinates left in the system.
How to find an iPhone by phone number?
If the owner knows for sure that the device was stolen, then in this case, how to find the phone? The iPhone can be turned on, and the thieves did not have time to change the SIM card. You should call this number from another mobile. Maybe the attacker will agree to return the stolen phone for a reward.
If connection withmobile number is missing, you need to write a statement about the theft to the police. You should indicate the estimated time and place of the crime, the IMEI code and the phone number of the sim card.
Police officers, together with the mobile operator, will try to establish the geolocation of the device and, possibly, return the iPhone to its rightful owner.
How to find the iPhone if it is turned off?
If the missing phone is turned off, then there is still a chance to return it to the owner. The development of Apple, which has already been mentioned above, can again come to the rescue. How to find an iPhone if you lost a device with the correct settings for iCloud? In order to try to establish the location of the mobile device, you need to go to the specified system from the computer and click the "Find iPhone" button. This process has already been described in detail above. The location of the gray dot on the map will indicate the coordinates where the phone was last located before it was turned off.
If the owner is familiar with a certain location, then you should remember where and under what conditions the cellular device could be lost. If the specified geolocation does not mean anything to the owner of the iPhone, then the gadget was still stolen, and the received data should be reported to the police.
A prerequisite for determining the last location of the phone is the active mode "Last location". Below is a detailed description of how you can enable this useful feature.
Last Location Mode
The iOS 8 operating system pleasantly surprised mobile device users with a new mode inservice Find My iPhone, which is called "Last Location". How are iPhones found using this app? Last Location allows gadgets to automatically send their location shortly before the battery runs out.
To enable this function, you need to go along the route: "Settings" - "iCloud" and there activate the "Last location" mode by shifting the corresponding slider to the right.
Data transferred by iPhone will be stored in iCloud for 24 hours after the mobile device is turned off.
Conclusion
In order for the search for the missing phone to be successful, the owner of the gadget should do the preparatory work in advance. It is necessary to install and properly configure special applications for iPhones. This will help locate a stolen or lost mobile device. It is also recommended to protect the device with a password and set the necessary locks. It is better to store important information not on a memory card, but in cloud storage. After revealing the fact of the theft of an iPhone, its owner should act immediately. If the geolocation of the stolen device can be determined within a few hours of the crime, then the chances of success are high. Do not hesitate, because this is in the hands of the attackers.
