You can do a few things if your iPhone is lost or stolen to help secure your data and maybe retrieve your device. If you misplace your iPhone, follow these steps.
Losing a phone happens to the best of us – maybe you walked away from it accidentally, or it slid out of your pocket while you were jogging. It may be distressing when you can’t find something as important as your iPhone for any reason.
If your iPhone goes misplaced, you have a lot of alternatives, thanks to Apple’s privacy and security safeguards.
Use Find My iPhone to try to find your iPhone.
Once you detect your iPhone is gone, use Find My to track it down. If feasible, do it before you start canvassing a broad region.
You will save time looking, but you’ll also be able to find your phone before someone else does. You’ll also be able to know where your iPhone is going if someone else already has it.
You may use Find Me by logging into iCloud on the web or by using the Find My app on another Apple device you own, such as an iPad or MacBook.
Mark your iPhone as stolen or lost.
If Find My is the most useful tool, you have, declaring your iPhone as lost is the greatest option. Marking your iPhone as lost accomplishes many tasks.
To begin, it encrypts your iPhone using your passcode, preventing unauthorized access.
It also disables Apple Pay, making it impossible for would-be criminals to buy anything, even if they were to guess your passcode.
On the Lock screen, you may show a personalized message with a phone number. This makes it much easier for any would-be good samaritans to return your phone to you rather than leaving it at an unexpected loss and found.
How can I mark my iPhone as “Lost”?
Open the Find My app on one of your Apple devices, or go to the iCloud website in your browser.
- Devices with a Tap
- If you can’t find your iPhone, tap it.
- Scroll down and select Mark As Lost from the drop-down menu.
- To create a personalized message with contact information, follow the on-screen instructions.
- Select Activate.
Submit a police report.
After your gadget has gone missing, it’s good to submit a police complaint. This permits cops to keep an eye out for any misplaced phones reported to the police department. Furthermore, your carrier or Apple may demand it for replacement or AppleCare+ claims.
You’ll need to call the police agency in charge of the region where you misplaced your iPhone. Depending on training and tech knowledge, what the police department does next when provided with “Find my” information is somewhat up in the air, according to our experience and a sample of readers.
Make a claim for theft and loss.
If you have an AppleCare+ plan with Theft and Loss coverage, you can claim to have Apple replace your iPhone.
You’ll need to go to Apple’s iPhone Theft and Loss Claims website. Before filing the claim, make sure you’ve identified the device as lost, and it’s a good idea to submit a police report just in case.
Remotely erase your iPhone
You’ll need to wipe your iPhone remotely if you don’t discover it in a proper length of time – or if you can’t manage to find it or track it down using Find My iPhone.
When you wipe your iPhone, you erase all of your data from the device. Any media that hasn’t been backed up to iCloud falls into this category. It is, however, the most effective technique to ensure that no one can gain access to your iPhone and steal your personal information.
The good news is that you can use Find My even if you delete your iPhone with iOS 15 and later.
If you wipe your iPhone and it’s running iOS 14 or earlier, you won’t be able to find it via Find My.
If you have an active loss claim with your carrier or AppleCare+, you should wait until your claim is fully processed before erasing your iPhone.
How to Erase Your iPhone from far
Open the Find My app on one of your Apple devices, or go to the iCloud website in your browser.
- Devices with a Tap
- If you can’t find your iPhone, tap it.
- Erase This iPhone is the last option.
