How To Find Your Stolen Or Lost iPhone Faster

Don’t panic when you realize you lost or your iPhone was stolen or you lost it. This is the fastest way to find it. 

We know how scary it is to lose an iPhone. It can even be scarier when it gets stolen. The moment you realized it, the worse you feel every ticking moment. Not to mention that you’ll lose some of your contacts, important documents, sensitive information, etc. 

Probably the next scary thing is the fact that replacing the device can be expensive. However, there are steps that can help you lessen the probability of losing your iPhone. And it’s very simple. The key is to use Apple’s Find My service. This tool is intended to recover your Apple device. 

First, you need to set up your passcode. This will prevent other people either the one who stole the device or someone who found it, from getting access to your personal information. Next, make sure the service, Find My is enabled. This will give you more chances of getting your iPhone back in case such an event takes place. 

How to set up a passcode 

If you’re one of those who think Face ID and Touch ID are useless features, you’re greatly mistaken. In fact, this is required when you set up your passcode. Likewise, this is the fool-proof way of keeping your personal information as secure as possible.

If you’re not convinced, just think about your private conversations, banking apps, contacts, emails, and photos, to name a few. You wouldn’t want some random stranger getting access to this sensitive information, right? 

It’s time to set up your passcode. Go to Settings and tap on Face ID or Touch ID & Passcode. Scan your finger or let Face ID do the trick. While this can become a little bit inconvenient, once you get used to it, everything will become easier. 

Enable the Find My iPhone tool

Once you successfully created a passcode, make sure you turned the Find My iPhone tool. This should be enabled by default, but it wouldn’t hurt to do a double-check. Then, go to Settings and tap on your name. This is located at the top of your screen. 

Turn on the switch next to the Find My Phone, Find My network, and Send Last Location. On the other hand, the FInd My network will crowdsource the exact location where your iPhone was lost. This process only takes a minute to do. 

You can also use the Find My service on other Apple devices like the iPad, and Mac to locate your iPhone. The best thing of all? The feature works even if you don’t have an internet connection. Moreover, this feature works secretly on your behalf. 

In fact, you, as the owner, won’t even know that the company is helping you find your lost iPhone. For this reason, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use this feature. Additionally, Send the Last Location pretty much as it should be. The feature will automatically send the last location the FInd My tool made an effort to recover your device. 

Make Use of Family Sharing 

Apple’s Family Sharing helps you save money since it lets your whole family install a paid app on a variety of devices. However, it also works well with the Find My service. When you set up Family Sharing, you can view the location of all the devices in your household thanks to the member’s Apple ID. 

This means that you can ask each family member to start looking for your lost device. 

Develop good habits 

Always keep an eye on your valuables. This is the surest way of keeping your phone and other important things safe and secure. There’s no alternative to being too cautious when it comes to your most essential stuff. With that being said, never place your phone where someone can take it without you noticing. 

However, if you really lost your device, just take a deep breath, relax, and use the Find My iPhone feature. Importantly, every Apple device comes with the Find My service. There’s no need to worry if your iPhone is equipped with it or not. 

The Last Resort, Lost Mode

In the worst-case scenario, you can turn on Lost Mode. But this requires you to set up a passcode before your device got stolen or prior to when you lost it. Turning on Lost Mode will lock the device and prevent any notifications from showing up on the screen. Moreover, this will continue tracking your phone’s location in the background. 

When your phone is nearby, Lost mode will help track the phone. Likewise, the phone will ring for incoming FaceTime and phone calls. If you get lucky, the person who sees your phone will answer the call and give it back to you.  

Contact your carrier

Worst case, if the steps mentioned failing, you need to contact your carrier. Give them a proper explanation of what really transpired. Next, the carrier will flag your iPhone’s IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity number and stop it from working on the network. This will render the phone useless. 

On the other hand, this step will lessen your chances of tracking down your lost phone unless it’s connected to a Wi-Fi network or someone who’s a member of the Find My network. Likewise, do this only if you’re a hundred percent sure that you can’t recover the lost device. 

File an insurance claim

You can only use this step if you have an AppleCare Plus with Theft and Loss or you’re paying a monthly fee for insurance with your carrier. Furthermore, it’ll help a lot if you claim the insurance as soon as you can. However, this will erase your iPhone so that no one can be able to use it. 

On the other hand, if you manage to find your phone after you claim, you can still cancel the claim. This will only require you to set up your iPhone again. In addition, you need to contact your carrier to start the claiming process.