If your iPhone is lost or stolen, there are a few easy steps to follow. It is important to have these steps handy since you’ll be in a state of shock and confusion if and when your iPhone is gone. So, it’s better to be aware and prepared before the chaotic event may occur.
I thought about writing these steps since one of our valued clients who is an owner of a high-profile architecture firm lost his iPhone at the airport. Fortunately, we already backed and synced his iPhone with iCloud so his info was safe. We also set up the Find My iPhone app. So, we were in good shape since his info was easily retrievable. Plus, we were able to lock down his phone so nobody could access his confidential info.
If you have iCloud and Find My iPhone set up (which you should), here are the steps to take if your phone is lost or stolen:
- Find your iPhone – Go to www.icloud.com on any browser, select Find My iPhone and try to locate your iPhone. If you can use somebody else’s iPhone, use their Find My iPhone app, log in with your account and try to track it that way.
- Secure it – If it is stolen or too far gone, go to Find My iPhone and Select Remote Lock. Only select Remote Wipe if you have given up finding your phone since that will prevent you from locating it. You can get crafty by Playing a sound or message to the thief or new iPhone owner.
- Play detective – with your Find My iPhone account setup, you can track down exactly where the thief or now iPhone service owner is. Get a hold of a local cop ASAP, and lead him to the perpetrator. If unsuccessful at first, you can monitor your iCloud account, and geotrack the iPhone thief’s location by his newly taken pictures, and report it to the police. This will work if he is still using your account and hasn’t wiped out your phone. This may wind up being time consuming and possibly dangerous, but this is a possibility.
- Restore your info – If you weren’t able to find your iPhone, buy a new one and have iCloud resync all your info back to it. If your iCloud account was set up properly by yourself or an iCloud tech, this will be a piece of cake.
Keep in mind that Apple support no longer replaces your stolen or lost iPhone free of charge, no matter what your Apple service or phone contract is. You can insure your iPhone to be replaced by going to a third-party insurance company.