How to use Find my iPhone
Step 1: Check the requirements. Although
optimized for the iPhone 5, Find my iPhone is available on all devices
equipped with iOS 5 or later. The utility is completely free and
compatible beginning with the iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod touch,
the iPad, and all the latest versions thereof. A valid iCloud account is
also required and devices that lack network coverage must be connected
to a registered Wi-Fi network to be located.
Step 2: Download and install the app: Tap the blue
App Store icon
located on your iOS device, search “Find my iPhone” within the Search
panel and select application from the list of results. Afterward, tap
the gray
Free button in the top-right corner and followed by the resulting green
Install button
to download and install the app. Alternatively,
download the app from iTunes and sync it with your iOS device.
Step 3: Activate Find my iPhone. Once installed, tap the main
Settings icon, followed the
iCloud option near the center of the Settings menu. Enter your Apple ID in the resulting pop-up window if prompted, or tap
Get a free Apple ID and
follow the onscreen instructions to set up your free iCloud
account. Swipe to the bottom of the menu once signed in, toggle the
on-off switch to the right of
Find my iPhone and tap the gray
Allow button
from the resulting pop-up window. Repeat the process using the same
iCloud account information for any iOS device you wish to view.
Step 4: Lose your iOS device. Obviously
this doesn’t come highly recommended, but finding your iOS device once
lost is likely the reason you chose to use the app in the first place.
Step 5: Locate your iOS device. Once
lost, you can either use another iOS device or your iCloud account via
the Web to locate your lost or stolen device. Keep in mind it’s not
possible to locate the device if didn’t activate the Find my iPhone
function before losing your device.
Using another iOS device: Tap the
Find my iPhone
icon from the home screen (the icon resembles a old-school radar
display), enter your iCloud login credentials in the appropriate fields
and tap the gray
Sign In button located at the bottom of the
display. Once logged in, select the lost or stolen device from a the
list of devices setup with Find my iPhone and view the device’s
location.
Additional options for remotely wiping the phone and
forcing it to play a sound — accessible by tapping the device’s pin
followed by the blue arrow — are also available, along with a intuitive
Lost Mode that provides options for locking the device with a 4-digit
passcode and displaying a contact phone number directly on the lock
screen.
Using your iCloud account on the Web: Open your favorite browser and navigate to the
iCloud homepage before signing in with your Apple ID and password. Afterword, click the large
Find my iPhone icon,
enter your iCloud password once more and select the lost or stolen
device from a the list of devices setup with Find my iPhone.
Additional
options for remotely wiping the phone and forcing it to play a sound
should appear in the upper-right corner, along with a intuitive Lost
Mode button that provides options for locking the device with a 4-digit
passcode and displaying a contact phone number directly on the lock
screen.
Step 6: Take action. Once
you locate your iPhone or iOS device, use one of Find my iPhone’s
built-in functions to help recover the device. Tap the gray
Play Sound button featuring the speaker to force the your phone to play a high-pitched ping continuously for two minutes or tap the gray
Erase iPhone button followed by the
Erase confirmation to completely wipe your device of all content and user settings. If running iOS 6, tap the middle
Lost Mode button, enter a phone number where you can be reached and type a message to be shown on your phone. Click the brown
Done button in the upper-right corner when finished entering your message in the text field.
There’s
no guarantee the ringing, erasing or messaging will help you get your
device back — regardless if you know it’s precise whereabouts. Rather
than confront the potential thief yourself, it may be wise to contact
your service provider and the police, informing them of the situation
and your intentions to recover the device. You never know when things
might escalate like they did in San Francisco.
