I won’t tell you not to panic, because that’s the most common piece of useless advice I hear repeated in almost any potentially panic-inducing situation. As soon as you say the word “panic,” it swells up all the associations of fast heart rates and sweaty palms.
No, I think instead I’ll nudge you to prepare yourself by knowing the steps to take on the day you lose your Apple device, and then the process of recovery, however it looks, won’t be quite so intimidating because it’ll no longer be an unknown.
So, whether this is an actual situation for you right now or just a hypothetical, here’s what to do if you’ve lost your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
steps to take After Losing Your APple Device
This sucks, but you’ve got a clear set of steps to take to mitigate it. If you’ve set up the Find My app on your lost device, great. Sign in to icloud.com/find, and navigate to Find Devices.
You’ll be able to see your lost device on a map. It won’t pinpoint your device, but it’ll get as close as a few meters in some circumstances, whereas areas with tall buildings or dense tree cover may limit the accuracy to a general area. Still, it’s a start.
If you have another Apple device that also has the Find My app installed, you can log in to it and track your lost device. It’ll be under the Devices tab. Apple has further directions here.
Next, you’ll want to lock the lost device to prevent somebody from finding it and using it. Even if your device is protected by a password, FaceID, or TouchID, locking it ensures they can’t find a way through it.
On icloud.com/find or in your other device’s Find My app, mark the lost device to put it in Lost Mode. All payment cards and passes on that phone’s Apple Wallet will be temporarily suspended, and it’ll immediately lock your device with your passcode. You can also choose to display a phone number and message on the home screen so that somebody who finds it can contact you.
If you haven’t set up the Find My app on your lost device, your options are a bit more limited. Contact your cellular provider to report the device as lost. They can attempt to track the device using its IMEI number, a unique number that identifies your particular phone.
Log in to icloud.com, and remove the lost device from the list of trusted devices. Then sign out of all Apple services, including iCloud, iMessage, and FaceTime. This keeps your personal information private and out of the hands of whoever may have your device, even if you can’t remotely track or lock it.
Say you’ve given up hope that you’ll find your device, no matter what you do. Say you dropped it over the side of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. You should remotely erase the device so that nobody can get into it and find your contacts, photos, and passwords.
Whether on icloud.com/find or in the Find My app, tap the lost device and click Erase. You can’t undo this step, so don’t click it unless you’re certain you won’t find it, or you’re ready to move on and buy a new device.
“If you don’t have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple Account, you can’t erase a device remotely using the Find My app,” says Apple. “Instead, you need to use icloud.com to erase your device, or you can first turn on two-factor authentication.
“If you erase a device that’s running iOS 15 or later, or iPadOS 15 or later, you can still use Find My to find the device. Otherwise, you won’t be able to find your device after you erase it.”
If your iPhone is covered by AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, you can file a claim. “If you filed a claim with AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, don’t remove the device from Find My or your Apple Account, even if you remotely erase it,” says Apple.
Losing an expensive device sucks, and I’m sorry you’re going through it. There are no perfect solutions, but start with these steps. Good luck.
The post What to Do If You Lose Your Apple iPhone, iPad, or Mac appeared first on VICE.
