Finding a lost or stolen smartphone is not so difficult if you activate the search function on it. A similar feature is available on Apple iPhone smartphones. It received the quite understandable name "Find iPhone" and allows you to quickly find a lost device. But before that, you need to take care of setting up this functionality - we recommend that you do this immediately after buying a smartphone.

For searches to be successful, you need to not only activate the Find My iPhone function, but also ensure that your smartphone is connected to the mobile Internet. This is how it will be possible to determine the coordinates of the location of the lost device. The setting is carried out as follows:

• Go to the "Settings" menu and select your profile.
• Select the "iCloud" item;
• Activate the "Find iPhone" function.

Below, the function of automatically sending device coordinates when the battery is critically low should be enabled. Now everything is ready to search for the lost smartphone.

iCloud will help track the location of the device. It is he who will show on the map the place where the iPhone is located. To use this functionality, you need to remember the data from your iCloud account - this is the Apple ID and password.

Searching from a computer

To find a lost phone through a computer using iCloud, follow the link above and go through the authorization procedure. Shortcuts will appear on the screen where you need to select "Find iPhone". After launching the application and the appearance of a map of the area, select your iPhone in the "My Devices" menu. After a couple of seconds, the map will display the place where he is at the moment. For example, you could drop the tube near the car or leave it on a bench in the park - urgently run there so that the tube does not “grow legs”.

Three other useful features are also available here:

• Play sound - activating the function will cause the handset to beep. Very handy when looking for a phone in the grass or at home.
• Lost mode - will display a message on the phone screen that will be seen by the one who finds it. Enter your contact details here. The handset will then be blocked.
• Erase iPhone - we recommend using this function if the price of the data stored in the device is higher than the cost of the iPhone itself.

This is quite enough to detect the handset, block it or turn it into a "brick".

Searching from another iPhone

At the time of loss of a computer device, it may not be at hand - a completely standard situation. Do not be upset, someone who also uses an iPhone will help us out. We ask for the device, launch the Find My iPhone application on it, launch it and log in with your Apple ID. After a couple of seconds, a map of the area with the location of the smartphone will appear on the screen - you can go in search.

How to find an iPhone if it is turned off

Unfortunately, we will not be able to turn on the turned off handset - in order to correctly determine the current location, the iPhone must be online. If it is not, the map will show its last position. You can move to this point and look for the lost device there. Unfortunately, you will have to face a similar result if the smartphone is lost in an area where there is no network signal reception.

Find iPhone by IMEI

We note right away that it is impossible to find an iPhone by IMEI. This number is broadcast to the network when identifying the device, it is also displayed in the details. But this does not affect the possibility of searching. There are no special services that allow you to find a handset by IMEI. And those that are present on the network, for the most part, are fraudulent. The only ones who can find a handset by IMEI are law enforcement agencies. To do this, you need to write a statement about the theft of the device. When contacting the police, you will need a box from a smartphone and a cash receipt.

It should be noted that the police are extremely reluctant to deal with such cases. But the situation may change in 2019, when it is planned to launch a register of handsets registered in Russian cellular networks.

Contacting the Apple office

There are no search tools in Apple offices. The maximum they can help here is to provide a computer to search for the loss through the Find My iPhone function. Offices do not have other tools.

Third party apps to find iPhone

There are no third-party programs for finding a missing iPhone. Use iCloud or the Find My iPhone mobile app to do this. By the way, if it is not available on another device, download it from the App Store.

Hello! Unfortunately, no one is immune from the risk of losing or stealing your favorite iPhone. This situation can happen to absolutely anyone - there is no way to protect yourself from this. The situation becomes especially sad if you look at the statistics of the resolution of cases of theft of mobile phones - the numbers are not the most comforting. Why are there disappointing ... they are very frightening!

But! No need to immediately despair, become discouraged and sprinkle ashes on your head. Why? Because sometimes the situation can still be resolved in your favor - after all, the possibility of finding a lost iPhone still remains. Yes, the chances are not maximum ... but they are! This is what will be discussed in the framework of today's publication.

Ready? Let's go!

Features and tools for finding a turned off iPhone

About Find My iPhone

We will immediately dispel the illusions of many users: miraculously, it is impossible to find a turned off iPhone without the appropriate preliminary settings for it at the moment. But every user of an iPhone running iOS version 7 and newer can protect themselves from the irretrievable loss of their beloved smartphone - starting with the mentioned edition of the operating system, Apple offers its users a very useful feature called Find iPhone. It is she who is the main tool for finding a lost phone.

There are several comments.

Firstly, this function must first be activated. In general, it can be included initially, but it doesn’t hurt to check () and play it safe.

Secondly, the "Find iPhone" function allows you to track the movements of the switched off gadget in real time. It also either provides data on the last location of the device before turning it off, or makes it possible to determine where the iPhone is after turning it on.

To activate the mentioned function, we find the iCloud section in Settings, click on Find iPhone, and activate the option if it is disabled by moving the slider accordingly.

To search for a lost iPhone with the mentioned function in an activated state, you need to go to the iCloud.com service website and go to the appropriate section. Information about the last location of the device before turning it off, or about its current location, if the gadget turned on, will be displayed on an interactive map.

Special applications

Another effective preparatory tool that can help you find a lost or stolen iPhone in the future is the Find My Phone application, available for download from the official App Store.

In addition to the main device, you will need another iPhone or iPad. You also need to install the mentioned application on it.

If you lose your iPhone, you can enter the program from another "apple" gadget, go through the authorization process and find out where the lost smartphone was before disconnecting. If the device turns on, the corresponding changes will be displayed on the interactive map.

Although at its core, the Find My iPhone application is the same Find My iPhone service that was written about earlier, only brought into a separate program.

Lost mode

A standard iOS feature is Lost Mode. It is not intended to search for a lost smartphone, but rather, it is designed for the honesty and conscientiousness of the one who finds the loss. If this function is activated, the first time you connect your iPhone to a charger, it will display a notification with predefined text, for example, an offer to call a certain number and return the smartphone for a reward.

More details about Lost Mode (how to enable, disable, and many more different points) -.

Help from law enforcement

For personal peace of mind that you have taken all available steps to find the iPhone, you can file a statement about its loss / theft to the police. Take your passport with you, as well as the box from the iPhone and related documents.

The tools available to the police, in some cases, allow you to find smartphones by IMEI (individual device identification number -), but, unfortunately, no one can provide you with 100% guarantees for the successful outcome of the search operation.

The most interesting thing is that the police officers ask you to turn off the lost mode before searching by the serial number. And here a dilemma arises.

• On the one hand, there is an active lost mode, this is the only chance that no one will be able to use your device without knowing the Apple ID. And disabling it means giving the attacker full control over the gadget.
• On the other hand, in recent years, the tools that law enforcement agencies use for such operations have improved quite a lot. And there is still a chance to find a lost and turned off iPhone with the participation of the police.

Most importantly, you don't have to worry about being looked at like you're crazy when you apply. Now - searching for a phone by IMEI is a completely normal practice.

Apple's latest patented designs

Apple has received a patent for an innovative development that radically changes the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe possibilities of finding lost smartphones. We are talking about a significant improvement in the security system of the gadget - the so-called. zombie mode, when activated, the iPhone pretends to be turned off, but in reality remains tracked.

Presumably, the implementation will be as follows: a person who has found or stolen an iPhone, when connecting it to charging, will see a notification requiring you to enter a password. If the input is incorrect, the mentioned mode is activated. Then the iPhone will be able to send a photo of the intruder to the specified email address, send a message with the specified text to the set coordinates, pretend to be turned off, transmitting data about its location, etc. – the exact list of available features will be known only after the official release of the function.

Now you know about available and developing ways to detect a turned off iPhone. Take the recommendations of this article into service and protect yourself in advance against the irretrievable loss of your favorite smartphone in case of its loss / theft.

P.S. In addition to all the tips, a little luck will come in handy during the search. Where can I get it? All you need to do is to like and click on the social media buttons. And that's it, success is guaranteed! Let's try!)

Purchasing new gadgets from Apple, such as iPad and iPhone, is always a very joyful event, especially if you are a fan of this corporation. Absolutely every tablet or smartphone model from the company of the same name gives its fans a huge number of very pleasant and quite useful surprises as brand new games, programs and updates.
But if the device is lost, the joy of the acquisition can turn into disappointment.
It is worth noting that among the most recent software innovations from Apple is a radically updated My Friends application, which was specially created for devices that run on the iOS operating system. This new program is already different:

• updated appearance;
• special customized design;
• the general style of the seven (there are extremely thin icons, and the design is in bright colors);

When the smartphone is turned on, it is extremely easy to find or track it

The main task of the updated program "My Friends" (My friends) is, first of all, to determine the geolocation of people who use iPhone, iPad and iPod touch gadgets and so on on the map itself. In principle, a very narrowly focused service, although it is a fairly useful application for these devices. Simply put, when any two people have installed the “My friends” applications on their own devices, you just need to activate them, while using your own accounts. The program independently recognizes where the other owner of the smartphone is when the phone is turned on.

Thanks to this function, you can find out where absolutely anyone is. This application is also convenient because you can simply find your iphone, but only if it is turned on. You can also use the icloud.com application, which allows you to find your iPhone. Important: if a person has lost his iPhone, then you can find it in this way only if it is turned on and working.

In addition, you can find and find out where the iPhone is if it works in absolutely any mode. The main thing is not to reset the settings. Since if a factory reset was performed, then the phone will automatically log out of the AppleID.com account.

Improved Find My iPhone

Immediately, after you have purchased an iPhone mobile smartphone for yourself or as a gift, be sure to ask the sales consultant to install the iPhone Finder program. Thanks to this function, you can also find out where any person is. By the way, you can also find someone else's iphone under the same condition - it is turned on or works offline.

First you need to make sure that you have an original iPhone and it is set up properly so that the function for geolocation is active (go to the settings menu, then go to the privacy item and there will be a Geolocation menu).

It is worth noting that it is necessary to activate iCloud.com, after which you must immediately activate the Find My iPhone service in the iCloud.com tab located in the system settings. Naturally, this procedure is not able to protect you from the fact that you will lose or have your smartphone stolen.

We want to clarify again that a special iCloud.com service finds an iPhone lost by the owner only if it is turned on! This is quite simple and does not require much effort - you just see exactly where the iPhone is at the time of the request. What you need to do for this:

• go to iCloud.com
• select the desired contact.

After that, the exact coordinates of the place where your iPhone is located will be shown on a special map, if it is turned on.

In addition, to find your lost iPhone, you can simply create a special security password on icloud.com. For those who have lost their iPhone, it will be very important to know that, thanks to the icloud.com website, a person can completely erase absolutely all information from their own iPhone in just a few minutes, and also, if a person has lost a smartphone, he can send an SMS message to your iPhone, which you lost somewhere. But most importantly, thanks to icloud.com, a person who has lost this smartphone can start an “icloud emergency siren”, which will continue until the moment the real owner turns it off, in order to find out and possibly hear somewhere nearby. Iphone sounds very loud and at the same time, it sounds in any state - even in the off mode.

Each of us thinks that he is the most attentive and focused person in the world, who will never forget his phone in a taxi, drop it on the street and meet gopniks in a dark alley. But the realities of modern life prove quite the opposite. And therefore, it will not be superfluous to take additional measures in advance to increase the chances of finding the device in case of loss.

I sincerely hope that you will never have to resort to the methods described below for detecting a device. But, as they say, God saves the safe. It’s very disappointing to lose your iPhone, and it’s much more annoying when you realize that if it weren’t for your own carelessness and laziness, then there would be a chance to find it. In any case, it would be possible to activate the lost mode or erase the data for sure.

"Find iPhone" - A special feature that will help you find your device, as well as remotely protect or erase all data stored on it. A similar function is also available for iPod, iPad, Mac.

The function allows:
- Locate the phone;
- Activate lost mode;
- Remotely wipe data;
- Play sound on iPhone.

How to turn on Find My iPhone/iPod, iPad, MacBook

• Go to settings> iCloud (cloud storage must be activated).

• We turn on Find My iPhone, if necessary, enter the password from the Apple ID, and if a request appears for permission to access geolocation services, we agree.

• Also include the last location item, it will not be superfluous.

That's basically the whole setup. What did you think? 🙂

Note: After activating "Find my iPhone", the "Activation Lock" function is automatically turned on, which closes access to your device for strangers in case of loss. No one will be able to disable it, erase data from the phone or activate it for another person without your Apple ID and password.

Now let's actually consider the operation of the service in two ways.

1.How to find iPhone using iCloud

1. On your computer browser, go to icloud.com
2. Enter your Apple ID credentials.

Note: The maps will display all your devices on which "Find My iPhone / iPad, iPod, MacBook" is activated and a single Apple ID is entered.

For more detailed information about the device, click on the green circle and then on the icon i . In the window that opens, you can find out the level of charge of the phone, as well as take the following actions.

— Lost Mode. When this mode is activated, you can remotely display a message and contact information on the phone screen.

— Erase iPhone. A very useful feature if you are already desperate to find the loss. But keep in mind that after erasing, you will no longer be able to track the location of the device. The phone will return to factory settings, and the screen will display the message about the loss that you entered when activating the mode.

— Play sound. Allows you to send a sound signal (useful if the phone is lost on the scale of the apartment and there is no way to call it from another device).

If the circle is gray, then the iPhone is offline and its last known location will be displayed, but despite this, it is still possible to activate the lost mode, or erase all data. Changes will take effect the moment the device appears on the network.

2. How to find iPhone using the app

For this method, you need to borrow an iPhone or iPad from a friend and log in to the Find My iPhone application (installed by default, if not, download it) using your Apple ID. Further, as in the first option, a map with the geolocation of your missing device will be displayed.

Working in the application is completely similar to the web version described in the first method. Of the differences, only the icon of the car, which allows you to lay the best route before the loss.

As a conclusion

The moral of this article is that Find My iPhone must be turned on. But it will be very cool if you never have to use it!

You can also watch a detailed video tutorial.

In the modern world, a lost or stolen phone is a big problem for a person, as it can lead to various negative consequences. Not only is the loss of the device itself no longer good, since the phone is now worth a lot, and it’s a pity to throw your honestly earned money down the drain, and, secondly, the phone’s memory stores a lot of personal information that is not intended for strangers , for example, personal photos, correspondence, bank card details, etc.

So how do you solve this problem? Apple has long foreseen this option and equipped the iOS operating system with the Find My iPhone security feature.

Apple generally pays special attention to the security of its products, for example, consider a Mac computer, as you know, special anti-virus programs are not released for them, because they are not needed here due to the features of this operating system. The same applies to the mobile operating system iOS, the newer the version of the iPhone or iPad, the easier it becomes to protect your smartphone from theft.

Help in finding an iPhone that has been lost or stolen will be provided by a special application designed specifically for the iOS operating system - Find My iPhone, which we will discuss in more detail.

How the function works

The Find My iPhone feature allows the user to:

• Determine the geographic location of the lost device. However, there is one BUT, this can only be done on the condition that your lost gadget has access to the Internet. Perhaps in the future this function will be upgraded, which will allow you to find out the location of the Iphone even without an Internet connection, this would be very convenient;
• Erase remotely all information from the smartphone;
• Play a sound signal that will help you find your smartphone if it is nearby. Or if you do not remember where you put your phone, then you can also use this function;
• And most importantly, you can activate the lost mode, which will block the iPhone, and, as a result, it will no longer be possible to use this gadget, it can only be sold for spare parts for a penny.

How to turn on Find My iPhone

To enable the Find My iPhone feature, you will first need to enable it in your smartphone settings.

1. Open the Home screen;
2. Go to "Settings";
3. Click your account name;
4. And go to "iCloud" itself.
5. Scroll to the end, and there will be the cherished inscription "Find me", move the slider opposite it to the active position;
6. Next, a message will appear on the screen stating that Find My iPhone is activated. Confirm your action by clicking "OK";
7. Now you also need to check if the "Find My iPhone" function is active in the geolocation of the smartphone. To do this, go again to "Settings" - "Privacy (or confidentiality)" - "Location Services". This section has many subsections, including Find My iPhone. It is necessary to allow access to this application by moving the slider to the active state or ticking the phrase “when using the program”. This check is needed because if the Find My iPhone function does not use geolocation, then it will not be possible to find the location of the lost gadget on the map.

And everything is ready, you can get to work. On the Home screen there will be a shortcut to the Find My iPhone function, click on it and sign in.

How to use the Find My iPhone feature in the app

Device location

For this method, you will need to borrow an iPhone or iPad from a friend with the Find My iPhone application installed, if there is none, then download it. Further, by entering the application, you need to log in with your Apple ID and after the login is completed, a map with the geolocation of your lost device will be displayed.

Turn on sound

If you click on the icon of your device, then three buttons will appear at the bottom, the first of them is to play sound.
After pressing this button, a beep will sound on the lost smartphone. This is very convenient if you yourself have lost your phone, do not remember where you put it within the apartment, etc., but it is unlikely to work on a thief.

Lost Mode

When you turn on the Lost Mode feature, you can remotely display a message with your contact information on your smartphone screen. You can come up with the text of the message yourself, however, there is already a default blank: “This phone was lost. Please, call me".

Erase iPhone

A very useful addition to the Find My iPhone application was the Erase iPhone function, otherwise it is also called Activation Lock, which first appeared only on iOS 7. This add-on will allow you to block a lost smartphone once and for all, i.e. in other words, turn the phone into a useless pile of spare parts. The gadget cannot be brought back to life in any way, neither by flashing nor by restoring in DFU mode.

And if you imagine such a situation that the phone was stolen, then the attacker, after you have activated the “Erase iPhone” function, will understand that he has a dummy device on his hands, with which he cannot do anything. And the most logical solution for him would be to contact the owner and act out the situation, as if he had found a gadget, and even ask for a symbolic reward, at least somehow profit.

For those who are afraid that the phone cannot be restored, do not be alarmed, to restore it it will be enough to know the Apple ID password, so make sure that you have all the logins and passwords written down. If you forget or lose your password, you will not be able to return the device to working capacity yourself, even hackers and Apple support will be powerless here.

Also keep in mind that after selecting the "Erase iPhone" function, you will no longer be able to track the location of the device. The smartphone will reset all settings and return to the original ones, and only a message about the loss will be displayed on the screen.

How to find iPhone from computer via iCloud

To determine the geolocation of a device and start tracking and searching for it, you must do the following:

Turn off Find My iPhone

It is possible that the Find My iPhone application was activated by you by accident, or, alternatively, not only you have access to your Apple ID account, of course, no one wants someone to track your location, but everything can be fixed - turn off the find iPhone function. There are 3 ways to do this.

Disabling a feature via turning off all iCloud features

Disabling a feature via the app

1. On the Home screen, find the Find My iPhone shortcut and sign in to your account by entering your username and password.
2. Under the map with the location of the smartphone, a list of all devices on which the Find My iPhone function is enabled through your account will open.
3. In order to remove a device from the list, it will be enough to select the desired device and swipe it with your finger from right to left, after this action a red “Delete” button will appear, click on it.

You should be aware that the device that you want to erase from the list must not be connected to the Internet (Offline), otherwise the treasured "Delete" button will not appear.

This is just the minus of this method, because as soon as the remote device connects to the Internet, the function is activated again. Therefore, you can permanently disable the Find My iPhone function only in iCloud settings.

Shutdown on a Windows computer and Mac OS X

1. Open the iCloud.com page in a browser on a personal computer and log in using your Apple ID details.
2. In the panel at the very top, expand the "All Devices" tab.
3. From the list that opens, select the device on which you will disable the function.
4. The next step will open full information about the device and you will need to click on the "Delete" button and confirm your action again in the window that appears.
5. In the additional window that opens, enter your account password.

After such simple steps, a confirmation will be sent to your smartphone to disable the Find My iPhone function, and it will be deactivated immediately when your smartphone is connected to the Internet.

Is it possible to disable the feature without an Apple ID password?

It is impossible to disable the Find My iPhone function without account data, such as a password and login, and in general, the whole point of the Find My iPhone function would then be lost. Fraudsters who stole the phone or found it, but did not want to give it back to the owner for some reason, would simply turn off this function and that’s it, device searches are doomed, the “find iPhone” application would be nothing more than a toy, or, in extreme cases, assistant to find the phone in the apartment.

Important additions

There are a few important things to know about using the Find My iPhone app:

1. Firstly, it should be understood that the data on the location of the smartphone provided by the iCloud service is not displayed in real time, but only shows the moment the lost iPhone was last connected to the Internet.
2. You can allow the application to receive notifications by e-mail, this will allow you to quickly catch the moment when the stolen smartphone appears on the network and quickly block the device and use the "Erase iPhone" function in order to delete all personal information.
3. The Find My iPhone feature will be useless if the device was stolen by a resourceful thief and promptly reflashed before you noticed the loss.
4. And what is worth noting is that always-on geolocation puts a heavy load on the battery, as a result of which it discharges faster.

Let's also imagine a situation where, for some reason, the owner did not immediately turn on the “Find iPhone” function when buying a smartphone, then, of course, finding it will be more problematic, even almost unrealistic. But, nevertheless, it is possible to make life not so sweet for those people who find the device, but do not want to return it right away. The fact is that on the official Apple website there is such a great opportunity - to change the password for your AppleID account.

If everything is done quickly, it will instantly close access to many important functions. For example, to the AppStore, iTunes, iCloud, etc. Also, what you should take care of is changing passwords in social network accounts so that your photos, correspondence are not made public and simply do not fall under someone else's eyes, and this can be done quite easily from a personal computer.

In this case, the most important thing is speed, since you didn’t take care in advance, you didn’t play it safe from losing your phone by installing the Find My iPhone application. And the faster the user blocks his personal data remotely, the more likely it is that an unscrupulous person will return the smartphone, which he will not be able to fully use.

A person who has installed the Find My iPhone application on their device will have to be very careful and careful about the safety of their personal credentials, not handing them out right and left. Because if your data ends up in unkind hands, these hands, in turn, will be able to safely block the gadget and, having promptly changed the iCloud password, subsequently make contact with the owner of the smartphone, blackmail him, that is, you. This type of fraud is now very relevant, unfortunately, since according to various sources, more and more aggrieved users have recently suffered from this kind of action.