If your iPhone was stolen from you, here’s what you need to do to keep your information safe and maybe get your device back.
Millions of phones are constantly lost or stolen, and there’s usually not much you can do about it other than go back and try to find it. If it’s stolen, you’re out of luck unless you can find a way to somehow find it and get it back from the perpetrator. Fortunately, phone manufacturers are adding ways for phone owners to track and manage their phones if they are lost or stolen, giving users at least a fighting chance.
There are a few things to keep in mind and make sure you do when your iPhone is stolen. Many users resort to tracking their stolen device using Find My iPhone, but don’t spend too much time finding the device and the culprit because there are other tasks you have to do if your iPhone is stolen.
Here is a list of tasks to do (in no particular order) when you realize your iPhone has been stolen.
Track My iPhone with Find My
Find My iPhone is a free service that comes with every iOS device and Mac computer, and it lets you track whether your iPhone has been lost or stolen. Of course, it only works when the phone is on and has a signal, so if your phone is stolen and the thief is smart enough to hang up or put it in Airplane Mode, Find My iPhone won’t work, but it will at least give you a fighting chance. Here’s how to use it.
To start iCloud.com and sign in using your Apple ID. You will come across a handful of apps arranged in a similar way to what your iPhone home screen looks like. Click the Find My iPhone icon and you’ll be taken to a full-screen map with dots showing where your various Apple devices (including Mac computers, if you have them) are located.
You can click Devices at the top to view all your Apple devices, and when you select your stolen device, you have the same three options as the Find My iPhone app: Play Sounds, Lost Mode, and Erase iPhone.
Personally, using Find My iPhone would be the first thing I would do, but again, don’t spend too much time fiddling with it. Instead, quickly sign in and see if you can track your iPhone, turn off Find My iPhone if you know its location and proceed to the next step.
Call and Report the Police
Make sure to call the police and not only file a report, but tell them you know the location of the stolen device if you know its whereabouts from Find My iPhone. If that’s the case, they usually send an officer to retrieve the stolen iPhone and catch the culprit. Under no circumstances should you pursue the criminal yourself, as you have no idea what they can do. Let the police handle it.
Otherwise, there’s little the police can do, but filing a report can help when dealing with Apple, your carrier, or your insurance company.
Remotely Erase Your Stolen iPhone
At this point, if you can’t locate your stolen iPhone and the police can’t help you find it, you’re probably at a point where you’ll never see it again, so it would be a good time. Remotely wipe your stolen iPhone if you can use iCloud and Find My iPhone.
As before, there is an option to remotely wipe your device called Erase iPhone, just like when you log into iCloud.com to find and locate your stolen iPhone. Clicking this will remotely wipe your device so the thief cannot access any personal information. This is ideal if you have sensitive information on your iPhone.
However, keep in mind that erasing your stolen iPhone will prevent you from using Find My iPhone to locate the device in the future. At this point, it’s time to officially say “goodbye”.
Call Your Carrier
After wiping your iPhone remotely, be sure to call your mobile carrier to cancel the service on the iPhone so that if the thief can access your device, you do not incur any charges for text messages and calls made by the thief, and instead they will turn off the service and have him make calls and send text messages. will prevent.
Also, if you have a police report you can show the carrier, they are more likely to work with you and take action faster than they normally would. You usually have to prove it was stolen for the carrier to take action, and the police report you file will do the trick.