How to Locate/Find a Lost or Stolen iPhone

Losing your iPhone can be a stressful experience - not just because it's an expensive piece of kit, but also you will lose your personal information and precious data like music, photos, videos, contacts, messages, etc. Getting a new phone would mean you have to start recollecting all these items from scratch. If hearing that gives you a headache, let me remind you that there are a variety of ways you can track lost iPhone and protect your data, just read below to learn how.

Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone app allows you to use another iOS device to locate lost iPhone on a map, protect your private data, display a message, play a sound at full volume even if your missing iPhone was set to silent, and remotely lock your device.

If Find My iPhone is turned on, you can use it to locate lost iPhone and take additional actions that can help you recover it and keep your data secure.

1. Sign in to http://iCloud.com/find on a Mac or PC or use the Find My iPhone app on another iOS device.

2. Locate lost iPhone. Open Find My iPhone and select a device to view its location on a map. If the device is nearby, you can have it play a sound to help you or someone nearby find it.

3. Turn on Lost Mode. Using Lost Mode, you can remotely lock your iPhone with a four-digit passcode, display a custom message with your phone number on your missing device's Lock screen.

4. Erase your iPhone. If the iPhone is gone and you don't think you'll be able to get it back, you can erase it remotely to prevent anyone else from accessing the data on the missing iPhone.

Note: If you erase your iPhone but want to get your data back, we suggest you use Free iPhone Backup Extractor, if you have backed up your missing iPhone with iTunes before. This free program can access the iPhone backup without connecting to the device, and export data like photos, videos, contacts, messages, WhatsApp, etc. to your computer with ease. Don't hesitate to have a try!

If you didn't turn on Find My iPhone before your iPhone was lost or stolen, you can't use it to locate your device. However, you can use these steps to help protect your data.

1. Change your Apple ID password. By changing your Apple ID password you can prevent anyone from accessing your iCloud data or using other services from your missing device.

2. Change the passwords for other internet accounts on your iPhone, including email accounts, Facebook, or Twitter.

3. Report your lost or stolen iPhone to local law enforcement. Law enforcement might request the serial number of your iPhone. You can find your serial number on the original box or receipt, or on supportprofile.apple.com.

More Useful Apps to Prevent Future Lost iPhone

GadgetTrak - A web-based service that attempts to trick thieves into sending location data about your phone to its servers. With that information, you can log into a web console to locate your iPhone by GPS, map, IP address, and more. While the company charges for its service on other platforms, it is free on the iPhone.

Device Locator - This app can be used to locate a miss placed iPhone or keep tabs on a loved one. Every time your phone changes cell towers, this application will turn on the GPS for 15 seconds and record the best location that your phone can determine. This location is then available online and can be viewed by logging into your account from any computer or phone.

IHound - IHound not only helps locate iPhone that has been lost of stolen, but it also lets you track the location of kids, spouses, etc via their iPhones. Additionally, it can spur actions based on GPS location, such as emailing a grocery list when you get to the store.

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