Your iPhone is lost or stolen

Recently I was unlucky enough to have my iPhone stolen. As you can imagine, it’s a horrible experience to have such a personal (and expensive) item taken. Here are the five actions I took immediately when I learned that it was gone. Step 1: Immediately after learning that your iPhone is stolen, check your iCloud. Within iCloud there is a feature called ‘Find my iPhone’. Provided that you have this function enabled, (and I strongly advise that you do), and that your device is switched on, this feature will locate any Apple devices you have and display where they are currently located using Apple Maps. Unfortunately, my iPhone was switched off by the person who stole it so I was not able to pinpoint its location. Step 2: I also recommend that you activate ‘Lost Mode’ from within iCloud. This locks down your iPhone using the phone’s IMEI number which is unique to every mobile device. This will prevent the thief from accessing the phone as it will require them to enter your Apple account information to get into the iPhone. Another feature of ‘Lost Mode’ is that you are able to write a message which will appear when your iPhone is switched back on. Tempting as it is to let off some steam in the message, please try and refrain from doing this – you will catch more flies with honey. Instead I recommend writing a message along the lines of, ‘If you find this iPhone, please contact the following number XXX XXXXXXX’. (I simply used a friend’s mobile number as a contact.) At least this way if the phone is found by someone, he/she can contact this number and arrange to give it back. Step 3: Alternatively, if you believe your phone is somewhere nearby, you can always select the option ‘Play Sound’ (again from within iCloud). This makes your iPhone play out loud a chime which will help you detect your phone. Step 4: Contact your network provider and explain what’s happened. They are also able to block the IMEI number, as a double protection against anyone else gaining access to your mobile number and data. Step 5: Contact the police and explain what’s happened. If you’ve been able to establish your iPhone’s location using ‘Find my iPhone’, great – that gives them information to work with. They will ask for the IMEI number so that if a phone with that number is handed in, they will know to contact you. In my experience: Unfortunately I have not recovered my iPhone yet, despite taking the steps outlined above. However by enabling ‘Lost Mode’ the thief will not be able to access my mobile number; by contacting my network provider I know that my IMEI number is blocked and my data is safe; by leaving the message on the phone, anyone who finds it knows how to get in touch to let me know it’s been found; and by informing the police I know that if the phone is handed in I will be contacted. With any luck, you will be able to recover your iPhone. At first it may seem like the end of the world, but in the end, it’s only a phone and can easily be replaced. As I final note, please ensure you have all your iPhone’s data backed up either through iTunes or iCloud just so that if you need a replacement phone all your data is there to use once again.