iPad and iPhone Users: PLEASE activate Find My iPhone!

I’m always surprised when iDevice users have no idea what this is and don’t have it activated…. PLEASE make sure that you have Find My iPhone activated on your iPhones and iPads (also works on Mac computers and iPod Touch). If you misplace your device or if it is stolen, “Find My iPhone” will let you use another apple device or any computer with an internet connection to find it and protect your data.

You should also make sure your attorneys have this activated on their devices so you can be a life saver when they misplace them. If they use their iPhones and iPads for work, confidential client information may be at risk if their device is misplaced.

*** Please note that Location Services must be turned on and Find My iPhone must be enabled in the iCloud settings on your device in order for you to use these services – instructions are below ***

What can I do with it?

Find My iPhone allows you to:

• Locate your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Mac on a map
• Display a custom message on the screen (such as your name and phone number)
• Play a sound for two minutes at full volume (even if your device is set to silent)
• Remotely lock your device (even if you don’t have a password set up usually)
• Can’t get your device back? You can also remotely wipe your device to erase your personal data –  (Caution: if you wipe the data you won’t be able to track the device any more, so this would really be the last resort).

If your device is running iOS 6 you can also activate Lost Mode – Lost Mode locks your missing device with a 4-digit password and can display a contact phone number right on the lock screen. Also, your device will keep track of where it has been and will display its recent location history when you check in with Find My iPhone.

How do I activate this Service?

(These instructions are for iOS 6, your device may vary slightly if you are using a different iOS but it should be generally the same)

• To turn on Find My Iphone go to Settings > iCloud > Find My Iphone. Toggle the switch to ON. It will pop up a disclaimer which says “This enables Find My iPhone features, including the ability to show the location of this iPhone on a map” – click Allow. You may be prompted to login to your iCloud account, this is your Apple ID – the same login you use for iTunes Store, App Store, etc.
• Location Services are probably already turned on, but to be sure, this is how to check: go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Make sure the toggle the switch to ON.  (If you are concerned about privacy issues with Location Services, this page will also show you all of the apps that use Location Services so you can turn them on and off individually, for example, a weather app uses Location Services to show local weather reports, a movie ticket app uses Location Services to show you movie theaters close to you). Scroll all the way to the bottom and make sure “Find My iPhone” is set to On. If not, click on it and toggle the switch to ON.

Once you are set up, you should locate your device to make sure it is picking it up properly, and to make sure you have an idea of how the service works so you can use it more efficiently when you need it in a hurry.

Locating Your Device

• To locate your device from another apple device, such as your iPhone or iPad, you must download the “Find My iPhone” APP to that device and login using the Apple ID associated with the missing device.
• You can also use any computer with an internet connection by going to https://www.icloud.com/ and logging in with the Apple ID associated with the missing device.

Now What?

• Once you are logged in using either method, click on “Find My iPhone”. You can click on “Devices” at the top and it will show you a list of all of your devices that are registered to that account (such as an iPhone and an iPad).
• Choose the device you are looking for.
• If the device is connected to the internet (either over WiFi or 4G etc) it will be displayed on a map so you can find its location, you can also play a sound, enable Lost Mode, or wipe the data.

(Caution: if you wipe the data you won’t be able to track the device any more, so this would really be the last resort).

• If the device is NOT connected to the internet, you can set up actions to occur when the device connects, and you can ask to be notified once the device is located.