If you often lose things like your wallet, keys, purse, or pants, Tile could be your new best friend.
:: NEVER LOSE ANYTHING AGAINDo you cower in fear that you'll lose your iOS devices and never be able to find them? Well, Apple provides handy tools to make sure that you can at least have a lead on tracking them down and a way to protect the personal data contained within. It's called Find My iPhone, but for it to be any good for you, it's gotta be set up properly! That's why this guide is here.
To set it up, start by enabling Find My iPhone in Settings. It may be automatically enabled from when you first set up your device with iCloud, but if not, or if you disabled it previously, it can be re-enabled. Go to Settings, scroll down to iCloud, and then scroll down to Find My iPhone. Set this toggle to On.
Next, download Find My iPhone from the App Store. Yes, it's a misnomer for iPod touch and iPad users but it will find your devices as well.
When you launch the app, you will be asked to log in with your Apple ID. If you have multiple Apple IDs, choose a common one to log in with on your other iOS devices.
After you do this, it will show any other devices that you have logged in with Find My iPhone, allowing you to see where they are, and to help find them.
Tapping on an individual device will open up a map view showing its current location. The battery life will be shown in the upper-right corner so you'll know if it's near shut-off or not if you are looking for it. Tapping on the device on screen will toggle to map mode where you can scroll around its location, and get directions to its location by tapping on the car icon on its location. By tapping the blue arrow next to its name, three options will be presented to you.
You can Play Sound, which will cause the device to play a unique sound that will help you find it by sound, which will keep playing until the device is found. This is handy if you ever misplace it where you live! The Lost Mode will allow you to protect your device by putting a temporary passcode on it so that no one can use it, even if there's no security on it previously. You can also put a contact number and a message for the person who finds it. All of these options will send emails to the contact email on record for the account so you'll know when someone is trying to use Find My iPhone features.
If you fear that your device is unrecoverable, the Erase Device option will erase all contents on the device. This is an option of last resort to protect your personal data. Hope you backed it up recently!
You don't need an iOS device to find your iOS devices - these features are all available from iCloud.com as well. Fun note--iCloud.com still uses Google Maps, not Apple Maps!
Following this guide should help you keep track of your device if you ever lose your devices, be they in another room or in another city!
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Unfortunately, you will need to be a subscriber to Apple’s MobileMe service in order to use the application which immediately rules it out to most who are unlikely to want to pay $99 a year for the privilege. A sixty-day trial is available here.
If you happen to be a subscriber it’s worth turning the Find My iPhone service on, however, as this app could help you track down your iPhone or iPad by locating it on a map or sending a message and alarm to the device with your contact details so a kindly stranger can return it. In the worst-case scenario you can also lock or wipe your device to secure your data (and those blackmail-friendly photos).
While the app could be useful, it’s not essential. The Find My iPhone service can be accessed via the web and, therefore, if you have a web connection to download the app, you might as well simply browse to the site instead. On the other hand, with Find My iPhone installed on all of your devices, it may come in handy if you simply mislay your iPhone or iPad somewhere in your home, office or at a friend’s house.
