Lost my iPhone - put it into Lost mode - anything else I can do to protect my info?

Whackintosh · Nov 20, 2014

So, this really hurts. I lost my iPhone two days ago. Within 30 min of losing it (at the max), I put it into Lost Mode via Find My iPhone.

Over 48 hrs later, the phone is still offline and doesn't appear to have been turned on once - when I lost it, it had a nearly full charge and it appears to have been actively turned off after I tried calling it and got voicemail following a number of rings. It's been offline ever since.

I contacted my carrier to report the phone lost and had calling activity blocked but left data open so that Find my iPhone can hopefully work.

I also registered it in Canada's IMEI blacklist.

In the meantime, I'm wondering what else I can do, particularly when it comes to protecting my data.

The lock screen would have been on at the time it was found / taken, but I still worry that my information could possibly be stolen now. Is there anything else I can do?

asriznet · Nov 20, 2014

Whackintosh said:
So, this really hurts. I lost my iPhone two days ago. Within 30 min of losing it (at the max), I put it into Lost Mode via Find My iPhone.

Over 48 hrs later, the phone is still offline and doesn't appear to have been turned on once - when I lost it, it had a nearly full charge and it appears to have been actively turned off after I tried calling it and got voicemail following a number of rings. It's been offline ever since.

I contacted my carrier to report the phone lost and had calling activity blocked but left data open so that Find my iPhone can hopefully work.

I also registered it in Canada's IMEI blacklist.

In the meantime, I'm wondering what else I can do, particularly when it comes to protecting my data.

The lock screen would have been on at the time it was found / taken, but I still worry that my information could possibly be stolen now. Is there anything else I can do?

You should do a remote wipe if you're concerned about your data - http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2701

The iPhone is basically useless to anyone who found it because of icloud activation lock unless he/she returns it back to you.

Do a check to confirm that activation lock is enabled for your iPhone - https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

Newtons Apple · Nov 20, 2014

How did you loose it? Maybe someone has turned it in depending on where it was lost.

Hoping but . . . . .

Whackintosh · Nov 21, 2014

asriznet said:
You should do a remote wipe if you're concerned about your data - http://support.apple.com/kb/ph2701

The iPhone is basically useless to anyone who found it because of icloud activation lock unless he/she returns it back to you.

Do a check to confirm that activation lock is enabled for your iPhone - https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

Thanks, guys. Activation lock is 100% enabled.

I was initially going to do a remote wipe, but doing so takes away my ability to leave a message & phone number on the lock screen for whoever's currently got my phone to see once they power it back on. It also removes any other Find My iPhone functionality for the phone (in terms of GPS mapping etc), so by wiping all data, I'm guaranteeing I'll never get my phone back. On the lock screen, I've got it set to show a text with my phone number, an offer of a $250 finder's fee reward and a mention that the phone has been registered on Canada's national IMEI blacklist.

Sadly, there's zero chance of it turning up in any sort of Lost and Found. The way I lost it is insanely frustrating. I was at a restaurant all of five minutes from my home, waiting for takeout. I know I had the phone with me as I answered a text while I was waiting. I also know that the phone's charge was near 100% at the time.

I went directly home after getting the food, put my keys on the table, reached for my phone and realized it was gone. I tried calling my number from my landline, it rang several times, then went to voice mail. I immediately called the restaurant - which was a mistake, I'm now convinced, as I should have immediately opened Find My IPhone to see it mapped - the person I spoke with told me they found nothing.

I tried phoning my number again and this time it went immediately to voice mail. I then opened Find My iPhone and saw the phone appearing as "offline", at which point I immediately put it into Lock Mode and wrote up a message to appear on the lock screen the next time it's turned on.

Disturbingly, it's not been turned on a single time since then, and it's been several days now, which is really freaking me out.

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

Out of interest. Do people turn on "wipe after 10 failed passcode attempts" these days?

iMacDragon · Nov 21, 2014

If it's already on IMEI blacklist, then when it' turned on it won't get signal and won't enter lost mode unless it connects to wifi successfully somehow.

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

iMacDragon said:
If it's already on IMEI blacklist, then when it' turned on it won't get signal and won't enter lost mode unless it connects to wifi successfully somehow.

Thats why its best to leave "ask to join unknown wifi networks" on. I know its a pain but least if a thief connects to his home network you know where iPhone is. Thats if that works from a locked iPhone. Cant say I've ever tried.

asriznet · Nov 21, 2014

Zxxv said:
Thats why its best to leave "ask to join unknown wifi networks" on. I know its a pain but least if a thief connects to his home network you know where iPhone is. Thats if that works from a locked iPhone. Cant say I've ever tried.

That's true, I leave this theory for my macbook pro as well.

Switch on the Guest Network.

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

asriznet said:
That's true, I leave this theory for my macbook pro as well.

Switch on the Guest Network.

oh never thought of that. Great advice

asriznet · Nov 21, 2014

Zxxv said:
oh never thought of that. Great advice

If I were a thief of a macbook pro, I would find the easiest way to access the system which is the guest account.

and once I'm in, depending on how smart I am to get it connected to the internet

I feel the Find my mac feature is quite limited so I bought Orbicule Undercover App - http://orbicule.com/undercover/mac/

I know i shouldn't be saying this but I can't wait to use this program when my macbook pro is really lost haha.

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

asriznet said:
If I were a thief of a macbook pro, I would find the easiest way to access the system which is the guest account.

and once I'm in, depending on how smart I am to get it connected to the internet

I feel the Find my mac feature is quite limited so I bought Orbicule Undercover App - http://orbicule.com/undercover/mac/

I know i shouldn't be saying this but I can't wait to use this program when my macbook pro is really lost haha.

Looks interesting but

If your Mac has a built-in or external camera, Undercover will transmit pictures of the thief and his surroundings every 8 minutes, making it even easier to identify the current user.

macs are wired so the green light comes on now. Didn't use to but now its hardwired to light up when camera comes on.

The other stuff is interesting. I'll read more on it. Can you set it to only run when the guest network is accessed? I wouldn't want it running any other time without me knowing. Especially on my main log in. Who knows who's behind the software *cough* spooks haha

asriznet · Nov 21, 2014

Zxxv said:
Looks interesting but

macs are wired so the green light comes on now. Didn't use to but now its hardwired to light up when camera comes on.

The other stuff is interesting. I'll read more on it. Can you set it to only run when the guest network is accessed? I wouldn't want it running any other time without me knowing. Especially on my main log in. Who knows who's behind the software *cough* spooks haha

They addressed the camera light issue, when i tested the lost mode, the light didn't switch on.

That's actually an good idea to just enable in guest account however the thief might find ways to create a new admin account and access it from there instead of the guest account so it might make the app less effective.

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

asriznet said:
They addressed the camera light issue, when i tested the lost mode, the light didn't switch on.

That's actually an good idea to just enable in guest account however the thief might find ways to create a new admin account and access it from there instead of the guest account so it might make the app less effective.

There was a news article about switching the light on being physically impossible on new macs due to the wiring; light is inline and can't be switched out like in old macs. Its news to me if they found a way around it and a huge news article for the news sites.

I saw this. I use fire vault.

We recommend that you create a dummy account that will enable the thief to play around on your Mac. This account should have a blank password and no administrator privileges. Please note that a dummy account without a pasword is not possible if you enable FileVault. Undercover or any other third-party theft recovery app is not compatible with FileVault. We recommend using Espionage to protect your data.

C DM · Nov 21, 2014

Zxxv said:
Thats why its best to leave "ask to join unknown wifi networks" on. I know its a pain but least if a thief connects to his home network you know where iPhone is. Thats if that works from a locked iPhone. Cant say I've ever tried.

But wouldn't that only ask them if the phone is unlocked? And even then they have to agree and decide to do it basically--which wouldn't be that much different than them wanting to do it and going into WiFi settings and doing it there themselves (without the "ask to join" option enabled)?

Whackintosh · Nov 21, 2014

iMacDragon said:
If it's already on IMEI blacklist, then when it' turned on it won't get signal and won't enter lost mode unless it connects to wifi successfully somehow.

Shoot, is that right?? The Rogers rep I spoke with at the time I put it on the blacklist assured me that it would still be able to connect to data (so that Find My iPhone would work) and only phone capabilities would be blocked. I thought the IMEI blacklist would mostly make it impossible for someone to do a new activation with my phone, sell it etc. If there's no way at all for it to connect or get a signal, the phone is 100% lost for good. Plus I lose any option of doing a remote wipe. I can't believe this!

Zxxv · Nov 21, 2014

C DM said:
But wouldn't that only ask them if the phone is unlocked? And even then they have to agree and decide to do it basically--which wouldn't be that much different than them wanting to do it and going into WiFi settings and doing it there themselves (without the "ask to join" option enabled)?

Like i originally said can't say I've tried. Try and report back

ET iPhone Home · Nov 21, 2014

Whackintosh said:
Shoot, is that right?? The Rogers rep I spoke with at the time I put it on the blacklist assured me that it would still be able to connect to data (so that Find My iPhone would work) and only phone capabilities would be blocked. I thought the IMEI blacklist would mostly make it impossible for someone to do a new activation with my phone, sell it etc. If there's no way at all for it to connect or get a signal, the phone is 100% lost for good. Plus I lose any option of doing a remote wipe. I can't believe this!

Try this. Go back to the restaurant and speak to the manager that someone called you and that they had found your phone. The manager will speak to the staff and maybe it may reappear because the culprit may think he/she was snitched on.

Maybe, the restaurant has some sort of surveillance. Did you loose a new 6/6+?

C DM · Nov 22, 2014

Zxxv said:
Like i originally said can't say I've tried. Try and report back

Fairly certain it's not how that feature works. If someone actually somehow finds it to be otherwise it will be interesting to know.

Zxxv · Nov 22, 2014

C DM said:
Fairly certain it's not how that feature works. If someone actually somehow finds it to be otherwise it will be interesting to know.

Yea I'll be interested as I'm sure wifi network appeared on the lock screen.

Whackintosh · Nov 23, 2014

ET iPhone Home said:
Try this. Go back to the restaurant and speak to the manager that someone called you and that they had found your phone. The manager will speak to the staff and maybe it may reappear because the culprit may think he/she was snitched on.

Maybe, the restaurant has some sort of surveillance. Did you loose a new 6/6+?

It's a family-run restaurant and I spoke with the owner and two of the three others who work there.

Still no activity on Find My iPhone, phone's still indicated as "offline". Looks like the IMEI blacklist did indeed block it from connecting in any way (I can't imagine that whoever's got it still hasn't once turned it on). The Rogers rep assured me that data would still be functional so that Find My iPhone could work. Clearly she had no idea. Would it make sense for me to have it temporarily removed from the blacklist just in case whoever's got it tries to turn it on again?

It makes me queasy to say it, but it was indeed an iPhone 6 that was lost, all of several weeks old at that. I don't believe this.

ET iPhone Home · Nov 23, 2014

Whackintosh said:
It's a family-run restaurant and I spoke with the owner and two of the three others who work there.

Still no activity on Find My iPhone, phone's still indicated as "offline". Looks like the IMEI blacklist did indeed block it from connecting in any way (I can't imagine that whoever's got it still hasn't once turned it on). The Rogers rep assured me that data would still be functional so that Find My iPhone could work. Clearly she had no idea. Would it make sense for me to have it temporarily removed from the blacklist just in case whoever's got it tries to turn it on again?

It makes me queasy to say it, but it was indeed an iPhone 6 that was lost, all of several weeks old at that. I don't believe this.

I bet they're waiting awhile longer before they turn your phone on. Sorry about this. Maybe, temporarily remove it from blacklist and see if anyone responds and utilize Find My Phone. You do have it pass coded? It sucks to loose something so expensive. Let us know if you get it back.

Lost my iPhone - put it into Lost mode - anything else I can do to protect my info?

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