Is "Find my phone" ON or OFF by default?

[cheeryble]

Yeah
just had my iPad picked up by someone.
I've gone through the lock my device procedure but read that it only work if one
turned on Find my Phone.
There's a bunch of passwords and stuff I was stupid enough not to secure properly, but I'm in Thailand and there is very little thieving here so I don't think it's a professional thief at all......but wondering if I have to chang all my passwords etc.
Every time I try to track the device it says it's offline, but can this also be because Find my Phone isn't on?

thanks v much!

 

[maflynn]

Go to icloud.com and see if you can find it, you'll have your answer

There's a bunch of passwords and stuff I was stupid enough not to secure properly, but I'm in Thailand and there is very little thieving here so I don't think it's a professional thief at all.

Professional or amateur theft - the result is the same. Given the cost of the tablet, I always enable the security features regardless of how safe I feel.

 

[cheeryble]

Agree with the sentiment Mike, do you happen to know whats the default setting?

 

[aristobrat]

Agree with the sentiment Mike, do you happen to know whats the default setting?

Default setting has changed over the various iOS releases, IIRC. What iOS version was it running?

Also IIRC, if Find my iPhone isn't enabled, you won't see the option to track the device on iCloud.com.

 

[cheeryble]

Jeez I'm not 100% sure ....may have held back on th latest release as it was only a 16GB and bit short of storage
Anyway it was the latest or the one before.

 

[maflynn]

Default setting has changed over the various iOS releases,

It has, I noticed that for my daughters its enabled on their iPhone 5s, so it may very well be enabled for the iPad as well

 

[cheeryble]

It has, I noticed that for my daughters its enabled on their iPhone 5s, so it may very well be enabled for the iPad as well

Thanks Mike

I should point out its an early mini 1.
I might add still a very good machine fro my limited needs i.e. no games.....the battery still very good etc just a bit short on storage can just keep it going if I store videos elsewhere and get rid of listened to podcasts straight away.
Fact is if I buy a new one today I feel I don't need more than the Mini 2, with 32GB which is on offer for about 6000 baht ($200) that's about a third less than the cheapest Mini 4.
[doublepost=1456282931][/doublepost]I found this in a thread below:
↑
"Q: If someone steals your phone can they just turn it off to prevent you from using Find My iPhone?
A: Yes. But as soon as it's turned on again, it's going to reach out to the cell network and if the owner of the phone had sent out a Lost Mode or Erase iPhone command, it'll implement that.

The thief can pop out the SIM card to prevent cell network connection, but with Activation Lock, nobody else except the original owner will be able to activate it for use, even with a new SIM, even if the owner erased all data."

All important question is, even if Find my iPad is turned off, if one implements Lost Mode will it lock it......and does it happen quickly? (Also wondering how this actually happen with an iPad which doesn't have a SIM card.)
Again this could save me changing credit cards etc a lot of work. I've certainly learned for the future I even disabled the 4 figure passcode from laziness.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I can feel your pain. In 2012 I had my iPhone 4 stolen. Stupidly I did not have a password enabled on the device nor did I have find my iPhone switched on. So basically it was an open phone for the thief. They had access to all my private data and could easily restore the phone and set it up as new. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way.

Now I've got a password on all my devices. I have find my iPhone enabled on every device and I have them all set to erase after 10 incorrect password attempts.

 

[cheeryble]

I learned a lot today.

First Apple shop I got bad news that the default for Find my Phone was off for the mini 1.
I then went to two banks and cancelled my debit cards just in case the unlikely event I put enough detail in Notes to make payment. Nothing had been withdrawn I might add and the iPad still showed as offline.

I went to the main Apple born on my way elsewhere and popped in.
I got a different much happier story.
The young man said the mere fact that the iPad as well as the Macbook Air is showing up in Find my Phone means it will receive the Lost Mode signal and shut down when it is turned on......which has not happened to my knowledge strangely.
It was backed up by the head technician there.

 

[Noble Actual]

On by default since iOS 7 (or 8) I believe when find my iPhone and friends become stock apps.

As long as you signed in with an iCloud account