Misplaced your phone? Learn how to use Alexa on your Amazon Echo smart speaker to find your iPhone or Android phone.
How to use Alexa and Amazon Echo to find your iPhone
Find My iPhone
PingWatch gives your iPhone a more audible Lost and found tone
Sometimes you misplace your iPhone and it’s merely hiding in between the seat cushions on your couch rather than being lost out in public, and that’s why Apple includes a native feature on your Apple Watch called Lost and found, which forces your iPhone to emit a high-frequency sonar tone so that you can locate it with just your ears.
As cool as this feature is, many have expressed their concerns with the sound, noting that it isn’t loud or noticeable enough. Apple’s response to these concerns? – such is life. But iOS developer Lefteris Karkaletsis wanted to do more, and so he released a new jailbreak tweak called PingWatch to replace the native Lost and found tone with something more audible.
Apple is testing a unified Find My Friends and Find My iPhone app, working on Tile-like tags
Apple is reportedly developing Tile-like tags for personal item tracking, as well as working on merging functionalities provided by the standalone Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps into a brand-new piece of software for iPhone, iPad, Mac and iCloud.com.
The world of hacking iCloud-locked iPhones
An interesting in-depth report takes a look into how hackers are using password-phishing kits and fake receipts to remove Apple's Activation Lock protection on stolen iPhones.
How to use your HomePod to find your iPhone and other Apple devices
Learn how to use Siri on your HomePod to play a sound on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch to locate them if you cannot seem to find them around.
How to disable Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
In this tutorial, we’ll explain why you may want to disable Apple’s Find My service on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, along with the steps to do so from the device itself or remotely if you don’t have the device with you.
How to check if the phone you’re buying was stolen
If you're in the market for a used iPhone, it's always a good idea to ask the owner to disable Find My iPhone, which automatically turns off Apple's theft-deterring Activation Lock feature.
But what if you're buying a non-Apple smartphone? Can you still check if it was stolen? As it turns out, that's exactly what CTIA’s Stolen Phone Checker service does for you.
Powered by the GSMA Device Check service, which provides up to 10 years’ of a device’s history as well as the device model information and capabilities, the free Stolen Phone Checker tool is an online service designed to help consumers, businesses and law enforcement agencies make informed purchasing decisions and limit the resale of lost and stolen mobile devices.
TUTORIAL: How to find your iPhone's IMEI number
This is a US-only service so this tutorial may not apply to international readers.
How to check if the phone you're buying was stolen1) Visit stolenphonechecker.org/spc/consumer on your device.
2) Enter the IMEI, MEID or ESN of the phone you're about to purchase. If you're buying an iPhone, you can find this information in Settings → General → About. If you're buying a non-Apple smartphone, ask the owner to provide the IMEI number.
3) Solve the captcha and click the Submit button.
If the phone isn't stolen,“Not reported lost or stolen” should appear next to Device Status along with some useful information, including the device model, manufacturer and more.
Regular consumers are allowed to check up to find phones per day. Again, this service is limited solely to consumers in the United States.
Related tutorialsCheck out the following how-tos:
What to do if your iPhone is lost/stolen How to remotely erase iPhone that was lost/stolen How to use Lost Mode if your iOS device is lost/stolen How to secure your iPhone with Activation Lock How to locate misplaced AirPods Checking Activation Lock status via Apple Support website Wrapping it upIf you have a question, post a comment below and we'll do our best to answer it. Please share this tutorial on social media and pass it along to the folks you support.
Submit your ideas regarding future coverage via tips@iDownloadBlog.com.
Download Panols free via Apple Store app to create stunning panoramas for Instagram
Apple is giving away Panols for a limited time, a $1.99 savings, but only through its official Apple Store app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Created by Juan Arreguin, Panols allows you to share the panoramic photos taken with your iPhone, as well as other photos stored in your photo library, with Instagram users everywhere. Taking advantage of Instagram's profile grid, Panols showcases your panoramas to their full effect in the standard three-across display view.
You can edit the name, description and geolocation of all your photos and be assured that your original photo will remain intact as the app uses a copy for all edits.
How to check Activation Lock status via Apple’s support pages
In the past, you could check the Activation Lock on a dedicated official iCloud page by entering the IMEI number. However, Apple removed it a few years back. Now the only reliable option to check a device's Activation Lock is by having physical access to that iPhone or iPad.
But, there is a workaround that might work for some. So the tutorial below talks about that trick which involves using the Apple Support page to check the Activation Lock. If it works for you, great! If it doesn't, you can follow these tips to check Activation Lock before buying a used iPhone.
Apple likely took down iCloud Activation Lock to stop hacks relying on stolen serial numbers
As we reported, Apple recently took down its tremendously useful Activation Lock webpage for reasons unknown. The theft-deterrent tool allowed legitimate iOS device owners and just about anyone else to check the status of the Activation Lock feature by entering a serial number. Apple provided no explanation for the removal, but all checks point to it being a precautionary measure meant to prevent hacks relying on stolen serial numbers, as a reader pointed out in comments.
For reasons unknown, Apple takes down theft-deterrent Activation Lock web tool
Apple recently took down its web tool for checking if a used iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch was stolen. The firm gave no explanation for the move.
The link to the Activation Lock webpage no longer works and the support document detailing the feature does not contain any reference to the web tool as of January 24. It was unclear at post time if a new version of the tool might be returning in the future in one form or another.
How to find your lost AirPods or Charging Case
In this tutorial, we will show you how to use the Find My app or iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to locate your lost AirPods. We will also show you how to have your AirPods play a high-pitched sound or use AirTag-like nearby precision tracking to find the AirPods and their charging case.