How to work with the “Find iPhone” function for a beginner: location, activation, management

How to track iPhone location by phone number

Also, iPhone owners love these devices because of the function of finding a phone if it is lost. But this is not the only case when a person needs to track the location of an iPhone. Other reasons can also be identified:

• Gadget theft.
• The need to know the child's location.
• Tracking a fleet or taxi employee.

If the user does not own the iPhone or cannot confirm permission to track location, the phone will not be found.

Whatever the reason for searching for an iPhone, the user will always be able to complete the operation if he follows the instructions. Next, we will look at 2 ways to track location by phone number.

Find My iPhone feature

This option is provided by the developer on every Apple smartphone. So, if your phone is lost, thanks to remote geolocation, you can determine its location in just a couple of steps.

The catch with this feature is that if it has not previously been activated on the phone, it will be impossible to find the device. Therefore, you need to think about its operation immediately after purchasing an Apple gadget. If Find My iPhone has not yet been activated, you should immediately enable the feature as follows:

1. Open phone settings.
2. Go to the "iCloud" section.
3. Provide your Apple ID details and log in to the system.
4. Scroll down and move the slider next to “Find iPhone” to the active position.

For the function to work correctly, geolocation detection must be constantly enabled on your phone.

Only if Find My iPhone is enabled can you search for a device. The operation is performed in several ways. The simplest and most accessible is to use a special application. That is, when the need arises to search for a smartphone, you will have to borrow an iPhone from a relative or friend, download “Find iPhone” onto it and perform several steps:

1. Sign in with your Apple ID.
2. Wait for the scan to finish.
3. Find your device on the map.
4. If necessary, press the panic button.

If the user, while in the application, presses the button with the image of a car, the optimal route to the lost device will be built for him.

How to Find an iPhone by Phone Number Without a Find App

The search function is the only official option to find your iPhone that has been lost. However, there are other ways to perform a search even without the corresponding application.

You can use Find My iPhone through iCloud. To do this you need:

1. Open the iccom website.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
3. Click "Find iPhone".
4. Carefully study the map, where the device will be highlighted with a green icon.

Here, as in the case of a proprietary application, you can configure the optimal route for searching. If the phone has not been stolen and geolocation is enabled, finding the iPhone will not be difficult.

Of course, to search, you should take into account the fact that the geolocation function must be active on the lost device. Otherwise, you will not be able to detect the device on the map.

Possibilities

Using the Find My iPhone app, you can do the following:

"Find Friends" service

Finding the location of a phone is not always necessary when the device is lost. Especially for such situations, Apple took care of creating the “Find Friends” service. This is a standard program that should be on every iPhone. If you don't have it, you should download the app through the App Store, where it is completely free.

After installing the software, it is important to set some parameters that will later help when finding friends:

1. Open the application on your iPhone that you plan to monitor.
2. Click the “Add” button.
3. Enable AirDrop on your device.
4. When the icon of another phone appears on the iPhone you are looking for, you need to select the “Share indefinitely” option.

If necessary, you can activate position tracking for some time: for an hour or a day.

Now you can always know where your friend or loved one is. To determine its location, you will need to open the Find Friends program and click on the connected device. If geolocation is enabled, the phone will appear on the virtual map as a large green dot.

The device appears in the Find My app, but is offline

If the status is Offline, Location Unavailable, or Location Services Off, your device may be offline for one of the following reasons.

• Your device is turned off, has run out of battery, or has been more than 24 hours since you last sent your location to Apple (if Last Location is turned on). When your device is connected to the Internet, the remaining battery power is displayed in the upper left corner of the information panel.
• Your Find My device is not connected to a known Wi-Fi or data network. Wait a few minutes and try again.
• You are located in a country or region where this feature is not supported (possibly due to technical limitations or local regulations).

You can play a sound, send a message, request a lock, or start wiping your iOS device through Find My [device]. The device receives the command after it is turned on and connected to the Internet.

After receiving a report of a lost or stolen device, your mobile operator may deactivate your SIM card or account. Your iPhone will no longer be serviced and you won't be able to find, play a sound, send a message, request a lock, or wipe your iOS device using Find My [Device]. However, we will help you learn how to protect your data.

The last known location of the device is available within 24 hours. If a device is offline or unable to connect to Find My [device] for more than 24 hours, you won't be able to see its last known location.

"Beacons" from operators

It’s not just Apple that cares about the function of finding a lost phone or a person’s location. The issue is also dealt with by cellular operators, in the case of which the search is carried out through a SIM card. This is a smart chip designed not only for making calls and recording contacts in the phone book.

To search for a person by phone number, a special “Locator” function is provided. It is provided by different telecom operators. Next, we’ll figure out what the specific features of the service are on each SIM card separately.

For correct operation of phone search through operator beacons, it is also recommended to enable the geolocation function. A switched-off device is much more difficult to detect, and readings can vary by several hundred meters.

All presented services from mobile operators are paid. The size of the AP differs depending on the company. Users themselves say that the function does not always work reliably. For maximum accuracy, you still have to activate geolocation on the device you are looking for, and doing this from a distance is almost impossible.

Find iPhone using special applications

In addition to the standard Find iPhone program, which is installed on every Apple device, there are a number of other useful applications in this direction. They work on a similar principle to pre-installed software. That is, user confirmation is required. However, additional functions will also be available to the user.

If we consider the Cocospy application, then, among other things, it allows you to read the history of calls, browser and WhatsApp. Of course, the location tracking feature is still there. She is the main one. True, the program only works through jailbreak.

Another application is mSpy. It works without jailbreak, but requires you to enter your Apple ID.

Key features include:

• Geolocation tracking.
• View media files from another phone.
• Recording all actions on iPhone.

Also, as an additional option, it is worth considering the FlexiSPY program with the functions of reading messages and tracking calls, XNSPY for spying on social networks and instant messengers, Hoverwatch (paid, but with wide functionality).

The presented programs can be downloaded through the App Store or using the official website of the software developer.

Setting up iCloud

To check the correctness of the actions performed, you need to check the device’s binding in the iCloud service. To do this you need to do the following:

1. open the official iCloud.com page in your browser;
2. go to the “My Devices” menu;
3. Find your iPhone in the list that opens.

Naturally, for the device to be found, it must have access to the network.

Other options

If none of the methods presented above helped track the location of the phone, then most likely you do not own it or do not have access to it. In this case, you need to remember that it is impossible to determine geolocation without the consent of the other party.

No matter how attractive the offers on the Internet are, in most cases they are fraudulent. But, if nothing stops the user, you can turn, for example, to the website phone-location.org. Here you need to provide a phone number and register. There are practically no reviews about such resources, so no one can guarantee the security of the device and the data stored on it.

If a person understands that a search cannot be carried out without consent, but wants to turn to another method of surveillance, it is recommended to use the Google Timeline service. If a Google Account was registered on the lost smartphone, you need to go to google.com/maps/timeline, log in and access the virtual map. It will show all the latest movements of the smartphone.

What to do to keep your iPhone safe

In addition to the need to find a person's location, there is a need to protect yourself from unintentional surveillance. After all, in this case, you can find yourself in danger at the most inopportune moment.

1. First, you need to take into account the main recommendation - do not register on dubious sites that offer to search for a phone number. The specified data may well be used against you, and the victim will be your iPhone, and not someone else’s device.
2. Also, you should not register with any dubious resources where you need to provide a phone number or email address. Before you create an account on a particular site, you need to read reviews about it. If the resource is reliable, you can register without a doubt, but only using a long password consisting of characters of different registers. Otherwise, the site should be avoided.
3. Never confirm tracking requests that appear on the screen. If an attacker tries to perform a search, he will always have access to the geolocation.

If your iPhone ends up lost and you can’t track its location, the surest option is to block the device. Of course, you can contact law enforcement agencies, but with a high degree of probability, the officers will not take on such a small matter on a global scale. So after the loss, you should go to the iCloud website, log in using your Apple ID and change your password. So, the person who finds the smartphone will not be able to access the files.

In addition, do not forget to use a fingerprint or face scan as an unlocking method. A pattern and digital password are not the most reliable option for protecting your device. If you comply with all the proposed requirements, you will be able to secure your iPhone.

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