I Lost or Had My iOS Device Stolen! What Do I Do!?

First of all, it's what you did that's important. Once the device is lost or stolen, recovering it depends on what you did prior to losing it or having it stolen.

In iOS, Apple has provided a number of security features. First and foremost is iCloud. In the event of losing or having your device stolen, you can log into iCloud via a desktop web browser and select the Find My iPhone tab. From here, not only can you view on a map where your device is, but you can also view its remaining battery life. But that's not even scratching the surface of iCloud's usability.

If you've misplaced your iOS device somewhere in your home, you can simply select the "Play Sound" option. This will remotely turn your device's speaker on high and your device will begin to play a sound in order for you to track it down.

However, if your device is left somewhere outside your home, such as at the library or a local café, you can enable Lost Mode. This feature locks your device and displays a prompt on the screen, wherever it is, saying that your device is lost and will include the phone number that you've provided via iCloud if someone happens to find your device.

However, if you believe you're out of luck and that recovering your device will never happen, Apple provides a way for you to quickly erase all information from your iOS device with a simple click.

But, like all great things, there is a downside. Your device MUST be 1.) connected to wi-fi or 2.) using a cellular network. Otherwise, reaching your iOS device remotely is impossible. Also, you MUST manually enable Find My iPhone on your iOS device. Apple does not enable this feature for you; they let you choose whether or not you wish to use it. To do so, simply navigate to the iCloud section in Settings and scroll down until you see Find My iPhone. Tap the switch next to it and you're done.

All of this is in the event that you lose or have your iOS device stolen. iCloud has many other features, which I have covered here.

Alongside enabling iCloud, I suggest owners of iOS devices do the following:

• Enable passcode
• Require then passcode immediately upon waking the device from stand-by
• Enable auto-lock
• Enable your device to erase all data after the 10th attempt to access your device

All of these options are under the Passcode section (Touch ID & Passcode if you are using an iPhone 5S) in Settings. I also encourage NOT using a simple passcode. A simple passcode is a passcode that uses 4 digits. I myself have disabled simple passcode on my iPhone and chose to use a complex passcode, which not only uses numbers but also both uppercase and lowercase letters and special characters. The likelihood of your device being cracked into with a complex passcode in place are less than that of using a simple, four-digit passcode.

Need to learn how to secure your Android device? I've written a separate blog for that here.
Want to learn of a service like Find My iPhone for Android? Check it out here!