iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch iOS 8 Hint – Lost iPhone? Your Battery Can Help.

Here’s a tip for those of you who have a tendency to “misplace” your iDevice. My guess is it may come in handy – especially – during this season of reveling!

If you haven’t enabled Find My iPhone, you should do it now. In my estimation, it’s the single most important reason to have an iCloud account.

This feature has a number of valuable settings I’ll get to in a moment. But the first order of business is the new functionality in iOS 8 that enables your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch to send it’s last known location directly to your iCloud account.

Send Last Location
As long as your device has an active Wi-Fi or cellular connection, its GPS coordinates will be transmitted to your account – even as it's battery gasps its last breath. This is especially useful if your device made its way under a couch pillow or into a jacket pocket.

To get everything up and running, go to Settings > iCloud. If you don’t see your name and account ID listed at the top, you’ll need to add your iCloud username and password to your device to take advantage of the "Find My [Device]" service. Assuming that you have an account, go to the bottom of the icon list and click on “Find My [Device].” On the next screen, make sure that both toggles are turned On. Now back out of iCloud to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and make sure this toggle is in the On position as well. Without this setting enabled, your battery will have no way of knowing your device’s location.

The Ins and Outs of Find My [Device]
The other features of this setting add even greater functionality and protection to your device.

To view these settings, begin by downloading the “Find My [Device]” app to all your mobile devices and track each with the other. You can also log in to iCloud from any Internet connection and check up on all of your devices at once. This works for Mac computers as well, if you enabled “Find My Mac” in System Preferences.

Activation Lock
Apple was the first company to introduce this feature – that makes your device useless to a thief. As soon as you activate “Find My [Device],” Activation Lock goes into effect and the only way to re-activate your device is with your iCloud username and password credentials. Even though the thief may have access to your personal information (if you didn’t set a passcode,) they won’t be able to turn off “Find My [Device],” erase the device, or activate it as a new device through Apple’s servers.

Play Sound
This feature works great if you lost your device around the house or you’ve tracked it to a place, but can’t pinpoint its location. Tap the link and our device will emit a loud beep that will keep going until a password is entered or the battery finally loses all power. BTW: Have you ever tried to reach someone that you know has their phone nearby but it's set on mute or, perhaps, is muffled by a purse’s contents? (No names, please!) This is a sure way to get that individual’s attention!

Lost Mode
This allows you to implement a number of protective measures discussed below.

Remote Lock
Use this link to enter a passcode that will lock your lost device – remotely. This is a great fallback strategy, if you don’t normally passcode-protect your device. Spoiler alert: Be sure to remember the code you entered so that when you eventually recover your device, you’ll be able to recover its data as well.

Display Message
Use this screen to enter a personal message including contact information. With luck, a Good Samaritan will get in touch with you.

Get Notified
The “Find My…” app will contact you at your email address of record to confirm your actions and the status of your device.

Track Location
In addition to “Send Last Location,” your device will automatically transmit its location (and movement) over time via Wi-Fi and/or cellular data. You can see this on iCloud or in the App on another mobile device.

Erase [device model]
If you’re convinced your device is gone for good and may have been stolen, this is your last resort. At least your personal data will be protected from prying eyes.

Here’s wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season and best wishes for a happy and healthy year.