LostHour

Ready Check / iPhone

Get an iPhone ready to be found

5 settings. Menu names differ between versions; the maker’s page beside each one is the source.

  1. 1

    Turn on Find My iPhone, the Find My network and Send Last Location

    Settings[your name]Find MyFind My iPhone

    Without it nobody, not even Apple, can show you where the phone is or lock it remotely.

    Source: Apple: How to turn on Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

  2. 2

    Use a passcode with Face ID or Touch ID

    SettingsFace ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode)

    Lost Mode locks the phone with this passcode; with no passcode there is nothing to lock it with.

    Source: Apple: How to find your lost iPhone or iPad

  3. 3

    Turn on Stolen Device Protection

    SettingsFace ID & PasscodeStolen Device Protection

    Adds a Face ID or Touch ID check for sensitive changes when the phone is away from familiar places.

    Source: Apple: About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone

  4. 4

    Turn on iCloud Backup

    Settings[your name]iCloudiCloud Backup

    If the phone never comes back, the photos and messages still do.

    Source: Apple: How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud

  5. 5

    Write down the serial number and IMEI

    SettingsGeneralAbout

    Police and the carrier ask for them; you cannot read them off a phone you no longer have.

    Source: Apple: Find the serial number or IMEI on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Keep the numbers where you can reach them

Put this iPhone in a private plan: its serial, IMEI and carrier number, ticked settings, and its own “it’s missing” page. Two devices free. Lost Hour Pass is $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year for 12 devices; Household is $3.95 a month or $39.50 a year for 30. Free during preview: nothing is charged.

Start a plan

Already missing? The first-hour steps for this iPhone →