What the Tech: Tracking lost iPhones | News
What the Tech: Tracking lost iPhones | News
Publish Date: 2026-06-26 12:00:00
Source Domain: www.ktbs.com
SHREVEPORT, La. – Losing your phone is stressful enough. But if your iPhone has been stolen, Apple says what you do in the first few minutes can make all the difference.
The company recently updated its guidance because today’s thieves aren’t just stealing phones. They’re trying to trick owners into unlocking them.
Here’s what Apple recommends.
Put your iPhone in ‘Lost Mode’ immediately
As soon as you realize your phone has been stolen, place it in Lost Mode.
Lost Mode locks your iPhone with your passcode and prevents anyone from making changes to your Apple Account.
If you’re thinking, “How can I do that if my phone is gone?” you don’t need the phone.
Simply sign in to your Apple Account at iCloud.com/find from any web browser or use the Find My app on another Apple device.
Don’t leave your phone number if it was stolen
This is one of Apple’s biggest changes.
When you enable Lost Mode, you’ll be asked if you want to display a phone number and message on the lock screen.
That makes perfect sense if you simply misplaced your phone. An honest person who finds it can call you.
But if your phone was stolen, Apple says to skip that step.
A thief can use your phone number as part of a social engineering scam, calling or texting you while pretending to be Apple Support or claiming your phone has been recovered.
Never remove the phone from ‘Find My’
Apple repeatedly emphasizes one point: don’t remove your stolen iPhone from Find My.
Doing so removes Activation Lock, the security feature that prevents thieves from erasing and setting up the phone as their own.
Without Activation Lock, a stolen iPhone becomes much more valuable because it can be resold as a working device instead of being stripped for parts.
Beware of fake “Apple” messages
This isn’t a hypothetical warning.
When my daughter’s iPhone was stolen, we tracked it all the way to China.
Not long…
