Of course, you hope it never happens to you, but it can always happen that you accidentally lose your iPhone or it is stolen. If Find My iPhone is activated, you can remotely block and secure the iPhone.
This means that malicious people cannot access your personal data, cannot restore the iPhone or iPad and it is theoretically unusable. In addition, you can also enable lost mode via the search option, so that the finder can contact you. You must arrange all this via the iCloud website, where you can log in with your Apple ID. Even if you don’t have access to your iPhone for a security code.
Use Find My iPhone without a verification code
- Open the iCloud website on a computer
- Log in with your Apple account
- Click on ‘Search devices’ below the verification code entry field
Immediately you can access the Find My section of the iCloud website and you can block your Apple devices and enable Lost Mode. You do not need an extra security code for this, which is useful if you only have an iPhone and no other devices. You can also block Apple Pay this way by choosing ‘Manage devices’.
Use security code
Do you own additional Apple devices and do you have them at hand? Then it is advisable to log in with two-factor authentication. This gives you more options on the iCloud website. You can then generate the security code on another trusted device.
Difficult to recommend password
Because you can always access Find My Devices via your Apple Account login details, it is advisable to use a hard-to-guess password for your Apple Account. It is best to replace these a few times a year to make it more difficult, if ever, for malicious parties to gain access to your Apple Account. This way they can place ransomware on your iPhone.
If a hacker does have access to your Apple Account, they can only block Apple Pay and use Find My iPhone. Other and personal data remains protected and can only be unlocked with a security code. So it is a good idea to secure your Apple Account with two-factor authentication.