Help urgently pls - Dad has lost his phone

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Help urgently pls - Dad has lost his phone - what can I do?

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Kiwifruta

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#2671425 11-Mar-2021 08:54

alasta:
1024kb: Turning the account off @ Spark was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry to tell you.

Apple's FMI system is pretty comprehensive, but it does need a connection to the phone so that you can sign in to iCloud on another device & ask it "where are you?" & the iPhone is then able to respond "I'm here". You then have the choice of various options including wipe & play alarm @ full volume.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think logging into iCloud via a web browser requires 2FA? If so, then you'd need to have access to another device that happens to be logged into the same iCloud as the lost device?

In my case my iPhone and Macbook Pro are the only devices that I have logged into my iCloud account, so I am conscious that I need to have access to one of them if I lose the other.

I log in without 2 factor authentication, the iPhone is the only Apple device I have.

linw

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#2671432 11-Mar-2021 09:07

Good result.

Also makes us have a check on our own setups for lost phone situations!

alasta

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#2671452 11-Mar-2021 09:23

Kiwifruta:
alasta:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think logging into iCloud via a web browser requires 2FA? If so, then you'd need to have access to another device that happens to be logged into the same iCloud as the lost device?

In my case my iPhone and Macbook Pro are the only devices that I have logged into my iCloud account, so I am conscious that I need to have access to one of them if I lose the other.

I log in without 2 factor authentication, the iPhone is the only Apple device I have.

I wonder what triggers the 2FA requirement then. Admittedly I usually log into iCloud.com from my work computer which is a bit of an old clunker.

kiwifidget

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#2672442 12-Mar-2021 20:55

FYI - dad and phone are now reunited!

Delete cookies?! Are you insane?!

jonathan18

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#2673600 13-Mar-2021 08:07

kiwifidget:

FYI - dad and phone are now reunited!

And now might be the opportune time to ensure Find my iPhone is enabled and family members know how to use it! Not needed this time, but there's so often a 'next time...'

lxsw20

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#2673602 13-Mar-2021 08:14

1024kb: Turning the account off @ Spark was the wrong thing to do, I'm sorry to tell you.

Apple's FMI system is pretty comprehensive, but it does need a connection to the phone so that you can sign in to iCloud on another device & ask it "where are you?" & the iPhone is then able to respond "I'm here". You then have the choice of various options including wipe & play alarm @ full volume.

If the phone has run out of battery or been turned off, it'll have sent it's last known location to iCloud.com.

It's the same with Androids too, although they have some even handier options including sending a Call Me button to the screen that'll only call the number you nominate.

My advice is to get hold of Spark asap, turn that SIM card back on. Then log in to iCloud.com & find your iPhone.

The other quick & dirty option is, if your Dad had Google Maps installed, to log into G Maps another device & hit Your Timeline. That doesn't need a current connection, it'll tell you where the phone stopped moving.

A bad actor could in theory take out the SIM and use it in another device and rack up a bill in this situation. IMO the best thing to do is put the phone in lost mode via find my iPhone, see if you can work on the last known location on the map, give it an hour or so then disable the SIM with Spark.

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Eva888

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#2673637 13-Mar-2021 09:30

This was a good reminder to check settings and do a trial run with Family Sharing and Find My Phone.
Helpful link.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201087

hairy1

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#2673682 13-Mar-2021 11:30

You could also put Life360 on it. Good tracking and history with family circles.

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