So my iPhone was stolen today......

[Ifti]

If I were a thief, when I stole a locked iPhone I would do the following:

1) I would try to enter the Medical ID, where I can see the name of the owner, age, personal info., and even emergency contacts and their numbers
2) I would Remove the SIM card, put it on another empty phone, and then call a contact to 'retrieve' the number

So, when all that information, I would start to call and text all those contacts to intimidate them and try to got the phone unlocked.

So, in my case, I did this and I recommend it to all my friends or family:

- No Medical ID on lock screen. Sorry. We live in a small country, so if I die on the street, you better find me on the only morgue in town. 🤣
- eSIM (helps protect SMS 2FA in some way)

Fortunately I do not use my iPhone for any of the Health apps and never set up the medical ID.
And luckily I locked th eiPhoen and set it to erase within 10 mins of it being stolen, with the sim blocked and replacement ordered within another 20 mins or so.
Hopefully I was quick enough to safeguard all the information!

 

[Benz63amg]

Took my daughter for her very first swimming lesson (East London, UK).
She was getting late so my wife took her inside while I looked for parking.
Parked - exited to get the reference number for the RingGo app (first time there).
Took out my phone and was in the process of paying for the parking and two electric bikes come out of nowhere - snatched my phone and made off in a flash. I tripped in the process - not sure if my thumb is just bruised or broken but it painful - hopefully it's just bruised.

This was a 15 Pro Max 512GB. Had it since release. Running latest iOS etc.
Worst bit is phone was unlocked when it was taken as I was in the process of using it.

Within a few minutes I got onto my iCloud via my wife's phone and marked the phone as lost and set it to erase.
This also suspended all the payment cards in the wallet.
Its showing as offline so unable to track it at all - but it should just erase when its connected to the Internet.

All sensitive notes etc were protected with an additional password - so that's OK.
Banking apps all need a login, whether FaceID or passcode - so should be OK there.
I can't even get onto my banking at the moment as they use 2FA and send a code to my phone - which I don't have!

Have a replacement Sim coming in the next 3 days.
Phone was luckily covered by Applecare+ so also covered for loss and theft. Claim has been approved so bar a £109 excess I should have a new phone in the next 5 days depending on stock. Apple and the Insurer were actually really good with this.
Hence it's just the inconvenience really - and just hoping they can't access anything else on the phone. I think I have everything covered. Well, I really hope I have.

Is here anything else I can do other then set it to lost and erase mode?

Police weren't bothered. Gave me a crime reference number and said "it's been happening a lot lately" and that was it!

PLEASE guys, stay safe. It happens when you least expect it.
And above all else, PLEASE do not keep your bank cards in the case along with the phone!

Did everything on my phone. Feel completely lost at the moment! Sad really!

Did you only have Find My iPhone enabled or did you also have Find My Network enabled? Find My Network should allow you to track the iPhone even if it’s offline and even if the battery is dead.

 

[spikeymike]

Find My Network should allow you to track the iPhone even if it’s offline and even if the battery is dead.

How do you track a device if the battery is dead and doesn’t turn on?

You can’t track a phone if the battery is dead.

 

[Ifti]

Did you only have Find My iPhone enabled or did you also have Find My Network enabled? Find My Network should allow you to track the iPhone even if it’s offline and even if the battery is dead.

I had all the Find My options enabled. The phone hasnt been tracked for over a week now.

 

[Ifti]

How do you track a device if the battery is dead and doesn’t turn on?

You can’t track a phone if the battery is dead.

Generally when the phone turns off due to the battery being too low a small reserve is kept in order to maintain services like Find My.
Obviously in my case something else has happened as it hasnt been tracked in over a week - just appears 'offline'.

 

[Benz63amg]

I had all the Find My options enabled. The phone hasnt been tracked for over a week now.

That's very confusing as having Find My Network (Not to be confused with Find My iPhone) enabled which you say you had enabled should have allowed you to track, locate and erase the iPhone even if it went offline (turned off) by sending the Erase command which you weren't able to do either if i understood you original post correctly.

 

[Webcat86]

That's very confusing as having Find My Network (Not to be confused with Find My iPhone) enabled which you say you had enabled should have allowed you to track, locate and erase the iPhone even if it went offline (turned off) by sending the Erase command which you weren't able to do either if i understood you original post correctly.

What is the difference between the two and how do we check what we’ve activated?

 

[Benz63amg]

What is the difference between the two and how do we check what we’ve activated?

Find My Network enables the iPhone to be tracked even if it has been turned OFF. Find My iPhone by itself only allows the iPhone to be tracked when it is turned on and/or connected to a network. The switch to enable both is under the Find My Settings page in settings

 

[Ifti]

That's very confusing as having Find My Network (Not to be confused with Find My iPhone) enabled which you say you had enabled should have allowed you to track, locate and erase the iPhone even if it went offline (turned off) by sending the Erase command which you weren't able to do either if i understood you original post correctly.

I haven't touched the settings, but I restored my new handset from the old handset iCloud backup, and all are enabled, so I assume it was on the stolen device too.

When I try to locate in Find My, it shows last know location (from last week) and the only options I have are to cancel the erase or remove from find my.
I don't want to remove in case it allows the ability for the handset to be wiped and set back up with a new owner, hence was advised to leave as it is so it can't be re-activated.

 

[davidg4781]

I guess this could be a good use case to put apps behind a Face ID wall.

Say you’re busy texting, your phone gets snatched and it stays unlocked. If you have your financial apps set to require Face ID to even open, you’ll still be safe!

 

[Ifti]

I guess this could be a good use case to put apps behind a Face ID wall.

Say you’re busy texting, your phone gets snatched and it stays unlocked. If you have your financial apps set to require Face ID to even open, you’ll still be safe!

Banking apps etc already have this of course, and my sensitive notes are all protected with a password too, but the Face ID to unlock apps feature is coming with iOS18 I believe.
I'd use it to lock my photos, and my email apps to start!

 

[Ifti]

So my phone has moved from North London........to China!!!
Saw this on the news just a few days ago - will most likely be used for parts etc.
Shame as the phone was pristine!

Guess I also start needing to keep an eye out on emails, texts, etc, all asking me to unlock it with an array of excuses!

 

[Webcat86]

So my phone has moved from North London........to China!!!
Saw this on the news just a few days ago - will most likely be used for parts etc.
Shame as the phone was pristine!

Guess I also start needing to keep an eye out on emails, texts, etc, all asking me to unlock it with an array of excuses!

I saw this on Apple News earlier this week and almost shared it in here. This is the big business apparently.

 

[Ifti]

Just hope they can't 'hack' it in anyway.
I don't care about the handset any more, it's my data.

Done everything i could do - ie, faceID and 6 digit passcode, phone marked as lost on Find My, etc - so hopefully I'm ok.

 

[Fred Zed]

You were lucky. A friend of mine was punched in the face by one of those bastards in Leyton and had her iPhone 14 stolen. Fractured jaw.

It's just a phone at the end of the day. Got a crime reference number then claim on insurance. Hope any minor injuries heal.

As for the criminals, it's a profitable enterprise. I've travelled the world and I feel the least safe in East London, which is one reason I live on the other side now 🤣. I felt MUCH safer in some ex soviet dystopia I went to where my phone was a year's salary there.

Also someone tried to stab me in Leytonstone about 20 years ago, fortunately unsuccessfully. The police sent a letter out to me apologising for not attending and if I wanted to talk to someone here's a helpline. Things are useless still then clearly.

I felt less safe in any parts of London. Right in front of me a moped crew snatched a women’s phone off her ! Broad daylight.

 

[JPack]

It’ll be stripped for parts. The 512GB chip can be used to upgrade anyone who bought 128GB. The display, cameras, USB port flex can all be easily reused.

 

[Luis Ortega]

Wouldn’t it be nice if our phones could tell when they’ve been stolen and then surreptitiously send a face shot of the thief to the cops and then blow up in their face, covering the thief with a bright fluorescent dye that lasted for weeks.
Maybe the AI people could work on this.

 

[geekiemac]

Took my daughter for her very first swimming lesson (East London, UK).
She was getting late so my wife took her inside while I looked for parking.
Parked - exited to get the reference number for the RingGo app (first time there).
Took out my phone and was in the process of paying for the parking and two electric bikes come out of nowhere - snatched my phone and made off in a flash. I tripped in the process - not sure if my thumb is just bruised or broken but it painful - hopefully it's just bruised.

This was a 15 Pro Max 512GB. Had it since release. Running latest iOS etc.
Worst bit is phone was unlocked when it was taken as I was in the process of using it.

Within a few minutes I got onto my iCloud via my wife's phone and marked the phone as lost and set it to erase.
This also suspended all the payment cards in the wallet.
Its showing as offline so unable to track it at all - but it should just erase when its connected to the Internet.

All sensitive notes etc were protected with an additional password - so that's OK.
Banking apps all need a login, whether FaceID or passcode - so should be OK there.
I can't even get onto my banking at the moment as they use 2FA and send a code to my phone - which I don't have!

Have a replacement Sim coming in the next 3 days.
Phone was luckily covered by Applecare+ so also covered for loss and theft. Claim has been approved so bar a £109 excess I should have a new phone in the next 5 days depending on stock. Apple and the Insurer were actually really good with this.
Hence it's just the inconvenience really - and just hoping they can't access anything else on the phone. I think I have everything covered. Well, I really hope I have.

Is here anything else I can do other then set it to lost and erase mode?

Police weren't bothered. Gave me a crime reference number and said "it's been happening a lot lately" and that was it!

PLEASE guys, stay safe. It happens when you least expect it.
And above all else, PLEASE do not keep your bank cards in the case along with the phone!

Did everything on my phone. Feel completely lost at the moment! Sad really!

Pretty much exactly the same thing happened to my better half last year while visiting London.
Exactly same modus operandi... but this time the thief was the unlucky one.

Holborn area, early evening, on the sidewalk, BF had his phone in the hand to check for a restaurant address, and out of nowhere a guy pulls up from behind on his bike, snatches the phone and races off. As we watched helplessly the guy speed away, after a couple meters he glances at the phone and throws it back on the sidewalk. Yeah, bad luck for him, it was not my brand-new iPhone but my BF's (old and weathered) OnePlus (Android) phone.

After the stress levels dropped, we couldn't avoid a grin at the thought of how disappointed the guy must have been.

But from that day on, we've become way more mindful about using our devices in public.

 

[Fred Zed]

Pretty much exactly the same thing happened to my better half last year while visiting London.
Exactly same modus operandi (a London thing?) ... but this time the thief was the unlucky one.

Holborn area, early evening, on the sidewalk, BF had his phone in the hand to check for a restaurant address, and out of nowhere a guy pulls up from behind on his bike, snatches the phone and rides off. We watched helplessly the guy speed away but after a couple meters he glances at the phone and throws it back on the sidewalk. Yeah, bad luck for him, it was not my brand-new iPhone but my BF's (old and weathered) OnePlus (Android) phone.

After the stress levels dropped, we couldn't avoid a grin at the thought of how disappointed the guy must have been.

But from that day on, we've become way more mindful about our devices in public.

Indeed. If i absolutely had to make a phone call, I’d either go into a building back against a wall or a door way.

 

[cjsuk]

Pretty much exactly the same thing happened to my better half last year while visiting London.
Exactly same modus operandi... but this time the thief was the unlucky one.

Holborn area, early evening, on the sidewalk, BF had his phone in the hand to check for a restaurant address, and out of nowhere a guy pulls up from behind on his bike, snatches the phone and races off. As we watched helplessly the guy speed away, after a couple meters he glances at the phone and throws it back on the sidewalk. Yeah, bad luck for him, it was not my brand-new iPhone but my BF's (old and weathered) OnePlus (Android) phone.

After the stress levels dropped, we couldn't avoid a grin at the thought of how disappointed the guy must have been.

But from that day on, we've become way more mindful about using our devices in public.

They always go after tourists first. You can spot a tourist a mile away in London.

Actually reminds me of a colleague of mine back in about 2019. He was outside the office smoking and a guy came up and grabbed his Lumia off him. The thief worked out it was a windows phone pretty quickly and just chucked it on the ground and walked off. Was seriously disappointed with this as it didn't break and he was hoping he could claim an iPhone on his insurance.

 

[Webcat86]

Pretty much exactly the same thing happened to my better half last year while visiting London.
Exactly same modus operandi... but this time the thief was the unlucky one.

Holborn area, early evening, on the sidewalk, BF had his phone in the hand to check for a restaurant address, and out of nowhere a guy pulls up from behind on his bike, snatches the phone and races off. As we watched helplessly the guy speed away, after a couple meters he glances at the phone and throws it back on the sidewalk. Yeah, bad luck for him, it was not my brand-new iPhone but my BF's (old and weathered) OnePlus (Android) phone.

After the stress levels dropped, we couldn't avoid a grin at the thought of how disappointed the guy must have been.

But from that day on, we've become way more mindful about using our devices in public.

When you said the thief was the unlucky one I was expecting to read that your boyfriend gave him a savage beatdown.

 

[Ifti]

3 months on now, and still whenever I log into iCloud online (which I only to occasionally to be fair) my account is always locked. I then have to go through the motions to enter my security information, or confirm with one of my devices, after which it unlocks the account.
Otherwise everything seems to be fine.

I do have 2FA enabled on my account - always have done - so assume someone still tries to guess my password every now and then, hence why the account locks - but I do not get a 2FA code at all?
I do when I log in though, so I know it's working.....

 

[okkibs]

I recommend getting 2 usb-c yubikey security keys for the Apple ID (they have NFC to use wirelessly with the iPhone and USB-C for iPad and Mac).

Login without having one of the keys plugged in will no longer be possible. Your already logged-in iPhone/iPad/Mac serves as such a key too so you won't need to actually use the yubikeys unless you want to sign into the icloud web version from Windows computers or Apple devices where you aren't signed in with your Apple ID.

This will override 2FA as well so in situations where the 2FA will be required you'd be asked to plug in the yubikey instead. I have used this setup for nearly a year now and even when setting up a new iPad I didn't need the key (the iPhone served as the key).

If you lose both yubikeys or break both you can just disable the feature with no side effects, but you need to have at least one Apple device left where you are already signed in.

The only issue is if you lose all Apple devices and both physical keys. In that case Apple warns that your Apple ID and all the data/services connected to it will be lost for good. That is why you need to use 2 keys, I keep mine on me and the other one is locked away in a different location. (You can add more than 2 keys if you want to minimize the risk further.)

I can't guarantee that it will fix your problem, but I can guarantee that it will be impossible to access your account without being in possession of said keys or one of your Apple devices (device passcode must be known to the person who has the device).

 

[WU27f1xcCs]

I recommend getting 2 usb-c yubikey security keys for the Apple ID (they have NFC to use wirelessly with the iPhone and USB-C for iPad and Mac).

Login without having one of the keys plugged in will no longer be possible. Your already logged-in iPhone/iPad/Mac serves as such a key too so you won't need to actually use the yubikeys unless you want to sign into the icloud web version from Windows computers or Apple devices where you aren't signed in with your Apple ID.

This will override 2FA as well so in situations where the 2FA will be required you'd be asked to plug in the yubikey instead. I have used this setup for nearly a year now and even when setting up a new iPad I didn't need the key (the iPhone served as the key).

If you lose both yubikeys or break both you can just disable the feature with no side effects, but you need to have at least one Apple device left where you are already signed in.

The only issue is if you lose all Apple devices and both physical keys. In that case Apple warns that your Apple ID and all the data/services connected to it will be lost for good. That is why you need to use 2 keys, I keep mine on me and the other one is locked away in a different location. (You can add more than 2 keys if you want to minimize the risk further.)

I can't guarantee that it will fix your problem, but I can guarantee that it will be impossible to access your account without being in possession of said keys or one of your Apple devices (device passcode must be known to the person who has the device).

That sounds like a good setup. I’d assumed that to have a yubikey it was required all the time. Would definitely take this approach in OPs situation.

 

[Ifti]

I recommend getting 2 usb-c yubikey security keys for the Apple ID (they have NFC to use wirelessly with the iPhone and USB-C for iPad and Mac).

Login without having one of the keys plugged in will no longer be possible. Your already logged-in iPhone/iPad/Mac serves as such a key too so you won't need to actually use the yubikeys unless you want to sign into the icloud web version from Windows computers or Apple devices where you aren't signed in with your Apple ID.

This will override 2FA as well so in situations where the 2FA will be required you'd be asked to plug in the yubikey instead. I have used this setup for nearly a year now and even when setting up a new iPad I didn't need the key (the iPhone served as the key).

If you lose both yubikeys or break both you can just disable the feature with no side effects, but you need to have at least one Apple device left where you are already signed in.

The only issue is if you lose all Apple devices and both physical keys. In that case Apple warns that your Apple ID and all the data/services connected to it will be lost for good. That is why you need to use 2 keys, I keep mine on me and the other one is locked away in a different location. (You can add more than 2 keys if you want to minimize the risk further.)

I can't guarantee that it will fix your problem, but I can guarantee that it will be impossible to access your account without being in possession of said keys or one of your Apple devices (device passcode must be known to the person who has the device).

Sounds ideal - I'll look into this!