How to check if the phone you’re buying was stolen
If you’re buying an iPhone or a non-Apple smartphone it’s always a good idea to check if it was stolen, here’s how.
Find My iPhone
Download Panols free via Apple Store app to create stunning panoramas for Instagram
Apple is giving away Panols for a limited time, a $1.99 savings, but only through its official Apple Store app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Created by Juan Arreguin, Panols allows you to share the panoramic photos taken with your iPhone, as well as other photos stored in your photo library, with Instagram users everywhere. Taking advantage of Instagram’s profile grid, Panols showcases your panoramas to their full effect in the standard three-across display view.
You can edit the name, description and geolocation of all your photos and be assured that your original photo will remain intact as the app uses a copy for all edits.
How to check Activation Lock status via Apple’s support pages
UnlockBoot has discovered that potential buyers of a secondhand iOS device can still check Activation Lock status by IMEI through Apple’s Support website.
Apple likely took down iCloud Activation Lock to stop hacks relying on stolen serial numbers
As we reported, Apple recently took down its tremendously useful Activation Lock webpage for reasons unknown. The theft-deterrent tool allowed legitimate iOS device owners and just about anyone else to check the status of the Activation Lock feature by entering a serial number. Apple provided no explanation for the removal, but all checks point to it being a precautionary measure meant to prevent hacks relying on stolen serial numbers, as a reader pointed out in comments.
For reasons unknown, Apple takes down theft-deterrent Activation Lock web tool
Apple recently took down its web tool for checking if a used iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple Watch was stolen. The firm gave no explanation for the move.
The link to the Activation Lock webpage no longer works and the support document detailing the feature does not contain any reference to the web tool as of January 24. It was unclear at post time if a new version of the tool might be returning in the future in one form or another.
How to locate your misplaced AirPods with Find My AirPods
Learn how to locate your misplaced AirPods using Find My AirPods. Not only will you be able to view the last known location of your AirPods on a map, but it will also let you play a high pitch sound to either or both AirPods, really helping you locate them if you misplaced them nearby.
iOS 10.1.1 bug allows researchers to bypass Activation Lock protection on iPhone and iPad
Back in November, India-based security researcher Hemanth Joseph discovered a bug in iOS 10.1 which permitted him to bypass Apple’s anti-theft Activation Lock feature by entering an excessively long string of characters in the Wi-Fi setup text fields.
Apple has patched the flaw in iOS 10.1.1 but now, as noted by SecurityWeek, researchers at Vulnerability Lab have managed to find another method of bypassing Activation Lock protection on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 10.1.1 and they posted video evidence to prove it.
Google’s My Account webpage rolls out Find My iPhone-like features
Apple has Find My iPhone and now Google has something called Find Your phone. As announced in a blog post Wednesday, the new feature can be used to find lost devices.
In addition to locating your device directly from Google’s recently redesigned My Account page, you can now simply say in the mobile Google app, “OK Google, show me my Google Account”. Soon, you’ll also be able to search Google for “I lost my phone”.
Tip: having LED flash light up when pinging iPhone from Apple Watch
Apple Watch users can easily find their misplaced iPhone by tapping a dedicated button, which will cause the connected iPhone to emit a high pitched sound. But you can find your iPhone even more quickly by having its LED flash illuminate a few times when you ping it from your wrist. We show you how.
‘IfFound 3’ makes it easier for good Samaritans to return your lost iOS device
Nothing gives you a lower-sinking gut feeling than when you accidentally leave your $650+ iPhone sitting somewhere and forget about it, or when it ends up stolen.
Fortunately, good Samaritans now have an easier way to get in touch with you if your device is ever found thanks to a recent Cydia release called IfFound 3.
Indeed this jailbreak tweak is a new iteration of a tweak that has existed for ages, but it’s back and it’s ready for iOS 9, and in this review, we’ll show you exactly how it works.
How to enable Activation Lock on Apple Watch
When Apple first shipped the Apple Watch earlier this year, its software wasn’t capable of Activation Lock—the technology that Apple uses to prevent someone from activating a lost or stolen iOS device without first validating ownership.
Activation Lock is a feature that first appeared with the introducion of iOS 7. It works by preventing an iOS device from being activated after being reset without first disabling Find My iPhone. By enabling Find My iPhone, a user is effectively enabling Activation Lock, therefore providing a layer of protection against would be thieves.
When we first reported that Activation Lock didn’t ship with watchOS 1, many users were perplexed. Why wouldn’t Apple include such a feature in its popular wearable? After all, Activation Lock has been credited with reducing iPhone thefts by as much as 50% in some regions.
While we never were told exactly why Activation Lock didn’t ship with watchOS 1, chances are that it just wasn’t ready at the time. With watchOS 2, however, things have changed. As Apple promised back at WWDC 2015, Activation Lock is included with its latest watchOS update…and it works.
New in iOS 9: Lost Mode switches on Low Power Mode automatically
The new Low Power Mode option in iOS 9 allows users to eek out more battery life by disposing battery draining features such as parallax effects, throttling down CPU performance, and disabling background app refresh. In all, Low Power Mode can provide users with up to 3 additional hours of battery life.
In iOS 9, Apple is allowing Find My iPhone’s Lost Mode, a mode that lets you to mark your iPhone as being lost, to use Low Power Mode at the same time. By doing so, lost iPhones have an even greater chance of recovery due to being able to stay on for a longer period of time.