Apple’s Find My technology makes iPhone theft difficult. Tech-savvy thieves can be wary of stealing devices that users can track online. But the iPhone remains a coveted device and a prime target. So, in addition to keeping Find My enabled and protecting your device with passwords and biometrics, it’s important to change important settings in your iPhone Control Center to prevent thieves from holding onto your device.
Specifically, an attacker should not be able to enable Airplane Mode once the device is stolen. Your only hope is to bypass the screen lock and erase the screen of your phone and try to resell it. Another option is to use airplane mode to disassemble his iPhone and sell the various components.
How to protect your iPhone from theft
Before we talk about the Control Center settings you need to change, we need to talk about two important iPhone features that you should enable to prevent your iPhone from being stolen.
First, you need to set a lock screen password and enable Face ID or Touch ID. Skipping this step allows a thief to break in as soon as he steals his iPhone, enabling Airplane Mode without the Control Center appearing on the lock screen.
in the setting app, search Face ID/Touch ID & Passcode Enable passwords and Face ID. On iPhones with Touch ID, you can configure Touch ID in this menu. Most people usually complete this process during the initial iPhone setup.
Then you have to enable find my iphone. go to settingTap. Apple ID search by name look for meAs above, tap it to enable all features.
This allows you to locate your lost or stolen iPhone on a map.
Disable Control Center when iPhone is locked
Control Center is a quick way to access various settings on your iPhone and is a feature that many people use frequently. On iPhones with Face ID, you’ll need to swipe down on the right side of the screen to summon Control Center. On Touch ID phones, you have to swipe up from the bottom. This assumes you have Control Center enabled on your lock screen.
But it’s a security issue. Airplane mode is one of the default shortcuts, so you can’t remove it from Control Center. A thief can summon Control Center immediately after stealing your device and enabling airplane mode.
To avoid this, you can disable access to Control Center when your iPhone is locked. The process is easy.go the same Face ID/Touch ID & Passcode A menu where you can enable passwords and configure biometric authentication for your phone.
look for Allow access when locked and disable control centerThat’s all it takes to add another layer of security to your iPhone.You can also disable accessories Prevent thieves from trying to unlock your device by connecting it via USB.
Now, if a thief steals your iPhone and tries to turn on airplane mode, they won’t be able to. They will know that the owner risks contacting the police with his location because he can no longer block the iPhone from communicating with his other iOS devices. And they might throw the device away rather than risk being caught.
This handy iPhone security trick doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to restore your iPhone, but it may increase your chances of being found. Remember, Find My works even if your iPhone battery dies. That’s why thieves try to turn on airplane mode.
Don’t forget to backup your iPhone
If you want to avoid the chaos of lost or stolen iPhone, you should back up your iPhone frequently. And the good news is that you can now encrypt your iCloud backups. This makes your iCloud backup even more secure.
With frequent backups, you won’t lose your personal data if your iPhone is lost or stolen. If Control Center is blocked on the lock screen and you still can’t retrieve your device, you’ll probably end up buying another device to move your data.
Finally, don’t forget to protect your iPad the same way.
