Hi. My phone was stolen and I am trying to mark it as lost however it’s still pending, based on what I’ve read this means it hasnt been connected to a network. However the location keeps updating, which I assume it also needs to be connected to a network for this to happen. How is this possible and what does this mean?
The phone must have a good Internet connection to be able to receive a request from Find My, like enabling Lost Mode or remotely erasing the phone.
Your phone might "updating" its location based on a Bluetooth signal picked up from other iPhones (this is the way that an AirTag works as well) but it will need a good cellular or Wi-Fi connection to enable Lost Mode, or if you want to erase the phone remotely.
If you see an "Offline" status on the phone, that means any one of the following is true at the time:
Obviously, there is nothing that you can do about this other than keep checking a few times each day to see if the status of the phone has changed.
Also keep in mind that iPhone thieves are very fond of placing a phone in a special type of small bag that will not allow the phone to either send or receive a signal. So, everything on the phone might be fine otherwise, but Find My will not be able to connect to the phone.
Be very careful if you see a message or email from "Apple" or "Apple Support" claiming that your phone has been found and they just need "a bit more information" to verify that the phone is yours and return it to you.
Anything like this that you see is a SCAM. You know this because Apple does not get involved with lost or stolen phones. As you have guessed, the message is from a bad guy who is trying to trick you into revealing personal information.
Ignore and delete any messages like this that you might see.
The phone must have a good Internet connection to be able to receive a request from Find My, like enabling Lost Mode or remotely erasing the phone.
Your phone might "updating" its location based on a Bluetooth signal picked up from other iPhones (this is the way that an AirTag works as well) but it will need a good cellular or Wi-Fi connection to enable Lost Mode, or if you want to erase the phone remotely.
If you see an "Offline" status on the phone, that means any one of the following is true at the time:
Obviously, there is nothing that you can do about this other than keep checking a few times each day to see if the status of the phone has changed.
Also keep in mind that iPhone thieves are very fond of placing a phone in a special type of small bag that will not allow the phone to either send or receive a signal. So, everything on the phone might be fine otherwise, but Find My will not be able to connect to the phone.
Be very careful if you see a message or email from "Apple" or "Apple Support" claiming that your phone has been found and they just need "a bit more information" to verify that the phone is yours and return it to you.
Anything like this that you see is a SCAM. You know this because Apple does not get involved with lost or stolen phones. As you have guessed, the message is from a bad guy who is trying to trick you into revealing personal information.
Ignore and delete any messages like this that you might see.
There was a feature added to the iPhone that allows tracking when powered off.
It won’t do anything else except report its location.
Anything else such as lost mode or erasing it will require the iPhone to be powered on.
For lost mode does it just need to be on or does it need to be connected to a network as well?
Stolen iPhone - lost mode is still pending but location is updating?
