Question about remotely locking iPhone or iPad

Question

Level 1

4 points

Question about remotely locking iPhone or iPad

I would like to know if there is a way to remotely lock an iPad or iPhone using the Find my Phone app with a new password in the following scenario...

Let's say I am traveling and currently do not have a password set on my iPhone. I lose my phone and someone finds it and being that it does not have a password set, they set one of their own. I use the Find my Phone app to locate my phone and try to lock it so that the person that found it can't use it. Problem is, I can only lock it with the currently set password that the person who found it set on it. This does me no good as they can easily use the phone since they are the ones who set the password. Is their a way to override the current password and create a new one remotely so that the person who found it can no longer have access to the phone. If not, is something Apple should look into changing? If I have access to the phone using the Find my Phone app using the correct email and password for the account the phone is hooked to, shouldn't I have the ability to change the password remotely to take back full access to the phone and lock out someone who found the phone and set a password?

Hopefully the above scenario is described well enough that readers understand what I am trying to ask.

Am I correct in assuming that under the current iOS versions, I will not be able to lock out someone who finds the phone and creates a password themselves?

iPhone 4S, iOS 5.1.1

Posted on Oct 22, 2012 1:23 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 22, 2012 1:39 PM in response to Mymacisback

No, You can set your own new passcode.

go to iCloud.com-> findMyiPhone-> you'll see your device. click on it, it will show the phone in the map. click your phone in the map and you'll get 3 options. Play sound, lost mode, erase data.

Click the lost mode and it will prompt you to enter a passcode (only once until the passcode you set is removed), then a phone number you can be reached(optional) and message to display. The passcode you provide will override the current passcode set on the phone.

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Answer 2

Oct 22, 2012 1:42 PM in response to Roshanalex

When you've set a passcode thru Icloud, it replaces the old passcode with new one you've created.

But once you've created a new passcode, the iCloud wont let you set a new passcode until the old passcode you set thru iCloud is removed.

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

231,432 points

Oct 22, 2012 1:39 PM in response to Mymacisback

You have just made a very good case for setting a passcode on your phone before you lose it.

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Answer 4

Mymacisback Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 22, 2012 2:04 PM in response to Mymacisback

Thanks to all that have replied. I knew about the iCloud website but thought it basically had the same options as the app. I didn't realize the lost option gave me the ability to change an already password protected iPad/iPhone. I guess this was one of the recent changes to the app and website as I thought I tried this scenario only a couple of months ago and couldn't find a way to change the password from the one that was already set. I don't recall seeing the lost phone option.

Anyway, thanks to all for enlightening me to the fact that it is possible.

Dan

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Answer 5

Mymacisback Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 22, 2012 8:54 PM in response to Mymacisback

Looks like after trying Roshanalex's instructions, I discovered that Lost Mode is only available if you are running IOS 6. I am currently running IOS 5.1.1 on both my iPad and iPhone 4S and therefore don't have the Lost Mode option when I log into Find My iPhone app or iCloud.com website.

So, just as a final thought to my original question, the instructions above only work if running IOS 6. You don't have the option to override any password currently active on your device if you are running an IOS lower than 6.

Thanks again to all that responded.

Dan

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Answer 6

Mymacisback Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 22, 2012 7:59 PM in response to Mymacisback

I recently had the chance to try the Lost Mode to see how it works with an iPhone running IOS 6 and have discovered that I don't have the option to override the current password using the Lost Mode. I can only put in a phone number and a message to display on the phone. I am never given an option to change the password. Can someone enlighten me as to what I need to do in order to overwrite the current password using the Lost Mode option.

Thanks.

Dan

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Answer 7

Mymacisback Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 2, 2013 10:16 AM in response to Mymacisback

I am just revisiting this post as I have not found a way to change the password of an iPhone using Find My Phone if it already has a password active. For a description of what I am trying to accomplish, please see the original post.

This is just a hypothetical situation I posted and wanted to see if it was possible but it does not appear to be.

Does anyone know the url for giving suggestions to Apple? I would like to see if they might consider adding this feature to Find My Phone in the future.

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Answer 8

Oct 12, 2013 8:46 AM in response to Mymacisback

Has anyone found a solution to this?

It is an obvious requirement for parental controls at the very least. The ability to remotely lock an IOS device (via iCloud) but requiring a new code (which the parent enters) in order for the device to be unlocked (either remotely again or at the device itself).

I'm not even sure this is possible via the iOS api? Anyone able to comment on this?

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