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Stolen iPhone 4S - If I remove from account before i get a new phone, what happens last icloud backup?

Hi,


My phone was stolen in Vietnam a day ago just as i was boarding a flight to Malaysia so i have had no way to look for it.


I had been backing up to icloud in case something like this happened and last backup was completed two days ago. I know i should remove phone from my account and delete device, but the thing is i wont be back home for another 12 days.


If i remove phone from my account and delete it from there altogether, will anything happen the icloud backup? Or will it still be there waiting for me when i get home? I have backed up and restored from PC numerous times but never from icloud so i am afraid to remove it until i know for certain.


Also, my brother has an iphone 5 that i can use for a while, can i restore a database from an iphone 4 to a 5? Bearing in mind that i wasnt on the current

software version on the 4?


I have a lot of photos on my 4 so i am desperate to get them back.


Thanks in advance

iPhone 4S

Posted on Jun 1, 2015 10:31 PM

Reply
5 replies

Jun 1, 2015 10:39 PM in response to Durag

Remove the phone from what account, where? If you mean remove it from Find My iPhone, you probably don't want to do that just yet. Instead, you may want to Erase the device remotely via Find My iPhone in iCloud.com, but leave it linked so that the Activation Lock remains in place. That way the thieves will never be able to use your device.


You can restore any device that has been reset to Factory Settings to your iCloud backup. As long as the iOS on the device is equal to or later than your backup iOS you can restore it to that backup. It just won't work if the iOS on the device your are putting the backup on has an earlier iOS than the backup does.


Best of luck,


GB

Jun 2, 2015 12:27 AM in response to gail from maine

Thank you for your reply.


Yes sorry I meant find my iPhone. If I erase my phone remotely through find my iPhone, my last backup to iCloud will remain in tact until I get home in less than two weeks to restore my backup using an iPhone 5?


Yes the phone I will be using has a newer version of the software than my phone that I backed up / got stolen.

Jun 2, 2015 6:03 AM in response to Durag

Yes your backups will remain in place as long as you do not remove the device from your iCloud account (and even then they might, but again, you don't want to remove it from the iCloud account - just earase it).


I'm presuming you are more interested in protecting the data on the stolen device than in tracking that device, since it doesn't sound like you would be trying to retrieve it. So, erasing the device via the Find My iPhone app on iCloud.com is the best way to protect your personal info. Issuing the Erase command will Erase everything from the device, so it won't be able to be traced by Find My iPhone, but it still will have the Activation Lock on it, so the lowlifes who stole your phone won't be able to use it.


And since the phone you will be using has a more current version of the iOS, you will have no problem restoring that new device to the iCloud backup.


Best of luck,


GB

Stolen iPhone 4S - If I remove from account before i get a new phone, what happens last icloud backup?

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