Turn on lost-phone settings before you need them

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Apple's Find My system can help locate an iPhone when it is online. With the right settings enabled, supported iPhones can also remain findable when they are offline or for a period after they have been turned off.

Find My network lets nearby Apple devices securely help locate your iPhone when it cannot connect to Wi-Fi or cellular service. On supported iPhones, Apple says the Find My network can locate the phone for up to 24 hours after it is turned off or up to five hours while it is in power reserve mode. Meanwhile, Send Last Location automatically sends your iPhone's location to Apple when its battery reaches a critically low level. That could give you one more place to check if the battery dies before you realize your phone is missing.

While you are there, I would check another iPhone security feature called Stolen Device Protection. Open Settings > Face ID & Passcode and enter your passcode. Tap Stolen Device Protection, then make sure it is turned on. By default, Apple applies its added security requirements when your iPhone is away from familiar locations such as home or work. You can make those protections stronger by choosing Always under Require Security Delay. Stolen Device Protection can require Face ID or Touch ID for sensitive actions. Certain account changes can also trigger a one-hour Security Delay followed by another biometric check. Find My cannot be turned off while Stolen Device Protection is enabled. That extra hurdle can be especially useful if someone steals your iPhone and has also seen or learned your passcode.

Google now calls its lost-device service Find Hub. If you have added a Google Account to your Pixel, Find Hub is usually enabled automatically. Still, I would check these settings before you ever need them.

You should also open Settings > Location and make sure Use location is turned on. Google recommends setting a PIN, pattern or password too. A screen lock helps your Pixel use Find Hub's end-to-end encrypted offline-finding network. Supported newer Pixel phones can also remain findable through Find Hub for several hours after the battery runs out or the phone is powered off. For that feature to work, Bluetooth, Location and offline finding should be enabled before the phone shuts down.

Go to Settings > Security & privacy > Lost device protection. From there, review the additional theft safeguards available on your Pixel. Depending on your device and software version, you may see Theft Detection Lock, Offline Device Lock, Remote Lock and Identity Check. These features can automatically lock your phone in certain situations or require biometric authentication before sensitive account changes are made. Find Hub helps you locate the phone, while these additional protections can help secure it if someone takes it.

If you use a Samsung Galaxy phone, you can take advantage of both Google Find Hub and Samsung's own device-finding tools.

You will need a Samsung account on the phone to use Samsung Find and SmartThings Find. Send last location can preserve the phone's last known location. Offline finding lets nearby Galaxy devices help update the location when your phone cannot connect normally. Samsung says that if the phone is powered off, you may only see its last known location. That makes turning these protections on ahead of time especially useful.

I would keep Google Find Hub available on a Samsung phone as well. Samsung's current instructions say you can verify it by opening Settings > Google Services > Find Hub > tap on your device > Settings and checking that Allow device to be located is turned on. That gives Galaxy owners another way to locate or secure a missing phone through their Google Account. You may see slightly different wording depending on your Galaxy model, carrier or software version. Samsung notes that some menus can vary between devices.

If an iPhone goes missing, open Find My on another Apple device or use Apple's Find Devices service through iCloud.com. From there, you can view the phone on a map, play a sound or mark it as lost.

Google Pixel and other Android owners can open the Find Hub app on another Android device or use Google's Find Hub through a web browser. You can locate the phone, play a sound or mark it as lost. You can also erase the device remotely if recovery looks unlikely.

Samsung Galaxy owners can use Samsung Find or SmartThings Find through their Samsung account in addition to Google Find Hub.

If the phone appears to be sitting somewhere nearby, playing a sound can save you from tearing the house apart. However, if the map shows your phone somewhere unfamiliar and you suspect it was stolen, avoid trying to recover it yourself. Contact law enforcement instead.

Most of us do not think much about these settings while our phone is sitting safely in our hand. Then the phone disappears and suddenly every one of them becomes very important. I would check them now. Make sure your phone can be located, make sure offline finding is enabled and confirm that you know which account you would need to sign in to from another device. You may never need any of these features. If you do, you will already know where to start.

Your phone already has some impressive tools for finding it, but those tools work best when you prepare before the phone goes missing. On an iPhone, I would make sure Find My network and Send Last Location are enabled. Pixel owners should check Find Hub and offline finding, while Galaxy users can add Samsung's Lost device protection on top of Google's system. I would also spend another minute reviewing the theft protections available on your phone. Apple's Stolen Device Protection and Google's theft protection features can make it harder for someone who gets your phone to take control of your accounts. That extra layer could become incredibly valuable when you are already dealing with the stress of a missing device.

If your phone disappeared right now, would you know exactly how to find and protect it, or would you be learning these settings for the first time? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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