iPhone 3.0 – Find My iPhone & Remote Wipe
Soon after the release of the iPhone 3.0 software today, I decided to test out the Find My iPhone feature. This requires a subscription to MobileMe.
Find My iPhone
1. Download and install v3.0 of the iPhone software.
2. Enable Find My iPhone on your iPhone. This can be done in Settings> Mail, Contact, Calendars> Your MobileMe Account> Find My iPhone
3. Log in to MobileMe. Click the Account tab.
4. Click Find My iPhone on the left hand side of the page.
5. Click Update Location. When I first logged in I noticed my location had already been tracked from earlier in the morning. This was prior to installing the 3.0 update. It appears the phone’s last location (and possible other locations) are already trackable without having 3.0 installed.
My location before I even installed the 3.0 update!
6. Wait a few minutes for the location to be found. Inside our building I was able to get a large crosshairs (I’m assuming it was using WiFi), when I walked outside the crosshairs got more targeted and smaller. Didn’t appear to get the GPS dot I’m used to seeing on the iPhone.
Inside Building
Outside Building
7. Viola! Your location is found. There’s also the handy Display a Message or Play a Sound feature. When you click it you’re prompted to enter a message. Type in a message to yourself (or whoever has your phone), and check the box to play a sound for 2 minutes. Great for finding the phone if buried deep inside the couch.
8. Seconds later a notification shows on the phone, along with an email confirmation.
Remote Wipe
In case of theft or other unauthorized access, you can completely erase your iPhone using Remote Wipe. The last available option on the Find My iPhone list, click it and your phone erases itself.
