iPhone 5 - easy wipe if stolen?

[Ultraviolet]

Girlfriend has just bought an iPhone 5, but she's useless and keeps leaving it at friends houses etc... so its only a matter of time before it goes missing for good unless she sorts her act out.

 

Anyway, am I correct in thinking that if someone finds it and basically just plugs it into iTunes and wipe / reinstalls the os then It would be fully usable by the theif and theres nothing that I could do about it?

 

I'm not sure if apple can block it or her contract provider (EE in this case), basically I just don't want someone else to find it wipe it and have a new phone to use.

 

Is there anyway to prevent this? (The last iPhone I has was the 3gs so I know a lot has changed since)

[jerzdawg]

I think the new iOS coming out shortly is supposed to make it so the iTunes password would be required to wipe.

[Marshall Veteran]

iOS 6 and up have Find my iphone built in. Just log in to https://www.icloud.com/#find with your iTunes ID and password and it will locate your iPhone via GPS.

 

To activate Find my iPhone go to Setting>iCloud> Find my iPhone.

 

For more information on using Find my iPhone, look here and here.

 

Also this:

 

Activation Lock, a new feature of Find My iPhone, is turned on automatically when Find My iPhone is enabled on any device running iOS 7. Activation Lock requires users to enter their Apple ID and password to turn off Find My iPhone, sign out of iCloud, erase the device, or reactivate the device after an erase. It?s important to do one of the following before transferring a device to a new user:

 

iOS 7 will be out soon!

 

Regards

[blade1269]

Quick question about iOS 7 does the beta have wifi calling?

[shockz]

Quick question about iOS 7 does the beta have wifi calling?

Yes, sort of. You can do facetime audio only calls, but that'll only work with others running iOS7.

[Ultraviolet]

iOS 6 and up have Find my iphone built in. Just log in to https://www.icloud.com/#find with your iTunes ID and password and it will locate your iPhone via GPS.

 

To activate Find my iPhone go to Setting>iCloud> Find my iPhone.

 

For more information on using Find my iPhone, look here and here.

 

Also this:

 

 

iOS 7 will be out soon!

 

Regards

Surely though if this is wiped off find my iphone would be useless as it would be linked to another account?

[Stetson]

The new feature in iOS 7 (which should be released in the next few weeks) is called Activation Lock:

 

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/ios-7-activation-lock-find-my-iphone/

[NightmarE D]

Girlfriend has just bought an iPhone 5, but she's useless

Sounds like she's really lucky to have you. I'm half-tempted to track down who she is and show her how you think of her.

Think I will

[Shadrack]

Currently, with iOS 6, you are correct that all that a thief would need to do is restore it on iTunes and reset Find my iPhone with a new Apple ID and it is basically their phone.  A smart thief would just immediately turn off the device until they got to their computer.

 

On iOS 7, as other have said, you cannot do a restore of any iOS device that has Find my iPhone enabled.  Further, disabling Find my iPhone requires entry of the passcode lock on the phone as well as entering the Apple ID password in order to disable the feature and restore the phone.  Pretty nice improvement, if you ask me, but I suspect that there will be ways around this.

[Shadrack]

Something else to consider since the phone is new is AppleCare+.  Its a pretty good deal IMO.  For $99 you get 1 more year of warranty support and two iPhone replacements if it were to break (by being dropped or something) with a $49 deductible.   So its basically 2 years worth of phone insurance.  I think its worth it.

 

Doesn't protect against theft... but since you state how careless she is with her phone I suspect that it will be found broken before it is stolen.  Depends on who her friends are and who her friends' friends are.

[fusi0n]

Something else to consider since the phone is new is AppleCare+.  Its a pretty good deal IMO.  For $99 you get 1 more year of warranty support and two iPhone replacements if it were to break (by being dropped or something) with a $49 deductible.   So its basically 2 years worth of phone insurance.  I think its worth it.

 

Doesn't protect against theft... but since you state how careless she is with her phone I suspect that it will be found broken before it is stolen.  Depends on who her friends are and who her friends' friends are.

who keeps the same phone for two years.. :p

 

Kidding.. sort off.. I am on my 5th phone this year.. lol 

 

if you plan to keep the phone for more than a year.. Applecare+ is a must

[psionicinversion]

find my iphone only works if the sim card is still in the phone, same with any other service. if its not then you cant find it cus not sure if you can search by IMEI yet.

[Shadrack]

I keep my phone for at least 3 years.  I also only buy unlocked models and use pre-pay plans.

 

who keeps the same phone for two years.. :p

 

Kidding.. sort off.. I am on my 5th phone this year.. lol 

 

if you plan to keep the phone for more than a year.. Applecare+ is a must

[Mr.XXIV]

Wanna keep track of your phone's serial number along with your Macs?

 

Register your Apple ID and use register your devices here:

 

http://supportprofile.apple.com

 

That way, if it is stolen, the police will be able to have more obligation in tracking your phone.