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How can I send a message to my lost iPhone?

I'm pretty sure that I lost my Apple iPhone 4, which is bumming me out, and while I already locked it remotely [see How do I remote lock my Apple iPhone?] I want to send a message to the person who might be trying to hack into it that I'll pay them a $20 reward, no questions asked, if they'll return it to me. Can I send an emergency text message to my iPhone?


Dave's Answer:

You can indeed send a remote text message to your iPhone from any Web browser anywhere in the world in much the same manner as you sent the lock code. Smart idea, sending the lock code if you're afraid you've lost your phone, btw. Heck, if you know it's been stolen and you think there's no chance of recovery, you can also remotely wipe all the personal data. If you then find it, iTunes will automatically restore everything, so it's not a one-way trip to iPhone oblivion either.

If you're thinking that you could easily just text message yourself, that's true, but as you'll see, the remote message capability of Find My iPhone is really superior for this situation, particularly since 1. you can send it from any computer on the Internet and 2. it comes up as a different message without a return phone number displayed.

As I've shown in other articles, in Find My iPhone you see the phone shown on a map or on a blank background if it cannot be located. Hopefully it's a map and looks like this:

iphone ipad find my iphone ipad 6

Tap on the little script "i" next to the phone name on the map display, and a window of options appears:

iphone ipad find my iphone ipad 7

Tap on "Display Message or Send Sound" to proceed, and you'll be presented with a small input box within which you can enter whatever text message you'd like displayed on the iPhone (or iPad or iPod Touch):

iphone ipad find my iphone ipad 10

Once you're ready, click on "Send" and...

iphone ipad find my iphone ipad 11

After a few moments, you'll have the following displayed, whether you're on a Web browser based version or another iOS-based device:

iphone ipad find my iphone ipad 12

Meanwhile, here's what shows up on the iPhone (an iPhone 4 in this case):

iphone remote message appears

Pretty simple. In this instance, the message isn't very useful, but if you were to have something like "If you leave my phone in an envelope at lost and found, I'd be most grateful" it might well spark the good samaritan instinct in the person who has your phone and you might well recover it. Or offer a reward, perhaps also left in lost and found with their name on the envelope. Then again, now we're talking about a "drop" so it might not be such a good idea, so I'll let you work out the logistics.

Most importantly, now you can see how to send a remote message to the iPhone. I'll also note that the ability to send an audio alarm is useful in finding an iPhone that might have the ringer volume low or be set to just vibrate on a call.


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Categorized: iPhone and Cell Phone Help   (Article 9679, Written by )
Tagged: apple iphone, find my iphone, iphone 3gs, iphone 4, mobile me, theft
Previous: How do I remote lock my Apple iPhone?
Next: How do I remove unused devices from Find My iPhone?




Reader Comments To Date: 1

HÃ¥kan Folkesson said, on October 7, 2012 10:34 AM:

The send message function is not present anymore on my iPad, iPhone and Mac. After I upgraded the Find My iPhone app, in September 2012, it's gone. It's got new maps and new design but the message function is gone without a trace or any word about this from Apple.

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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