iPhone owners will soon be able to track down their iPhone using the Find My app even when it’s switched off or has been wiped.
The new ‘Find My network’ capabilities should come in handy in numerous scenarios, including when an iPhone has run low on battery power or a thief has turned the phone off. Currently, by enabling Find My network setting – an additional capability beyond Find My iPhone – users can locate an iPhone when it’s offline, as well as AirTags, but not when the iPhone is powered off.
9to5Mac has posted an image of the notification that tells users that the iPhone remains findable after power off or in power reserve mode.
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“Find My helps you locate this iPhone when it is lost or stolen, even it is in power reserve mode or when powered off,” the dialog states. The functionality can be changed in “Find My network” in Find My within Settings.
Apple has detailed some of these capabilities in iOS 15 preview notes and a press release, but hasn’t explained how it works.
There’s also some extra protection for situations when a thief has stolen an iPhone and sold it to someone else. This relies on the Find My feature Activation Lock, which is turned on when a user turns on Find My.
“To help ensure that nobody is tricked into purchasing your device, the Hello screen will clearly show that your device is locked, locatable, and still yours,” Apple explains.
Apple is also introducing separation alerts, which delivers an alert to the owner’s iPhone when an AirTag or compatible product is left behind. Find My provides directions to the item.
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The Find My network will also give users an approximate location of missing AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. It aims to get the user within Bluetooth range so they can play a sound to find the earphones or headphones.
Apple announced dozens of new features for iOS 15 at WWDC, including Zoom-inspired features for FaceTime, a new SharePlay on FaceTime feature for sharing music and TV content with others on a call, and Live Text to capture and copy text from a photo.
