What to do BEFORE your iPhone is lost or stolen

A few relevant iPhone security tips:

1. Password protect your iPhone: – This is the most basic security measure, and probably the one I also recommend the most. Setting a password on your iPhone prevents unauthorized use of your iPhone.
   Select Settings > General > Passcode Lock and enter your 4 digit passcode.
   By default no password is required but in most instances, when we leave our phone unattended or if it gets lost, if the phone isn’t passcode protected, it greatly increases the chance of someone snooping in on the phone.
2. Update your iOS devices: Keeping your iOS device up to date is pretty important. Apple introduces all sorts of security and performance updates as well as new features with almost every release. This will ensure you have the latest security patches, and fix bugs such as the one in iOS 4.1 that allowed a thief to bypass the iOS passcode lock and make calls, read emails, etc.
3. Set a SIM PIN: This is probably one of the most underused security features (which exists on any phone), and prevents someone from removing your SIM card, placing it in another phone, and making unlimited calls. Select phone > SIM PIN and turn it on. The manual mentions the default iPhone SIM PIN is 1111 unless the carrier has changed it.
4. Set your voicemail password: To prevent others from accessing your voice messages set a pin that can be easily remembered you and difficult for others to  guess (much like your ATM pin) Select phone > Change Voicemail Password.
5. [Advance] Use the iPhone Configuration Utility: Apple provides a free iPhone Configuration Utility (Mac/Windows) designed as an end user troubleshooting tool – it’s intended to help enterprise users in creating configuration profiles for device deployment but advanced users may be interested in looking at the options provided. It includes a longer passcode, less attempts (5) before an automatic wipe, and other security settings.

Next, find your device’s Serial Number and IMEI Number (phones only), and write them down somewhere (not on the device), as you may need these at a later date. The IMEI is a unique number used by GSM networks to identify valid phones, and can be used to block lost or stolen device.

On iOS you can find these in Settings > General > About. On any iPhone you can get the IMEI by entering *#06# on the phone’s keypad.

These tips will help you secure your phone and make thieves think twice before pilfering your device. MobileSyncPro is a software solution that will allow you to locate and retrieve your device in the event that it is lost or stolen.