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iPhone 3.1: Remotely Lock Your iPhone With MobileMe

Submitted by Michael Johnston on September 10, 2009 - 7:30pm.
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Passcode4.png

Among the myriad of tiny improvements included in iPhone 3.1, Apple introduced a new feature to their "Find My iPhone" service. Introduced with 3.0, Find My iPhone allows users with MobileMe accounts to find and remotely wipe a lost or stolen iPhone. In 3.1, you can now remotely lock your iPhone with a four-digit passcode. Jump down for the how-to!

To use the feature, you must have a MobileMe account. If you haven't already, add your MobileMe account in "Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account...".

If you haven't enabled Find My iPhone, go to "Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > your MobileMe account name" and flip the switch under "Find My iPhone" to "On." This will enable you to see your iPhone on a map from any MobileMe compatible web browser.

For those of you who already have Find My iPhone all set up, simply update your iPhone to 3.1, and head to Me.com. Log in, click "Account Settings" (the little, silver gear icon), and click the "Find My iPhone" tab. For each device running iPhone 3.1 you will see an option called "Remote Lock..." which will allow you to remotely lock your iPhone with a four-digit passcode. If you already have a passcode set, this will override that code.

This new feature, in my opinion, seems to answer the question of "can't a savvy thief just disable Find My iPhone when he steals it?" This way users who prefer to not use a passcode can continue doing so but lock their iPhone if and when they lose it.

Submitted by imagine engine on September 13, 2009 - 12:58pm.
This will help those people that were either to dumb or to lazy to set-up a 4 digit lock code on their iPhone. Though it will also mean that the same people would have to be smart enough to also subscribe to the MobileMe service through Apple.

How do I unlock it now?

Submitted by Jerry M on September 24, 2009 - 8:36am.
I went through the process and it worked great. Now, how do I delete the requirement to enter the passcode everytime I energize the phone?
Thanks,

Submitted by Jerry M on September 24, 2009 - 8:40am.
Okay, I figured it out........go to settings and turn off the passcode reqmt.

Submitted by giovannidattoma on November 25, 2009 - 10:38pm.
I do not see "Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > your MobileMe account name" (the one in Bold)

I have email accounts in there, but i do not see the " your MobileMe account name"