Having your smartphone stolen in the street or on public transport has unfortunately become commonplace. And all pickpockets have this reflex to prevent you from finding it. You might as well anticipate and deactivate this functionality.
Cell phones are among the most commonly stolen items. Whether it is a snatching involving violence or a rather discreet pickpocket, smartphone theft has unfortunately become almost commonplace. In France, there were more than 630,000 mobile phone thefts in 2011, according to figures from the National Delinquency Observatory. Among our European neighbors, in London, a mobile phone is stolen on average every 6 minutes. A very profitable traffic for those who seize them with the aim of then reselling them. It is then difficult to get our hands on this precious everyday object that we find so difficult to do without.
However, you should know that most pickpockets have this same reflex when they manage to get their hands on your smartphone. To avoid being spotted, they will immediately try to hide the network so as not to be geolocated. A 17-year-old boy had the heavy experience last August, in Rouen. The latter was arrested by the police who found him using the geolocation system. So, thieves activate airplane mode. It is then impossible to find any trace of your device.
The function to deactivate to have a better chance of finding your phone in the event of theft
To save time and optimize your chances of getting your hands on it, all you have to do is anticipate and deactivate a certain functionality in your iPhone’s settings.
This is what this Tiktok video published on the @account explains.Proximus “Activating airplane mode prevents you from finding your iPhone via the geolocation application. To prevent them, go to your settings: “Face ID and passcode” and deactivate the control center“. This tip will prevent other people from deactivating airplane mode. You can then try to geolocate your smartphone. Also note that if the thieves decide to turn off your phone (and provided you have the latest iOS15 update) , it is always possible to locate its location using the “Locate” application.