The 5 Best Methods to Track a Lost or Stolen iPhone

Summary: Lost your iPhone? Don’t worry, here we tell you how to track lost or stolen iPhone using various techniques. Also, learn how to erase your iPhone data permanently to prevent it from reaching in wrong hands or misuse, using Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone.

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Q. I cannot live without my iPhone. It was stolen yesterday and can’t recall where I lost it. It has been switched off. Can I track the location of my iPhone? Is there any way to track lost iPhones?

Losing an iPhone (and for that matter any smartphone) is tormenting. Besides the upfront costs, there’s an incredible amount of personal data at stake. Today, smartphones not only store personal photos, videos, and music libraries but might also contain an incredible amount of sensitive information in the form of browsing history, social data, app traces, etc. So the apprehension of exploitation and misuse of the data stored in a stolen or lost iPhone is but real.

So, as soon as you discover that your iPhone has been stolen or lost, first, try to track the location of your missing device and lock it.

How to track a lost or stolen iPhone?

Try out the following methods

1. Use Find My iPhone
2. Track through Apple’s Family Sharing
3. Use Google Timeline
4. Try Google Photos
5. Use location-tracking apps

Method 1: Use Find My iPhone

If Find My iPhone is enabled on your stolen iPhone, you can do the following:

• Locate your mobile phone
• Protect your iPhone data by choosing Lost Mode or erasing the data remotely

Click here

How to use Find My iPhone when the phone is missing

• Sign in to icloud.com on your computer.
• Click on the Find My iPhone link at the bottom.
• On the Find My iPhone’s map interface, select your lost iPhone via the All Devices drop-down menu. The app starts tracking your iPhone location on the map.

As you see the location of your device you can choose to do the following

• Play sound (if your iPhone is nearby, you can trace it with sound)
• Activate ‘Lost Mode’ (this locks your device and still tracks it)

What does Lost Mode do to your device?

• Remotely locks your device
• Displays a message with your phone number on the missing iPhone’s Lock Screen
• Keeps track of your device location.
• Erase iPhone remotely (with this action you won’t be able to track your iPhone but data is prevented from slipping into the wrong hands)

How to erase iPhone data remotely?

Choosing to erase the iPhone remotely deletes the complete data from it.

Note: Always remember to copy important photos, videos, music, and other data on iCloud backup before remotely erasing the iPhone.

Use a trusted and safe data recovery solution such as Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone to restore lost files from iCloud. The software allows the recovery of specific data rather than recovering the entire data.

Method 2: Track iPhone through Family Sharing

If you have set up Family Sharing, use it to track your iPhone. Family Sharing helps the members to know each one’s device location. Ask another member in the Family Sharing group to trace your iPhone via the Find My iPhone app. The member can also sign into iCloud.com to locate the missing iPhone.

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Is your missing iPhone switched off or offline?

If the missing iPhone is switched off or showing offline in Family Sharing, you can still activate Lost Mode or remotely erase its data via Find My iPhone.
Note: The iPhone’s last known location remains only for one day. In case your device is offline for over 24 hours, you cannot trace its last location.

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What to do when ‘Find My iPhone’ is NOT enabled or the missing iPhone is offline for more than one day?

• Change your Apple ID passwords to prevent anyone from accessing your data.
• Change your social media and other Internet account passwords like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Report the device as missing to the authorities.
• Report your network carrier to disable the services like calls, messages, or data use.

Method 3: Use Google Timeline to find lost iPhone

If you have turned on Location Services and Location History on your iPhone, Google’s Timeline will record all the locations of your device.

When an iPhone goes missing, access the location information on a map and find the last location. Remember, Google Timeline records the location only when the iPhone is switched on with an internet connection.

How to see the last location of a lost iPhone in Google Timeline

• Visit <com/maps/timeline> on your computer.
• Sign in to your Google account.
• Click Today or select Date.
• Scroll down to see the last reported location of your iPhone.

Along with the location, note the time when your phone was last connected to Google. Taking clues from the location and time information, you can find your lost iPhone. If needed, take the help of cops.

Method 4: Take location clue from Google Photos

If anyone has captured a photo from your lost iPhone and you have the Google Photos location-sharing option enabled, then luck is on your side.

Visit <photos.google.com/>. Check, if any new photos were uploaded and view their upload location.

Method 5: Location tracking apps

If you have installed any location-tracking app such as GPS Location Tracker, CocoSpy Cell Phone Tracker, or iTrack on your missing device, use it to track the lost or stolen iPhone. These apps share the real-time location of your device on your computer or other connected devices.

Conclusion

Apple’s Find My iPhone feature is the best way to track the location of a stolen or missing device. If Find My iPhone is not enabled you can try Google Timeline or Google Photos. Other than these methods, third-party apps can also help track a lost iPhone, but only if you have installed them before the phone was lost.

Nevertheless, ensure that you copy the iCloud backup of the stolen iPhone before taking any of the above steps.

A smarter way is to filter out the data that you want to keep, with the help of Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone.

Is this post helpful? Share your experience in the comments below, how you managed to track and get back your stolen iPhone.

Solved: Photos Disappeared from iPhone Suddenly

‘I noticed that over 500 old photos from iPhone 11 have disappeared and now only the recently shot pictures are showing! I lost almost all of my best memories saved in my phone. I am sure I did not delete them. Where did the pictures disappeared from iPhone? How do I get back photos missing from iPhone? Please help.’

Photos suddenly disappearing from iPhone or random photos missing from Camera Roll or Gallery is a common complaint. Usually, photos get disappeared after iOS update, iPhone reset/restore, or when the device storage is full. You may also lose pictures after installing any new software, or jailbreaking. Sometimes, running an iPhone cleaning software without checking what it is deleting on your iOS device can also result in loss of photos.

The situation is stressful, even more when you don’t have any copies or backup of lost photos.

So how to recover the missing or lost photos on iPhone? This post shares the effective methods to get back the missing photos from Camera Roll, Gallery, or iCloud on your iPhone.

In any such sudden photo loss situation, the best solution is to use a secure photo recovery tool for iPhone that can recover photos lost due to any reason. Besides, there are free methods that might restore disappeared photos from iPhone, which you should try once.

Method 1: Restart your iPhone

If your photos suddenly disappeared from iPhone, first restart the iOS device. Then open the Photo app, Camera Roll, or Photo Stream to see if the missing photos are showing or not.

You can check here the steps to restart your iPhone model .

Method 2: Restore photos from Recently Deleted folder on iPhone

You might have accidentally deleted the photos on iPhone. Check and recover the photos from the ‘Recently Deleted’ folder of your Photos app.

Steps to recover photos on iPhone from ‘Recently Deleted’:

• On your iPhone, click to follow Photos > Albums.
• Scroll down to Utilities and click Recently Deleted.
• Look for your missing photo, tap on it and choose Recover. If there are multiple photos, click on ‘Select’ followed by ‘Recover’.

Note: Photos deleted on iPhone stay in your ‘Recently Deleted’ folder only for 30 days, after which they are permanently removed from the iOS device.

Method 3: Unhide photos on iPhone

Photos disappeared from iPhone can be in the hidden folder in Photos app. Simply, check the Hidden folder on your device and unhide the required photos.

• Open Photos app on iPhone.
• Click on Albums.
• Under Utilities click on Hidden folder. In case you don’t see the ‘Hidden’ folder, go to ‘Settings’ of your iPhone. Click on ‘Photos’ and toggle on ‘Hidden Album’.
• If you see the disappeared photos, select and click on the ‘Share’ button (the arrow icon).
• Next, tap Unhide to move the pictures to their original location on iPhone.

Method 4: Enable iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos store images in iCloud and syncs them to your iPhone, iPad, iCloud.com, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple TV. This means that any changes done to pictures library on one device will show up on your other iOS devices as well. If the photos are disappearing from iPhone only, may be the iCloud Photo is not synced or turned on. So enable iCloud Photos to get back the disappeared pictures on iPhone.

Steps to enable iCloud Photos on iPhone:

• Turn on Wi-Fi of your iPhone.
• On iPhone, navigate to Settings.
• Click on your name and tap iCloud > Photos.
• Toggle on iCloud Photos.

Now check if the missing photos are showing up on iPhone or not.

Method 5: Recover iPhone photos from iTunes backup

If you have created iTunes backup, restore the disappeared photos on iPhone from it. However, this will replace your existing iPhone data with iTunes backup data.

Steps to recover photos from iTunes:

• Connect your iPhone to computer.
• Launch iTunes.
• Select your iPhone under the device list and click on Summary.
• Click Restore Backup.
• In the Restore from Backup box, select the backup date that contains your photos.

• Click Restore. Wait until the process finishes and your iPhone restarts. All your disappeared photos will be recovered on iPhone.

Method 6: Restore photos from iCloud Backup

You can restore the previous iCloud backup that has the missing photos. However, like iTunes, this method will also replace the current data on your iPhone.

Steps to recover disappeared photos from iCloud:

• On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset.
• Click on Erase all Contents and Settings. In the dialog box, choose Erase Now.
• On the Apps & Data screen, click Restore from iCloud Backup. Enter your Apple ID. In case you have forgot your Apple ID, click here to know how to recover it.

• Select the recent backup and click Restore. The lost photos should now appear on iPhone.

Method 7: Recover lost photos with an iPhone data recovery software

The advanced iPhone recovery software — Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone, can restore photos lost, deleted, or missing due to any reason. Whether your photos disappeared from iPhone after update, due to low storage, or any other reason, the software can recover in all situations.

The biggest advantage of using the software is that it doesn’t remove your existing iPhone data. Further, the software shows the preview of the recoverable photos. Hence, its easy to select and recover only the required disappeared pictures from Camera Roll, iCloud Photo Library, Gallery, or those shared on chat messages, etc. Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone is compatible with the latest iPhone 14/13/12/11, iPad, and iPod touch.  The software supports recovery from the latest iOS 16 and older versions.

Quick steps to recover disappeared photos from iPhone:

• Download Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone on PC or Mac.
• Connect your iPhone to computer.
• Launch the software and select Recover from iPhone option from the left panel.

• Select the Camera Roll or Photo Stream from where the photos have disappeared and click Next to the start the scanning process.
• Now preview the recoverable photos, select them, and click Save to restore on iPhone or computer.

Note: You can also recover the lost photos from backup by choosing Recover from iCloud backup or Recover from iTunes backup , options in the software.

Conclusion

When you find suddenly photos disappearing from iPhone try any of the above 7 methods to get back the lost pictures. However, of all we recommend solutions Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software is quick and easy to use. It is also of great help when you don’t want to recover from iCloud or iTunes backup that removes the existing data on iPhone.

What to do if iPhone is not listed when I run the software?

Your iPhone will only appear in the software if it is visible in iTunes on your computer. If your iOS device is not listed in the software, it means iTunes is not installed on your PC or Mac.

Download the latest version of iTunes and then launch the Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software.

To launch iTunes on your computer:

When iTunes is not installed on your computer, Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone  automatically generates the below message. It asks to download and install iTunes. You can click on ‘Click here’ to download iTunes.

If iTunes is already install on your computer and you don’t see your iPhone in the software, update your iTunes to the latest version.

How to Fix & Retrieve Pictures/Videos From a Water Damaged iPhone That Won’t Turn on

Summary: Spilled water on your iPhone? This article guides you in detail, how to fix water-damaged iPhone and do’s to avoid further damage. Also learn ways to recover lost photos and videos when your iPhone is not turning on due to the damage.

| Q. I accidentally dropped my iPhone in swimming pool and now it does not turn on anymore. How can I fix my water damaged phone? Is there any way I can rec__over photos and videos from my water damaged iPhone
A. To fix a water damaged iPhone, try to dry it completely while to recover your lost photos and videos you have two options:

1. Recover from Apple iCloud and iTunes backup
2. If, backup files are not accessible or deleted, recover using third-party software
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This article guides you in detail, how to fix such water-damaged iPhone and recover lost photos and videos when the device is not turning on.
The damage caused by water or any other liquid on iPhones is unpredictable. Your iPhone may or may not turn on and there is a high possibility of losing your data including photos and videos on it.
Even if your iPhone is under the one-year warranty, Apple does not cover liquid damages to iPhone. So now you are in a crazy situation of double loss, of owning a faulty device and losing precious photos and videos stored in it.
First, a piece of advice: Stay calm. Before trying to retrieve lost photos through any method follow the essential dos and don’ts to fix your iPhone and avoid further loss.

DOs fo****r Water Damaged iPhone

• **Try drying
  **Remove excess water off the iPhone by rubbing it dry on a towel. Gently shake it to clear the water in the sockets and ports of the phone.
• **Do not plug it in or turn it on
  **Do not plug or turn on the wet iPhone as this can cause a short circuit. Even if it turns on, it will stop working forever after sometime. If the iPhone is in Power on or Sleep Mode, switch it off completely and leave it to dry for at least two days.
• **Remove the SIM card
  **Take out the SIM card from the iPhone to avoid damage to key components and rub it dry on a clean cotton cloth.
• **Dry with silica gel sachets
  **Use silica gel packets to dry your wet iPhone and leave it for at least 48 hours.

DON’Ts for Water Damaged iPhone

• Do not press any buttons of wet iPhone
• Do not try to switch on your iPhone to avoid short circuit
• Do not use a hairdryer or other drying tools to dry your phone
• Do not place your iPhone in raw rice to avoid foreign particles entering inside

How to Recover Data from Water Damaged iPhone

After doing above essential hacks, once you power on your water damaged iPhone, there are two possibilities, either your phone starts working but you have lost your data or iPhone does not switch on at all!
Do not panic, as in either case, you can recover your lost photos and videos from a water damaged iPhone via two methods

Method 1: Recover from **iCloud and iTunes backup
**Apple has this remarkable feature in which all iPhone data is automatically saved in iCloud and iTunes backup. You just you need to sign in to iCloud or iTunes through your Apple ID on the new iOS device. Next, select and transfer the desired files to the new device from the list of available backups in iCloud/iTunes.

_**Method 2: Recover from third-party application
**_In case you are unable to restore photos from the iCloud and iTunes backup files or have deleted your desired files from the backup, opt for a third-party application to recover photos or videos from your water damaged iPhone.
From a plethora of iPhone data recovery software available in the market, experts recommend to pick only the trusted and secure data recovery tool, specially designed for the iOS device.

**Use iPhone Data Recovery Software  by Stellar
**One of the commonly used third-party data recovery software is Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. The easy-to-use interface and 100% safe download makes it a popular choice among iPhone users.

If your iPhone is synchronized with iCloud and iTunes backup, you can retrieve lost photos and videos from water damaged iPhone using Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone. In the situation when your iPhone is not detected by the system or do not switch on at all, after it is damaged due to water, the software offers two ways to recover photos and videos:

1. Recovery from iCloud Backup
2. Recovery from iTunes Backup

Step-by-step: Recovery from iCloud Backup
Step 1: Install and Run Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone and select “Recover from iCloud Backup” from the main menu.

Figure 1: Illustrates the main screen

Step 2: Enter the Apple ID and password to sign in to iCloud.

Figure 2: Illustrates the credential screen

Step 3: After entering the credentials, the software displays the list of all backup files. Select the desired files and click Scan

Figure 4: Illustrates backup files list

Step 4: Preview the selected files and press Save. You can save recovered photos or videos at the desired location.

Figure 5: Illustrates the preview of the files

Step-by-step: Recovery from iTunes Backup
Step 1: Select “Recover from iTunes Backup” option on the main screen

Step 2: The software displays all iTunes backup files. From the Tree view, select the file categories from which you want to recover photos/videos. it will list all files under that category.

Figure 6: Illustrates the backup files list

Step 3: Preview the existing and/or deleted files

Figure 7: Illustrates the Preview of files under the selected category

Step 4: Click ‘Save’ to recover the file. You can either choose to save all or a few files by selecting the checkboxes.

Figure 8: Illustrates the file saving process

**Conclusion
**The safest way to _rec_over lost photos and videos from water damaged iPhone is through a secure third-party tool.
The easy-to-use interface along with scanning and recovery precision makes iPhone Photo Recovery Software  by Stellar most sought by iPhone users. It comes as a blessing, especially when the iTunes and iCloud backup files become inaccessible or unreadable.

Try the Free Demo Version of the software to recover your lost and deleted pictures/videos in Mac or in Windows.