Secure your iPhone in case if it gets lost or stolen.

Given the form factor of the iPhone device as such it’s quite possible that it can get lost or stolen pretty easily. Apart from the frustration of losing such a valuable device/companion it might come down hard on you if you have pretty sensitive data.

iPhone allows you to do two things (preliminarily), you can set a passcode to use your iPhone and also you can erase the data if there are multiple failed attempts to get into your iPhone.

Let’s first see, how to secure your iPhone by locking it up with a passcode.

Tap into the “Settings” icon.

Tap into the “General” option.

Tap into the “Passcode Lock” option.

You’ll be prompted to set a passcode now. Enter a 4-digit number that you can remember. It’s important that you choose a number that you can remember as it might be a pain to get your phone accessible without a passcode.

You’ll be prompted again for the passcode. Enter the same 4-digit passcode to confirm.

Once you setup the passcode you’ll be taken to the “Passcode Lock” page. Of all the choices that you see the 3 most important are, Turn Passcode Off, Change Passcode and Require Passcode option.

Tap into the “Turn Passcode Off” button to turn the Passcode off. You’ll be prompted to enter the current passcode to turn it off. Remember, without a passcode a child can easily unlock your iPhone (my 1 year old does unlock without any problem!).

If you’d rather prefer to have a different passcode, then tap into the “Change Passcode” button.

You’ll be prompted to enter the current passcode.

Then you’ll allowed to choose a new passcode. Keep in mind that you cannot enter the same passcode, if you do you’ll be warned appropriately.

Again, just to make sure you’ll be prompted to enter the new passcode one more time.

You can also adjust the way the iPhone user should be prompted for passcodes. You can tap into the “Require Passcode” button to change this setting. You can let the iPhone prompt for a passcode Immediately, after 1 minute, 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour and 4 hours. Choose the one that you feel comfortable with.

Now you have your iPhone safe guarded with a passcode lock. However, if you have sensitive data on your iPhone and when you lose your iPhone (I wish this never happens) you’d rather prefer to have some way to erase the data when there are multiple invalid passcode attempts. iPhone can help you sleep in peace.

Navigate to the “Passcode Lock” page as mentioned above and tap into the “Erase Data” button.

You’ll be prompted to enable the feature of erasing the data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Tap on the “Enable” button.

From now on, when someone makes multiple failed attempts to key-in the passcode then the data on your iPhone would be erased after 10 failed passcode attempts.

iPhone’s passcode feature and erase data feature would be good enough to safe guard your privacy when you happen to lose your iPhone. Use it with caution and you’ll certainly appreciate the handiness. Let us know in comments if you find any other ways of securing your iPhone.

Of all the advantages of locking your iPhone and erasing the data after 10 unsuccessful attempts there is one issue that you might want to be careful while deciding to enable the Erase Data feature. When you have the Erase Data feature enabled your friends (or whomever uses the iPhone other than you) can intentionally make 10 failed attempts and you might lose all the data on your iPhone. Of course, you’ll have your data backed up on your iTunes but it can be a hassle if misused. So, be diligent when enabling the Erase Data feature.

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