Released in September 2021, iOS 15 brings lots of new features to iPhone users. One of them makes it easier for you to find your lost iPhone, even if it's turned off. Here's how to use it.
Since the release of iOS 15, Apple iPhones have inherited a function that allows you to locate a turned off device. When turning off your iPhone you can see a small alert (accompanied by a GPS logo) informing you that your iPhone is “detectable even off”. No plot to track you, this feature aims to help you find your phone "in case of loss or theft".
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To manage to send a GPS location even when it is off, the iPhone was inspired by AirTag connected beacons. When you turn off your iPhone (or it turns off on its own for battery reasons), the phone actually goes into an extreme power-saving mode similar to Apple's beacons.
This will allow your mobile to continue detecting devices around it. Thus, if an Apple gadget (Mac, iPhone, iPad) passes nearby, it will squat its network to send you an approximate GPS position. No more anxiety if your smartphone is turned off and lost somewhere, so the Locate network can continue to tell you where your phone is.
The functionality works exactly the same as with an AirTag. This means that information sent over the network from third-party devices is encrypted, transmitted anonymously, and viewable only by you. Apple assures it, this tool was designed “in an effort to protect privacy”.
How to disable the feature?
If despite the safeguards installed by Apple, you still want to deactivate this feature, it is possible.
Before turning off your iPhone, click on the little alert telling you that your iPhone is discoverable even when turned off, then in the window that appears, choose Temporarily disable location. Your iPhone will ask you for your security code and you can then turn off your mobile “normally”.
How to disable the Locate network
Source: Screenshots
If you want to disable the feature entirely it is possible. Go to the Settings application, click on your account settings (at the very top) then on Locate. In the Find My iPhone submenu, you can disable this feature for good. Be careful though, leaving the Find My network means that you won't be able to locate your iPhone remotely at all, even if it's on.
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