Preliminary operation
As I told you at the beginning of the guide, in order to prevent its users from asking themselves "how to find my iPad?", Apple has made available a very useful tool which is called, in fact, Find my iPad. It is a sort of anti-theft device available "as standard" on all iPads as well as on all iPhones (in this case, however, it is called Find my iPhone) and on all Macs (and in this case it is called instead, as easily understood, Find my Mac).
Thanks to this function, all users in possession of an Apple tablet can be able to find, in a way as simple as in most cases effective, their iPad also having the opportunity to perform some actions remotely using any computer or another. Apple-branded device connected to the Internet.
Before providing you with all the appropriate explanations on how to find the lost iPad (or stolen, in the worst case scenario!) You must, however, enable the function in question on your iDevice, if obviously you have not already done so. do it (for example during the device activation and configuration procedure that I indicated to you in my guide on the subject).
In order to activate the Find my iPad function or in any case to verify that it is already active, the first things you need to do are go to the home screen of the device, press the icon Settings of iOS (the one in the shape of gear), and first select the you don't know that is above and then the voice iCloud attached to the screen displayed later. If you are using a version of iOS prior to 10.3, you can instead press directly on iCloud without selecting your name first.
Now, stop on the wording Find my iPad attached to the menu that opens then make sure that the switch related to the option Find my iPad on the newly displayed screen is set to ON. If this is not the case, activate the function by pressing the relative switch.
Use Find My iPad
Once you have enabled the Find My iPad service on your Apple tablet or in any case after verifying that the latter is active, you can use any computer connected to the Internet or even another iOS device to try to locate the location on the map of your iDevice. How you do it? I'll explain it to you immediately.
To use Find My iPad from a computer, you must first connect to the home page of the iCloud and log in to the service by typing the username and password related to your iCloud account and then clicking on arrow located on the right. Note that if two-factor authentication is active on your account, you will also need to type the code that was sent to you via SMS or that you see on another of your devices in order to log in. Then, if this is the first time you have ever connected to the service, you will also be asked to set the language of use and the time zone.
Once logged into iCloud, click on the icon Find iPhone (if requested, type the password for your Apple ID again and press on Log in). You will then be shown a map with the geographical position of your iPad and that of any other Apple devices you own.
To locate your iPad on the map, click on the item All devices found at the top of the displayed web page, select the tablet name (eg. iPad in ) from the list that is shown to you and choose which operation you want to perform from the list that you see appear on the side. Based on your actual needs and requirements, you can choose between three different options, those listed below.
- Make sound - By choosing this option it is possible to make the device emit a sound so that it can be identified if it is nearby
- Lost mode - Choosing this option the device will show a contact phone number on the lock screen
- Initialize the iPhone - By choosing this option all data on the device is deleted in order to prevent unauthorized third parties from accessing it (subsequently the device will no longer be traceable through Find my iPad)
If you do not have the possibility to access the Find my iPad function via computer, please note that if you have another iPad or an iPhone you can use the free app Find my iPhone made available directly by Apple to perform practically the same operations seen together earlier but directly and comfortably from the screen of another iDevice. Once you have downloaded and installed the application on your other Apple device, you can therefore use the app in a practically identical way to Find my iPad from the Web.
Caution: In order to use the Find My iPad function, it is essential that the device is connected to the Internet, Wi-Fi or data. Otherwise it will not be possible to use the function.
Lock iPad via IMEI code
Unfortunately, you have not yet activated the Find My iPad function on your Apple tablet and have you already lost (or been stolen) the tablet? Then take advantage of the code IMEI associated with the device. Don't you know what I'm talking about? No problem, we fix it immediately! the IMEI code (acronym for International Mobile Equipment Identity) is a code consisting of 15 digits thanks to which it is possible to uniquely identify mobile phones, tablets and other devices.
So if that was an iPad with modulo cellular and if there was a data SIM inside, the IMEI code can allow you to communicate to your telephone provider that you have lost or stolen your tablet. The manager will then block the SIM first and then the iPad in order to avoid its use by unauthorized persons.
If you do not know how to find the IMEI code of your iPad, I recommend that you first take a look at the sales package of the device (you should find a special label stuck on the back), but you can possibly also retrieve it by calling the customer service of your telephone operator having then take care to provide all your requested data. For more info on this and to learn about other systems through which you can find the IMEI code, I suggest you read my article on how to check IMEI.
If, on the other hand, you do not know how to contact the telephone customer service of the reference operator of your data SIM, you can make a call to the following numbers.
- TIM - 119.
- wind - 155.
- Vodafone - 190.
- Three - 800 832 323.
- Poste Mobile - 160.
- Fastweb Mobile - 192193.
If you need more information you can also read my guides on how to talk to a TIM, Wind, Vodafone, Tre and Fastweb operator
In addition to what I have just indicated, you can go to the station of the police closest to your area and ask to stand out complaint for loss or theft immediately. You will therefore be returned a documentation to be combined with the request for blocking the tablet that you will have to send to your operator. By doing this, however, I would like to specify it, it is very unlikely that you will be able to get your device back. In any case, as they say, trying doesn't hurt.
Then get in touch with the mobile phone operator of the SIM that was inside the iPad and request the block of the device in such a way as to prevent its use by outsiders. To request the blocking of the iPad, simply send a completed form to the operator by fax or post, the one you can obtain from the following list.
- TIM - Visit this page of the TIM site, locate the item Request for IMEI blocking and unblocking for stolen or lost devices and click on the button Fill in relating to the latter. Then fill out the form that is proposed to you and send it using the appropriate button. If you are not subscribed to the MyTIM Mobile service, click on the button instead Download to be able to download the form on your PC then print it, fill it in and send it by post to the address TIM Customer Service P.O.Box 555 00054 - FIUMICINO RM.
- wind - Download this form in PDF, print it, fill it out and send it by post along with a copy of your identity document to the address WIND TELECOMUNICAZIONI SpA - Post office box n. 14155 - Milan Post Office 65 - 20152 MILAN MI.
- Vodafone - Go to this page of the Vodafone site, log in to your MyVodafone account and fill out the form that is proposed to you on the screen. Remember to attach a copy of your identity document and the theft report using the appropriate buttons.
- Three - Download this form in PDF, print it, fill it out and fax it to the number +800 179 700 XNUMX attaching the theft report and the front and back copy of your identity document.
- Fastweb Mobile - Download this form in PDF, print it, fill it out and fax it to the number 02 36656449 together with a copy of the theft report and a copy of your identity document.
- Poste Mobile - Download this form in PDF, print it, fill it out and fax it to the number 800.074.470 together with a copy of your identity document.
You can also request the blocking of the iPad by going to a sales point of the reference telephone operator. In this case, you will need to provide the IMEI code of the device and you will need to show your ID card to the sales clerk in the store. Subsequently your iPad will be inserted in a black list that will block the operations carried out by the SIM inserted in the device and you can then request a new card with the same number as the previous one.
How to find my iPad
