iPhone owners have been urged to remember a special code or they may experience problems.
The vast majority of us who are lucky enough to be able to afford one now own a smartphone – usually an iPhone.
And while they’re great for taking photos or dropping things off at friends, problems often arise.
They tend to overheat on sunny days and if you enter the code incorrectly, you may be locked out of the device for years.
And it turns out there’s something else you should consider with your smartphone.
Phone theft is a widespread problem (Getty Stock Image)
One of the most common crimes involving mobile phones is theft. This usually comes to mind when people think of hackers and scammers gaining access to your phone due to poor cybersecurity.
But how can you protect yourself when the number of phone thefts is literally increasing, especially in big cities?
Mackenzie Tatananni, a science and technology reporter, advised in The Sun: “The best tip is to be prepared for the worst case scenario. You should know your phone’s unique identifier – a 15- or 14-character string of numbers called the IMEI or MEID respectively.”
“IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity and is a string of numbers assigned to mobile phones in the GSM network.
It’s good to know the features of your iPhone (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“MEID is the abbreviation for Mobile Equipment Identifier. It is another unique code specific to CDMA-based technologies.
“It just means that phones run on different networks – your device will have either one or the other. Think of it as your phone’s ‘fingerprint’.”
It turns out that these things we rarely think about are easy to understand once you figure out how.
On your iPhone, navigate to your Settings, then go to “General” and then “About.”
There you will find your 15-digit number.
It is a good idea to write down this number because in the event of theft, the police and your insurance agent will probably ask for it.
According to this advice, the difference between knowing the digits and not knowing them could be one of the only factors that determines whether you ever see your phone again.
Another easy way to increase the security of your phone is to use the Find My iPhone app. It will allow you to track the location of your device in case of theft.