MacLife UK – August 2019

Check you’re signed in

Your Mac will need to be signed in to

iCloud using your Apple ID. In Apple > System

Preferences, open the iCloud pane to ensure

this. Only one Apple ID at a time can be set as

the one that‘s used to track your Mac’s location.

Turn on the service

Look for Find My Mac on the right. If

not ticked, change that and click Allow; if yours

is a “standard” user account, you’ll need to

enter an admin’s details — a good reason your

kids’ accounts should be the more limited type.

YOUR APPLE KIT is expensive

to replace, but don’t worry if it

disappears from your sight as

there’s a chance to recover it.

You just need to ensure all the Macs,

iPhones, iPads, AirPods, and Apple

Watches belonging to your family have an

invaluable iCloud feature turned on to be

able to track them — and lock them with

a message to help whoever Ľnds a lost

device to return it to you.

There are many good reasons to sign

your devices in to an iCloud account, but

Track your Apple kit

Ensure you have a chance of recovering costly hardware if it’s lost

perhaps none better than being able to

recover them if they go astray. We’ll show

you how to ensure all the relevant settings

are correct on Mac and iOS devices, and

how to pinpoint them.

You’ll also learn about a macOS feature

that displays a persistent message of your

choice on the login window. This has to be

set from just one user account, as the text

is a system–wide preference, meaning it’s

displayed regardless of which account is

logged in — and even if none is!

ALAN STONEBRIDGE

GENIUS TIP

On iOS devices, check Find

My [iPhone/iPad] is turned

on in Settings > [your

name] > iCloud. Also check

in Settings > Privacy >

Location Services >

System Services that

it has access to

your location.

REQUIRES

An Apple ID/iCloud

account, macOS 10.7.5 or

later, iOS 5 or later, Find

My iPhone app for

iOS 8 or later (optional)

YOU WILL LEARN

How to ensure your kit is

trackable, and locked

down if it’s lost

IT WILL TAKE

15 minutes

HOW TO Make your kit recoverable

Create

90 AUG 2019 maclife.com Image rights: Apple.