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How to enable lost mode on supervised iOS devices?
A lost or stolen device increases the chances of data breaches within an organization. While deploying thousands of devices to the employees, the business also needs to have a strategic plan to deal with misplaced devices. Enabling lost mode on corporate iOS devices helps administrators to track the location of lost iPhones or iPads. The lost mode state locks down the device, restricting an intruder from accessing it. On lost mode enabled devices, organizations can also display a custom recovery message on the lock screen that helps its speedy recovery. Unless the device is found and the administrator disables lost mode from the Hexnode UEM console, it remains in the lost mode state and cannot be used. This protects the lost device from unauthorized access and safeguards the corporate data stored in it.
The ‘Enable Lost Mode’ action can be executed only on supervised iOS devices running iOS 9.3 and later.
Enable lost mode on devices
Once a device is reported to be lost/stolen, you can execute the ‘Enable Lost Mode’ action remotely from the Hexnode UEM console.
- Log in to the Hexnode UEM console.
- Go to the Manage tab and select the stolen device.
- Navigate to Actions.
- Click on Enable Lost Mode.
- Add the Phone Number, Message, and Footnote to be displayed on the device screen. You may include the device details and other contact information that helps in retrieving the device. Thus, when someone finds it, they have a way of returning it.
- %devicename%
- %deviceid%
- %username%
- %model%
- %udid%
- %assettag%
- %serialnumber%
- %name%
- %department%
- %imei%
- %email%
- %devicenotes%
- %alternateemail%
- %phonenumber%
- %domain%
- %osname%
- %wifimacaddress%
- %osversion%
- %iccid%
- %userprincipalname%
- %netbiosname%
- %newline%
- Click Continue.
You can also use the following wildcards to fill the details that need to be displayed on the device screen:
Custom Message and Footnote allow all the wildcards mentioned above, while Phone Number only supports the wildcard %phonenumber%.
- The device must be connected to the internet to enable lost mode successfully.
- If the device is turned-off while executing the remote action ‘Enable Lost Mode’, the lost mode gets activated as soon as it is turned on and regains network connectivity.
How to track the location of a lost device?
Enabling lost mode assures that the corporate resources are not accessed by intruders when the device is lost. However, the organization looks for every possible way to regain a misplaced device. Enabling lost mode automatically initiates the ‘Scan Device Location’ action on the device. Apple fetches the device location and updates it on the Location History report under the Reports tab.
You can also track the device location by executing the Scan Device Location action. It fetches the most recent location of the device and maps the location information onto the portal. This enables the administrators to find a lost device.
As the action is executed from the Hexnode UEM portal, Apple retrieves the device location and sends it to the MDM server. Then, the Hexnode UEM portal displays this location information on the Location History report under the Reports tab. When the location tracking policy is associated with the device, the administrator can also view the latest location of the device fetched under Recent Location of the Device Summary page or on the Location History tab of the device.
Disable Lost Mode
Enabling the lost mode restricts the device usage, and no user can access it even by entering the device passcode. However, once the device is found, the administrator can disable lost mode from the Hexnode UEM console to resume its operationality. To disable lost mode:
- On the Hexnode portal, go to Manage.
- Select the device.
- Click on Actions and select Disable Lost Mode.
Other methods to disable lost mode from Hexnode
- Disenrolling the device on which lost mode was enabled consequently exits the device from the lost mode.
- Initiating the Wipe Device action also helps you exit lost mode.
The device should be connected to the internet to disable lost mode from the Hexnode UEM console. If otherwise, the lost mode gets disabled the next time the device connects to a network.
Restarting a device that is in lost mode will cause it to lose its Wi-Fi connection. Lost mode can be disabled from the portal only if the device is connected to a network. A complete loss of network connectivity locks down the device indefinitely, turning the device into a brick state.
When the device exits from the lost mode, it displays a message notifying the user that the lost mode was enabled and was being tracked by Hexnode UEM.
