A few weeks ago I had someone share a “Find My iPhone” story with me in response to my post on why every lawyer should set this up on their iPhone or iPad.

It was so good I had to share it in another attempt to convince everyone why it’s imperative to set this up as soon as possible.

This person was involved in a car accident which totaled the car, but fortunately the individual was relatively un-harmed after an ambulance trip to the ER.

In these moments, items like the iPhone rightfully become a secondary concern, and this individual’s iPhone was left in the car while they were getting checked out at the hospital.

But fortunately, they had enabled the “Find My iPhone” service so that when they got home that night, they logged on to www.me.com/find and located the phone. The map reported that the iPhone was located on the lot where the car had been towed. And since they had not yet programmed a Passcode on the iPhone, they were able to lock the phone and set a Passcode – all this from the comfort of their home computer.

The next day they visited the car lot to retrieve their personal belongings from the car, including the iPhone. The only problem is that they couldn’t locate the iPhone. They went back to the front office and asked if anyone had seen the iPhone. The lady said they didn’t have it. Even when it was pointed out that the iPhone had GPS inside, the lady was adamant they didn’t have the iPhone.

Leaving the front office, the individual called a friend who used a computer to visit www.me.com/find and verified that the iPhone was still in the same spot on the lot. They then turned on the iPhone’s alarm which emitted a loud, high-pitched tone.

Returning to the wrecked car, they could hear the alarm, but still had trouble locating the iPhone. Finally, they found it hiding between the dashboard and the windshield, which had been busted outward.

it’s possible that this individual could have located the iPhone without the use of the Find My iPhone service, but it would certainly have been much more difficult. The GPS alone is so useful because you know where the iPhone is located! At the very worst, this individual could have completely wiped the iPhone from their computer to ensure that confidential information was not compromised.

The odds are stacked against you – you WILL lose your iPhone or iPad at some point in your career. Don’t be one of those people who WISHED they would have turned on the “Find My iPhone” service, especially since it’s now FREE!!!