Summer Travel Tips for iPhone Users

by Don Frederiksen | Jul 17, 2019

Summer is the time for travel, not only for members of our community but families of all types. If your summer plans include travel, you will be joining tens of millions of other travelers heading out to every corner of our nation and the world.

Your iPhone is an essential part of your travel gear. You will use it to stay connected, take photos, stay in touch with the news, read some good books and help you find the way. And losing your iPhone would put a big damper on your fun.

So what can you do to keep your phone secure?

The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) offers several tips for people traveling with phones. First and foremost is simply securing your devices. It is important to remember that any device, whether laptop, phone or tablet should never be left unattended. Try to keep your devices with you. If you are staying in a hotel, the best thing to do is lock them in a safe. Or if a safe is not available, lock them in your luggage.

NCSA also recommends that you enable specific actions and functions on your iPhones and iPads.

Set up the “find my phone” feature on your devices. This will allow you to find, remotely wipe data and/or disable the device if it gets into the wrong hands.

This is a topic that we explore at the Senior Tech Club site and is this week’s featured tip.

Here are travel scenarios where the Find iPhone function on your Apple device may save your vacation.

Travel Situation	How the Find My Phone function can help
While shopping in several stores, you accidentally leave your phone behind in one of the stores.	Place your lost iPhone on a map so that you can return to the location.
You leave your iPhone in an Uber car	Send a message to the lock screen of the phone with return instructions.
You lost your iPad in your hotel room	Play a sound on your device to help locate it.
Your iPhone was stolen on a subway	Use Find iPhone to wipe the contents of the phone and place an activation lock on the phone to prevent it’s use.

You don’t need another Apple device with you to perform these functions. Once they function is set up, you can perform all of these actions by signing into your iCloud.com account on any hotel, coffee shop or even a borrowed computer.

In this week’s Tech Tip, we will feature “Find My Phone” found in Nugget # N14 where you can learn how to activate the functions and get started.

Featured Nugget

Find your Lost iPhone

The Find my Phone app provides maps and tools that will help you find a lost phone whether it is lost in your house, left at some other location or even stolen while traveling. Nugget #14 will show you how to enable Find My Phone and get you started with it's capabilities. ....Continue Reading

Read the Entire Nugget

News & Events

Here are news and events on the Senior Tech calendar for the coming weeks. Reply to this email if you want more information.


Hands Free Driving Bill Soon to Become Law in Minnesota As we move into summer, we here in Minnesota are approaching the August 1 effective date of Minnesota’s Hands-free Law. At that time, it will be illegal to hold your phone while making calls, changing music or issues GPS commands. Currently 19 states have hands-free laws but please know that distracted driving is unsafe in all 50 states and everywhere. Recently I wrote Nugget #44 Hands-Free Phone Use While Driving that includes recommendations based on a list provided by the Minnesota Department of Safety. It’s a good list for you to consider as you develop your hands-free approach wherever you live.
Shift Workshops – July 22, 2019 3 PM and 6 PM Exploring Essential iPhone Apps to Stay Connected and Engaged Nearly all iPhone users start with making calls and sending text messages and emails. However there is a collection of apps on your devices that are essential for staying connected and effectively engaged with friends, family and the world around you. These essential apps include: Contacts – store your address book and more. Calendar – stay on top of appointments and events. Notes – keep lists, notes and more. Reminders – Add reminders to keep you on top of your commitments. And more… These Shift Workshops will help you explore the features of these iPhone & iPad apps. They will be held at the Danish American Center in Minneapolis at 3 and 6:30 PM. Get more information or Register.
Android & Video Lessons – People Are Requesting, We are Doing It! Android – Over the past two years, we have received multiple requests to also help older adults who need help understanding and getting the most out of their Android devices. Video – We are also getting requests to expand our lessons on other apps that are important to Seniors. FaceTime is awesome for Apple devices but many in our community are looking to use other video call/meeting options like Zoom or Skype to stay connected with friends and family. We are working hard to answer your requests for more lessons and assistance. Sign up for our announcement emails to be the first to know when these new lessons are available.

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News Archives

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by Don Frederiksen | May 13, 2019

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