iOS 17.3 has been official since the evening of January 22nd for download ready. Apple has only introduced a few innovations, but one of them is a very important function.
The new feature is an important protection for all iPhones that are lost and should therefore be activated immediately after the update.
We’ll summarize for you here exactly what “Protection for Stolen Devices” does, how to activate the function and what other new features the update brings with it.
iOS 17.3: Protection for stolen devices
Why should you activate “Stolen Device Protection?”? With iOS 17.3, Apple is introducing an important feature to protect data on the iPhone if the phone is unfortunately lost.
Essentially, the new function enables additional authentication in the form of biometric data, i.e. Touch ID or Face ID, for certain security-related settings and options.
If the iPhone is lost, it will be more difficult for third parties to access sensitive data. This makes the new function particularly valuable and therefore you should activate it.
The following settings are affected:
- Access passwords or master key stored in iCloud Keychain
- Turn off “Lost Mode”.
- Delete content and settings
- Performing certain actions in the Wallet app
- Use saved payment details in Safari
- Use iPhone to set up a new device
Apple has implemented an additional security measure for particularly sensitive data and information. For certain actions on the iPhone, you have to authenticate yourself again after an hour using Touch ID or Face ID.
These are the following options:
- Change Apple ID password
- Update select Apple ID security settings, such as adding or removing a trusted device
- Change iPhone password
- Add or remove Face ID or Touch ID
- Deactivate Where Is? function
- Disable stolen device protection
Worth knowing: According to Apple, the additional delay of one hour will not apply if you are in a safe place such as home.
This is how you activate protection for stolen devices
Once you have installed the update to iOS 17.3, follow these steps to activate the new “Stolen Device Protection” feature:
- Opens Settings on the iPhone.
- Switch to “Face ID & Code”.
- Scroll down to “Protection for stolen devices” and tap “Activate protection”.
Further innovations in iOS 17.3
The new security feature is certainly the highlight of the new iPhone update. Additionally, there are other changes introduced with iOS 17.3.
Apple Music with collaborative playlists
Apple Music’s new collaborative playlist creation feature is now finally available on iPhone. Apple had previously integrated the new feature in earlier beta versions of iOS 17.2, but then removed it again due to various errors.
What exactly do collaborative playlists do?? You can invite your contacts to work on a playlist together using a link or QR code.
Additionally, Apple Music now offers emoji reactions that appear to the right of a playlist.
AirPlay 2 in Hotels
How Apple announced that some hotels now support streaming via AirPlay 2 to their televisions. This allows content from the iPhone, iPad or Mac to be transferred directly to an AirPlay-compatible TV without having to enter access data.
iPhone fall detection
Apple has obviously further refined the fall detection that was introduced with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series.
In the past, fall detection was triggered incorrectly in various situations, such as on a roller coaster.
Wishlists for iTunes series and movies
With iOS 17.2, Apple removed the wish lists for series and films in iTunes.
With the new update to iOS 17.3 you can access your iTunes wish lists again.
AppleCare
In the iPhone settings under “General” all devices connected to the Apple ID are now displayed in the AppleCare section.
If you have recently installed the big update to iOS 17, you will find all the important new features of the big iPhone update here:
Download: This is how you can download iOS 17.3
You can download the new update to iOS 17.3 as follows:
- Opens Settings on the iPhone.
- Now tap on “Software update” under “General”.
- Wait until the update appears on the display for selection and then select “Download and install”.
- Enter the device password to start the download.
- After the update, the iPhone restarts.
Have you already installed iOS 17.3 and activated “Stolen Device Protection”? What are your thoughts on this feature? What improvements do you hope to see in future updates? Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments below!
Table of Contents