Take security seriously and interested in how to enable data protection on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad? The good news is that if you use a passcode, iOS 4 data protections protects the hardware encryption keys on your device, making
email, attachments, and 3rd party apps (if they enable it) much more secure. The bad news is, if you updated your iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3, or original iPad from iOS 3 to iOS 4, data protection might not have been turned on even with the passcode. Not to worry, we’ll walk you through all the possibilities, after the break!
How to set a passcode
If you haven’t got a passcode lock set up on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, that’s the place to start.- How to set up a passcode lock.
How to set a stronger passcode
With iOS 4 you can switch the passcode from simple 4-digit numeric to full on alphanumeric for seriously stronger protection.- From the Settings: General: Passcode Lock screen…
- Switch the Simple Passcode toggle to OFF
- Enter your current 4-digit numeric passcode to verify
- Enter a new, strong alphanumeric passcode
A combination of numbers, letters, and symbols is good, pseudorandom is even better but the difficulty in remembering it probably outweighs any benefit.
How to check for data protection
Now that your passcode is enabled, check to make sure you have data protection on. (It should be on by default for all iPhone 4, iPod touch 4, and iPad2 devices, but if you updated your iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3, or original iPad from iOS 3 to iOS 4 it might not be.)- From the Settings: General: Passcode Lock screen…
- Scroll down to the very bottom and look for the text “Data protection is enabled”
If it’s there, you’re good to go. If not, keep reading!
How to enable data protection if it’s not on by default
Remember, this is only for iPhone 3GS (2009), iPod touch 3 (2009), and original iPad (2010) if “Data protection enabled” isn’t showing up on the Settings screen.Restore your device from backup
Make sure you backup your device before restoring, then choose restore from backup to get all your data back onto your device. Once it’s done, sync and then check the Setting screen again to make sure data protection is now enabled.
Phew! This post sponsored by:
Dr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622
Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000
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