MobileMe – Locator Service

To configure the locator service you need to add a MobileMe account in the Mail, Contacts, Calendar Settings domain. I added my phone and, for the moment, turned off all synchronization other than location.

Push support must be enabled on the phone.

Once you’ve enabled this feature you have several features related to finding your phone:

1. You can make it play a sound, even when it’s in silent mode.
2. You can locate it on a map. Currently Apple uses Google maps. Getting the refined location takes a few minutes. When the phone was in a room in my home I could locate it within a 2 block radius. I put it on the window sill where it might get a GPS lock and it centered on a spot between my home and my neighbor’s home – about 30 feet from its actual location.
3. You can display a message to whoever might have your phone, such as “I am looking at your house now ..”
4. You can lock the phone using the remote lock.
5. You can remote wipe the phone, after which it cannot be located.

See: The MobileMe Massacre begins