Thousands of iPhones are lost and stolen every day but users will now be able to alert Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers to find them.
The report comes from Mac Rumors who received an internal memo explaining that users will be able to report their devices as missing in the GSMA Device Registry.
GSMA Device Registry is an international database that allows customers to keep a record of any lost or stolen iPhones identified by their IMEI number. A device’s IMEI number can be found from the Settings app under General > About.
If an Apple technician sees a message in their internal MobileGenius or GSX systems indicating that the device has been flagged as lost or missing. The memo instructs technicians to decline such repairs.
Apple hopes that the new policy will help reduce the number of stolen iPhones brought to the company for repair.
The company previously implemented a policy that declines service to customers if they cannot disable Find My iPhone.