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If you want maximum security with your iOS device, having a strong password is essential. Though you can extend password strength by using a phrase with mixed characters, another excellent option is to use special accent characters, making a password virtually impossible to guess. The idea is fairly straight forward: take a word, sequence, or phrase that you would normally use as the password, but then replace certain characters with accent letters or special characters. This will work the same on on any iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, and here's what you'll need to do.
Turn On Strong Password Support in iOS
We've discussed the strong passcodes feature before as a great way to secure iOS devices, and that's where this tip begins. Here's how to enable that if you haven't done so yet:
- Open Settings then tap "General" followed by "Passcode Lock"
- Tap "Turn Passcode On" if you haven't done so yet, then flip the "Simple Passcode" switch to OFF
For added security and easier testing, set 'Require Password' to "Immediately", though that is optional.
Setting a Strong Password with Accent Characters
To type accent characters in iOS, you need to tap on a letter and hold for the accent menu to appear. An example of a password created this would would beFor example, a password like "tacobell" could be come "tãçōbęll"
- Now enter a new password, and replace some characters with accented versions to make it more secure
Once this has been set, you can see how it works by locking the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You will now have the standard keyboard available rather than the simple numeric keys. As usual, the accent characters are accessible by tapping on holding on the letters that support them.
Though no password is perfect, this really does create extremely strong passwords that are almost impossible to guess because just about nobody is going to think to use accent characters, and most people don't know they're accessible at the lock screen anyway.
Finally, don't forget to set up Find My iPhone on the device as well, and consider further improving Find My iPhone by locking down location settings.
