Apple users urged to remember 15-digit number for very important reason

iPhone owners have been issued with a stark warning about the importance of remembering a special code, or you could run into trouble.

The vast majority of us who are lucky enough to be able to afford one now own a smartphone - with iPhones usually being the smartphone in question.

And while they're great for taking photos or airdropping things to your mates, it's pretty common to run into issues.

They're prone to overheating on sunny days, and if you put your code in wrong you can be locked out of your device for literal years.

And it turns out there's yet another thing to bear in mind with your smartphone.

Phone theft is a common issue (Getty Stock Image)

One of the most prolific crimes when it comes to phones is theft, which usually conjures up images of hackers and scammers accessing your phone as a result of bad cybersecurity.

But with literal phone theft on the rise, especially in big cities, how can you keep yourself protected?

Mackenzie Tatananni, a science and tech reporter, advised in The Sun: "The best tip is to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You should know your phone's unique identifier - a string of digits either 15 or 14 characters long, known as an IMEI or MEID, respectively.

"IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity and is a chain of numbers assigned to mobile phones on the GSM network.

It's good to know your iPhone's features (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"MEID, meanwhile, is short for Mobile Equipment Identifier. It is another unique code specific to CDMA-based technologies.

"All this means is that phones run on different networks - your device will have one or the other. Think of it as your phone's "fingerprint.'"

It turns out these things that we rarely think about, are easy to understand once you figure out how.

With your iPhone, navigate to your Settings, then go to General, and then About.

You will find your 15-digit number there.

It's advised to make a record of that number - in the event of theft, it's likely that the police and the people who handle your insurance will ask for it.

According to this advice, the difference between knowing the digits and not knowing the digits could be one of the only things that has a bearing on you ever seeing your phone again.

Another simple way to up your phone's security includes making use of the iPhone app 'Find My iPhone'. In the event of theft, you will be able to track your devices location.