ARCHIVED: Secure your Windows Phone or Windows Mobile device

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Overview

Important:
Windows 10 Mobile is no longer receiving security updates from Microsoft as of December 10, 2019. Microsoft has ended support for Windows Phone and recommends moving to a supported Android or iOS device. For details, see Windows 10 Mobile End of Support: FAQ.

To secure the data on your mobile device, you should always use a pattern, PIN, passcode, or password to lock it. If the device is lost or stolen, this precaution can prevent others from accessing your email, calendar, contacts, and other data. See Protect data on your mobile device.

Important:
At Indiana University, if you use your device to access or store protected health information (PHI) regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), do not use a non-IU cloud service (such as iCloud or Google) to back up your device data, regardless of the strength of your password. For more about working with PHI at IU, see About dedicated file storage services and IT services with storage components appropriate for sensitive institutional data, including research data containing protected health information.

Set or change a password

Windows 10 Mobile

To add a password/PIN to a Windows 10 Mobile device, see Microsoft's Lock screen FAQ.

Windows Phone 8

  1. From the home screen, tap Settings, and then select lock screen.
  2. Scroll down to "Password". To set a password for the first time, slide the "Password" bar to On.

    To change your password, tap change password. Enter your current password in the "Current password" field.

  3. Enter your new password in the "New password" field, and then reenter it in the "Confirm password" field. Tap done.

To set a time limit for the screen time-out, on the "lock" screen, tap the "Screen times out after" field, and then select the time limit you want.

Windows Phone 7

  1. From the home screen, flick left to go to the application list. Tap Settings, and then select lock & wallpaper.
  2. To set a password for the first time, slide the "Password" bar to On.

    To change your password, tap change password. Enter your current password in the "Current password" field.

  3. Enter your new password in the "New password" field, and then reenter it in the "Confirm password" field. Tap done.

To set a time limit for the screen time-out, on the "lock & wallpaper" screen, tap the "Screen time out" field, and then select the time limit you want.

Windows Mobile 6.1 or 6.0

  1. From the home screen, tap Start > Settings > Lock.
  2. Mark the checkbox for Prompt if device is unused for:.
  3. Select a duration (for example, five minutes).
  4. Select either Simple PIN or Strong alphanumeric as your password type.
  5. Enter your password in the "Password:" and "Confirm:" fields.
  6. Tap OK in the upper right-hand corner.

Enable encryption

To enable encryption on a Windows 10 Mobile device, from the Home screen:

  1. Open Settings, and then tap System.
  2. Tap Device Encryption, and then tap the switch beside "Device Encryption" to turn it on.
  3. A PIN or password is required to encrypt a Windows 10 Mobile device. If one is not already set up, you will be redirected to the settings for setting up a password/PIN. If this occurs, follow the on-screen directions to set up a PIN.
Important:
IU's Mobile Device Security Standard (IT-12.1) requires the use of data encryption on handheld devices used to access, store, or manipulate Critical data at IU. Such use also requires "written approval from the senior executive of the unit involved or the Institutional Review Board confirming a critical business need".
Note:
At Indiana University, Exchange ActiveSync does not currently support encryption for additional Windows Phone 8 storage cards, but does for the rest of the device.

Wipe data from your device

To remove all personal data from your device, see ARCHIVED: Clear all data from your Windows Phone or Windows Mobile device.

At Indiana University, if you have configured your device to connect to Exchange, you can use Outlook on the web to wipe your data remotely if your device is lost or stolen; see Manage your Exchange ActiveSync device in Outlook on the web.

For more about Windows Phone security, see Support for Windows Phone.

Related documents

Protect data on your mobile device If your computer or other device is stolen

This is document bcja in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2021-09-07 17:08:00.