One of the most frustrating and terrifying events that can happen to anyone is if their iPhone is either lost or stolen. Considering how much we rely on our devices every day, losing your iPhone is not only costly, but even a little bit scary when you think about the amount of personal information that can fall into the wrong hands. With the help of Apple’s Find My network, all hope is not lost, and we’re going to dive into how to find your lost iPhone.
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How To Find Lost iPhone
There are a few different methods that you can use in order to try to find a lost iPhone, some of which are applicable for those who have multiple Apple devices. But even if you don’t have any other devices with the Find My app installed, you’re not completely out of luck.
Use the Find My App On Another Device
The first method that we’re going to take a look at is how to use the Find My app from another device, such as an iPad or Mac, in order to find your lost iPhone. Whenever you set up a new Apple device and log in with an Apple ID, that device is automatically registered to Apple’s Find My network. So unless you have manually turned off the feature previously, your “lost” iPhone may just be left behind. Here’s how to use the Find My app to find a lost iPhone.
- Open the Find My app on your iPad or Mac.
- Select the Devices or Items tab.
- Find your iPhone from the list of devices to view its location on the map.
- Tap Directions to open its location and begin navigation.
Another helpful feature available when using the Find My app is the ability to play a sound on the “lost” device. This can come in handy if you’ve reached the location of where the iPhone should be, but can’t exactly pinpoint exactly where it’s at.
- Open the Find My app on your iPad or Mac.
- Select the Devices or Items tab.
- Find your iPhone from the list of devices to view its location on the map.
- Tap the Play Sound button.
If your iPhone is not connected to any networks, then it won’t play any sounds until it connects to a network.
Of course, there’s always the chance that you truly lost your iPhone, and cannot find where it’s at. Apple has thought about those situations as well, and you can use the Find My app to mark it as lost or to enable Lost Mode. Here’s how you can do so from the Find My app:
- Open the Find My app on your iPad or Mac.
- Select the Devices or Items tab.
- Find your iPhone from the list of devices to view its last known location.
- Scroll down until you reach Mark As Lost or Lost Mode.
- Tap Activate or Enable.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to determine whether you want contact information to appear on the Lock Screen.
- You also have the ability to enter a custom message instead of Apple’s generic messaging.
- Tap Activate.
Besides enabling an onscreen message that appears with contact information, activating Lost Mode will remotely lock your device. This is just another layer of security provided, meaning that if your iPhone has fallen into the wrong hands, that person will not be able to use the iPhone without the passcode that you determine.
Take Advantage of iCloud
So what are you supposed to do if you happened to lose your iPhone, but don’t own any other Apple products? The Find My app is not something that has made its way to Android phones or tablets, and there’s not even an app available for Windows. But all hope is not lost, as long as you have a browser and an internet connection.
Apple has been revamping and building up the iCloud web experience, as this is the landing page for accessing your Apple-specific features such as Notes, Mail, and even Photos right from your browser. Something else that Apple has integrated is the ability to use the Find My features right in the browser. This gives you all of the same features and functionality that you would find in the Find My app, without needing to own another Apple device in order to find a lost iPhone.
Find Lost iPhone Even If It’s Turned Off
With the release of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey, Apple put a lot of focus on privacy and security for you and your devices. One nifty feature that may not be well-known to many is the ability to find your lost iPhone even if it’s turned off. This improvement comes via the Find My app, and Apple provides the following description for the feature:
Participating in the Find My network lets you locate this iPhone even when it’s offline and after power off
In fact, whenever you restart or turn off your iPhone yourself, a message will appear letting you know that your iPhone can still be found even if it’s been turned off. As is the case with Apple’s Find My features, this is something that should be enabled by default on your iPhone or iPad. However, in order to make sure that is the case, here are the steps that you need to take:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap your name and profile image at the top of the page.
- Tap Find My.
- At the top of the page, tap Find My iPhone.
- Tap the toggle next to Find My network to enable the feature.
- In the top left corner, tap Find My.
- Exit the Settings app.
After you’ve verified that the feature is enabled, you’ll see a little message under the Power slider whenever restarting or turning off your iPhone. This ensures that your iPhone can still be found using Apple’s Find My network and app on your other Apple devices or on the web.
Erase iPhone Remotely
There’s always a chance that your iPhone has been lost for good. Whether you dropped down a storm drain or left it behind at a grocery store only to have someone else take it before you can find it, you might feel a bit defeated. If this is the case, and you have a lost iPhone, you will want to remotely erase the iPhone completely. This ensures that none of your personal information can be revealed if the thief manages to correctly guess your passcode and unlock the phone.
- Open the Find My app on your iPad or Mac.
- This can also be done by accessing the Find My network through the iCloud website.
- Pick the iPhone that you want to remotely erase from the list of devices.
- Scroll down and tap Erase This Device.
- Select Erase This [iPhone].
- Confirm.
After you have remotely erased your iPhone, all of your information will be removed from the device, including any credit or debit cards used with Apple Pay. This also removes the ability to keep track of the iPhone using Find My, in the event that you had been tracking the iPhone.
Andrew Myrick is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is having a never-ending supply of different keyboards and gaming handhelds that end up collecting more dust than the consoles that are being emulated.
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