We’ve all been there before. You head out to the coffee shop to get some work done, but you’re finally ready to leave and your iPad is nowhere to be found. As you frantically search and search, your heart rate starts to rise and you start freaking out because you can’t find your iPad.
Sure, you could use the Find My app to figure out where it’s at. But then you have to get back in the car and hope that it’s still right where you left it by the time you get there. It’s a frustrating process, and one that will definitely leave you scratching your head and frantically running around until your device is found and recovered.
How to turn on ‘Leave Behind’ notifications
With the updated versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, there’s a new way to make sure that you don’t forget anything. When enabled, you’ll get a notification from the Find My app, letting you know that your device isn’t with you.
Then, you can go and grab it before you even get in the car to head home or to your next destination. This also works with things like the AirTag which includes the U1 chip that was introduced with the iPhone 11. Apple is also rumored to be bringing similar functionality to AirPods, which will be an absolute life-saver.
Here’s how you can turn on ‘Leave Behind’ notifications from within the Find My app:
Open the Find My app on your iPhone.
Tap either the Devices or Items tab in the bottom toolbar.
Select the device that you want to set the alerts for.
Tap Notify When Left Behind.
Tap the toggle next to Notify When Left Behind to the On position.
Under Notify Me, Except At, tap New Location.
From the Add Location screen, enter or search for an address in the search box at the top.
Once selected, define the geofencing area for your location by tapping the Small, Medium, or Large buttons at the bottom.
You can also drag the blue dot around the area to expand or shrink the geofence.
Tap Done in the top right corner.
Now, whenever you leave a device behind and it falls outside of thee defined geofencing ring, you’ll receive a notification. Then, you can go back and grab whatever you left behind, before you get too far away and forget it completely.
There is one downside to this, however. Apple has not yet implemented this feature to work between the Apple Watch and iPhone. So if you end up leaving your iPhone behind, you won’t receive a notification on your wrist telling you to turn around and go get it. This is likely a feature coming down the road, but for now, it’s something to keep in mind.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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