We’ve officially kicked off the New Year! However, if you or someone you know has lost or misplaced their iPhone during all the holiday festivities, you’ve come to the right place. Most iPhones nowadays have powerful features that can locate your device.
Apple’s Find My feature, with its crowdsourced Find My Network, is your best ally. It sends your phone’s location to iCloud, even when the device is off. For added defense, Stolen Device Protection secures sensitive data, such as credit cards and passwords.
If you have an iPhone 11 or newer (excluding the 2020 and 2022 iPhone SE), you have the ultra-wideband chip for offline finding. As long as Find My is enabled and you’re signed in to your Apple ID, you can locate your iPhone even if the battery is dead. Before panicking, follow these steps to recover your phone.
Apple Find My and Find My Network aren’t the same
Apple Find My and Find My Network are different, which can be confusing. While Find My is now the name of an app, the Find My Network is what allows you to locate your device when it’s offline, turned off or low on power.
You can use the Find My Network feature within Apple’s Find My app or sign into your Apple ID at iCloud.com to locate your misplaced iPhone. Plus, the app also allows you to add other Apple products and items that you want to track to your Find My Network.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
How to turn on Find My and Find My Network
How to turn on Find My Network and Send Last Location on an iPhone.
You need to make sure Find My and Find My Network are set up to allow you to locate your switched-off iPhone. Open Settings and follow these steps:
- Tap on your name in the Settings menu.
- Go to Find My > Find My iPhone and make sure the switch is toggled on.
- Below Find My iPhone, you’ll see Find My Network and Send Last Location toggles. Turn them on, too.
You can check if your iPhone is discoverable even when it’s switched off by going to the power menu: Swipe down from the top-right corner to view Control Center and press and hold the power button in that corner, or hold the side and volume down button. Under the “slide to power off” slider, look for “iPhone Findable After Power Off.” Your iPhone is now all set to be found, even if a thief turns it off.
However, there are a few exceptions. If your iPhone hasn’t sent its location to Apple through Find My in the last seven days, you’ll see “No location found” next to your device. It can happen if there’s an issue with your device’s location services.
How to find a lost iPhone with the Find My app on another Apple device
Screenshots showing how to see your iPhone’s location in the Find My app.
Now comes the hard part: What happens after you lose your iPhone? Assuming you’ve completed the steps above, you can keep calm. If you have another Apple device, such as an Apple Watch, iPad or MacBook, follow the steps below to locate your misplaced or stolen iPhone. This will also work on a friend’s or family member’s device that you’ve shared your location with.
- Open the Find My app and locate your iPhone in the list under the Devices tab. You should see it in this list (even if it’s powered off) as long as you have previously enabled the Find My iPhone, Find My Network and Send Last Location options.
- Tap or click the name of your iPhone. This should take you to a menu with several options for finding your phone or marking it as lost.
- If you misplaced your iPhone and you’re sure that it’s nearby, tap or click Play Sound or Directions to make the device play a sound or get directions to the device’s last recorded location, respectively.
- If you’re sure your iPhone is stolen, tap Activate under the Mark As Lost option. This immediately locks the device with your passcode, suspends Apple Pay and displays a custom message with your contact information for anyone who finds it. You can also use Send Last Location to locate the last known location of your device.
How to find a lost iPhone if you don’t have another Apple device
Screenshots showing how to locate your Find My devices through Apple’s iCloud website.
In case you don’t have another Apple device, you can sign into your iCloud account in a web browser to find your lost iPhone (though this option can be troublesome if you don’t have another Apple device because of two-factor authentication). Follow these steps to use a web browser to see your lost iPhone’s location:
- Go to icloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple ID.
- Go to the Devices list.
- From here, use the same options for playing a sound, marking your device as lost or erasing the device as you would in the app.
You can also disable Control Center access on the lock screen while traveling abroad to prevent a thief from turning off data or enabling Airplane mode. To do this, do the following:
- Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and enter your passcode.
- Under the Allow Access When Locked section, toggle off the Control Center option.
This option can add some inconvenience to day-to-day use, but I recommend turning off Control Center while traveling.
These settings give you the best chance of finding your iPhone if it’s been stolen and turned off. For more iPhone tips and advice, check out our guide to the Camera Control and how to block distracting websites.
