Find My iPhone, a feature available in Apple’s Find My app, will help you locate your lost phone. You can find it using any other Apple device you own or by borrowing a friend’s device. You can even ping your iPhone from your Apple Watch.
From Find My, you can also remotely lock down your lost iPhone, put the device into a special Lost Mode, or even wipe its contents. You should take a peek at this incredibly useful app before you have to.
Keep reading or watch our video.
Find My iPhone: How to find your lost phone
The first step you should take to find your iPhone is to use your Apple Watch (if you own one). Click the side button on the watch to open Control Center. Tap the icon of an iPhone with sound waves coming out of it to ping your iPhone. Your phone will make a pinging noise for about 10 seconds — even if you left it on silent mode or Do Not Disturb.
If you need a little extra help, try tapping and holding the icon instead. Not only will it make the loud pinging alarm, your iPhone’s camera flash will blink on and off. This can make it easier to find in the dark or outside — provided the flashlight isn’t facing down.
If this doesn’t work, it’s possible your lost iPhone is outside the range of your Apple Watch. Then, it’s time to crack open the Find My app to get your iPhone back.
Table of contents: Find My iPhone: How to find your lost phone
- Sign in to the Find My app
- Find your iPhone on the map
- Set your iPhone in Lost Mode from Find My
- Turn on notifications if you leave home without it
- Erase or remove your iPhone from Find My
Sign in to the Find My app from another device
If you own another Apple device, like an iPad or Mac, you can use the Find My app on it to find your iPhone. Or, if you have Family Sharing set up, anyone in your family can use any of their devices.
To find your lost iPhone, open Find My on your iPad, Mac or any family member’s iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch.
Sign in to the Find My app on a friend’s iPhone
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
If your lost iPhone is your only Apple device, and you don’t have Family Sharing set up, you can borrow someone else’s iPhone. Open Find My, tap the Me tab and tap Help a Friend. You can sign into your own Apple Account.
Sign in to Find My on the web
You also can use Find My on the web from any modern browser on any kind of device — a Windows laptop, an Android phone, a Chromebook, whatever you have access to. Go to icloud.com and click Sign In. Click the Apps icon in the upper right and click Find My to launch it. You’ll need to enter your password a second time.
Find your iPhone on the map
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
To see your lost iPhone on a map, select the Find My app’s Devices tab and find your phone on the list. You’ll see its location on Apple Maps. Tap Directions and you can start navigation to its current location.
If your phone’s nearby, great! Try playing a sound to help locate it.
Play a sound out of its speakers
If you left your phone on silent — even if it’s in Do Not Disturb mode — you can force it to play a loud sound out of its speakers to help find it when it’s nearby. Tap Play Sound and it’ll ring continuously — much longer than when pinging it from an Apple Watch.
Playing a sound also sends you an email alerting you that a sound was played … for some reason.
Set your iPhone in Lost Mode from Find My
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
After you locate your phone in the Find My app, tap Lost Mode if you want to protect your iPhone until it’s found. In Lost Mode, your phone can’t be used normally. Only you can turn it off, using the device’s passcode. (If it doesn’t have a passcode set, you’ll need to create one.)
Lost Mode also prevents someone from removing or signing out of your Apple Account, so that the device can’t be reset and sold. Any cards added to your Apple Wallet for Apple Pay are disabled, so it’s not possible for someone to go on a shopping spree (or a public transportation spree) with your phone.
You also can leave a message on your phone with a number people can use to get in touch if they find it. To do so, tap Continue, type in the number of a trusted friend, any directions you may want to include, and tap Activate.
Lost Mode can only be deactivated you, either by using the Find My app or on the device itself by entering the passcode.
Erase or remove your iPhone from Find My
Click Erase This Device if you want to remotely give it a factory reset. If you accidentally sell or trade in your iPhone without resetting it first, this will unlock it for its new owners as if it’s brand-new. This makes sure no one else can access the data on your phone. However, bear in mind that after erasing it, you won’t be able to find it from Find My anymore.
Click Remove This Device if you see an old phone that you don’t use or own anymore. If the device ever comes back online (for instance, if you find it in a dusty drawer and power it on), it’ll show back up in the list, but otherwise, it’ll keep the list of devices tidy and uncluttered
Turn on notifications if you leave home without your iPhone
If losing your iPhone is a frequent habit, tap Notify When Left Behind in the Find My app if you don’t want to risk leaving home without it on you. This will ping your Apple Watch or other devices if they detect you leaving your phone behind. You can add exceptions to the list if you have a trusted location, like work or a close friend’s house. Click + on any of the suggestions or click New Location to enter one manually.
Notifications can’t be enabled from the web app, as you’re only signed into it temporarily.
