Important note: If you haven’t activated “Find My iPhone / iPad / Mac” when you set up your device, this method won’t work.
Track your lost iPhone and find it using iCloud
Find Apps Using Spotlight Search Near the middle of the Home screen, use one finger to tap and swipe down. This launches Spotlight Search. An on-screen keyboard and search bar will appear. Access Files On Mac Using iPhone. Follow the steps below to access Files, Photos and Documents located on the Desktop and in the Documents Folders on your Mac using an iPhone or iPad. Open the iCloud Drive app on your iPhone. You will be prompted to sign-in to iCloud using your Apple ID and Password, in case you are not already signed-in.
Although you can download the official “Find My iPhone” app on the App Store, you don’t actually need it to track your Apple device. This means the app doesn’t have to be installed on your missing iPhone, iPad or Mac. The good thing here is that Find My iPhone is actually a cloud-based service by Apple. The app is only another way of accessing this service to locate your iPhone or other Apple devices. If you own an iPad or a second iPhone, you can also install the app and try to locate your missing device. Otherwise, all you need is a browser and your Apple ID login details.
Also, don’t be too worried that someone could disconnect your device from iCloud, turn off Find My iPhone or erase your device. If you’re on iOS7 or a later version, a feature called Activation Lock will prevent anyone from doing any of the mentioned things without your Apple ID password.
Alright, let’s get back your Apple device. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Login to iCloud & start “Find My iPhone”
Head over to icloud.com and log in using your Apple ID credentials.
In case you land on iCloud’s two-step authentication screen, which prompts you to insert a code which was sent to your apple devices, you don’t have to necessarily enter that code.
What you can do instead is to click on the the Find My iPhone quick access link on the bottom. This should direct you right into Find My iPhone’s map interface.
If you weren’t shown the two-step authentication, then you should see your iCloud dashboard after signing in. Click on the Find My iPhone icon, which the first one in the second row. Now you should see the Find My iPhone interface, including a map.
2. Choose your lost iPhone, AirPods, Mac or iPad
Depending on several factors, this can take a while. Also, use the erase option as a last resort, since Find My iPhone won’t work anymore on your device afterwards.
Activating Lost Mode will lock your device with a password and display a message of your choice together with a phone number, so that a nice soul hopefully contacts you to give your iPhone, iPad or Mac back into your hands. The Lost Mode has the nifty ability to enable location services on your iPhone or iPad, in case it’s deactivated. So no need to freak out if you realised that you turned it off. It will stay enabled as long as your device is in Lost Mode.
This is basically all you have to do to track your lost Apple device. Please keep in mind that your lost device needs to be turned on and somehow connected to the internet. If mobile data is turned off and it’s not connected to WiFi, you won’t be able to track it using Find My iPhone. Your only hope is to wait and hope that the thief or someone, who found it, connects to the web. Thankfully, you don’t need to stay inside of iCloud and hit refresh all the time. If your device is offline, you can let Apple notify you once it’s back online.
Plan B: Use Google Timeline to find your iPhone
Note: This method only works if you have location reporting and location history enabled on your iPhone (or iPad).
You’re probably aware, that Apple and Google like to gather information about all sorts of things, including your location. Although this is an invasion of your privacy and some people intentionally disable location services on their devices, it can be very helpful when you lose your phone.
Google’s Timeline (former Location History) maps out all location data that has been collection from your iPhone. Yes, Google doesn’t only store all that location data of yours, it also makes it accessible in a very good looking interface.
Basically, you can see where you’ve been on a map. Using this tool, you can see where your lost phone was located the last time it sent its location data to Google. In case your iPhone is still on and is connected to the web, it will continue sending its location so you can see exactly where it is and go get it back. Even if it the battery is dead, you can still see its last reported location.
To see your location history do the following:
Plan C: Track your lost iPhone using Google Photos
This method is kind of a last resort method and requires several things to actually help you find your device. First, you need to have the Google Photos app installed with automatic photo upload and location sharing enabled. This means that every photo which is taken with your device is uploaded to your Google Photos account. By default, this only happens if your device is connected to WiFi.
Second, someone has to take pictures with your lost iphone. In case your device is actually stolen, then this scenario is not that unlikely to happen.
You can check for newly uploaded pictures by going to photos.google.com and logging in using your normal Google credentials. If you find such pictures, click on them and check on the right sidebar if a location was attached to them.
Please be careful in case you were able to find the location of your iPhone this way. Face the facts, someone stole your phone and is using it without being too concerned about being found. You know nothing about this person, so please don’t go after that person. Contact local authorities, tell them what you know and let them do their job.
![]() Frequently asked questions about finding your iPhone
Since I published this article, many people post comments with similar questions. Below you can find answers to the most asked questions. I hope this helps some of you!
“Can I track my iPhone if it’s turned off, is in airplane mode or not connected to the internet?”
Actually, yes! With the introduction of iOS 13, if your marked your iPhone as lost, it will communicate via Bluetooth with other nearby iPhones & iPads running iOS 13 even if airplane mode is turned on and your iPhone has no internet connection.
The other iOS devices will then use their own internet connection to send the encrypted location of your lost iPhone to Apple’s servers. This feature alone makes stealing iPhones even harder than it was before.
Vocal remover app mac. Unfortunately, if your iPhone is turned off it can’t send its location to Find My.
“Is it possible to find my iPhone if someone turns off location services?”
Luckily, even if a stranger turns off location services on your iPhone, it’s still possible to locate your iPhone. With Find My iPhone you can activate the so-called ‘Lost Mode’. This activates location services on your iPhone remotely and immediately tries to locate it. It will stay activated as long as no one unlocks your device.
“Can I still locate my iPhone if I have already erased my iPhone?”
Bad news. Once an iPhone has been erased, it’s not possible to locate it anymore. The whole sense behind erasing a phone is to delete everything, including personal data, images, user settings and all logins (including iCloud). Without a connected iCloud or Google account, tracking isn’t possible. I recommend that you try to use your Google Maps Timeline (covered above) to get the last recorded location of your phone.
How To Search Iphone Apps On Mac Without Ipad 10.2“I forgot my iCloud password and cannot locate my iPhone. How do I get my password back?”
In order to use Find my iPhone, you need to sign into your iCloud account. If you forgot your password, then this isn’t possible, of course. Apple makes it fairly easy to reset your Apple ID password (same one as on iCloud). All you need is your backup email account. Below you find the steps you need to follow:
What if I’m not close to any computer to track my iPhone?
In that case, ask friends or try to find a helpful stranger with an iPhone. You can track your lost iPhone using the “Find My iPhone” app on another device. Just make sure that you are signed into your own iCloud Account. Otherwise you’ll just track the iPhone you’re holding in your hand.
I really hope this article helps you find your lost iPhone, iPad or Mac. If you do, it would be great if you share your story in the comments! Also, if you know of any other way to track down a lost Apple device, please let us know.
Note: In case you’re actually missing an Android device, head over to my guide on how to track a lost Android phone or tablet.
The new Find My app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single, easy-to-use app on iOS, iPadOS, and now macOS. Find My can help you locate your devices and your friends and family. And now it can help you find your devices even when they’re offline.
Locate your devices easily.
You take your devices everywhere. Which means you might leave them anywhere. Whether they’re in a conference room or under a sofa pillow, chances are they won’t be lost for long. The Find My app helps you locate not only your iPhone, but also your iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, or AirPods.
How To Search Iphone Apps On Mac Without Ipad PasscodeSee all your devices on a map.
Is your iPad at home or back at the office? Use the map to get a full picture of where your devices are — and where a missing one might be. Some devices can also mark their location when the battery is critically low, to help you find them even if they run out of power.
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