Apple offers a robust ecosystem with a lot of services, but its biggest network might be with Find My. It has over a billion active devices, and each one can be used to help find your lost Apple product. If your device — including the best iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, or AirTags — gets lost or stolen, you can see its exact location on an interactive map. Plus, you can lock or erase the device remotely to make sure none of your information is compromised. In this guide, we'll show you how to enable Find My on your devices, view their locations, and take appropriate actions if they are lost or stolen.

How does Find My work?

Essentially, the Find My network functions by crowdsourcing location data collected from the plethora of Apple devices out in the wild. When your Apple device with Find My enabled comes within Bluetooth range of another Apple device, it will update the device's location in Find My via iCloud. Your device's location isn't shared with other users, but their devices serve as a connection to Apple's secure iCloud servers. Through this method, Apple devices work together to ensure you always know where they are. It's estimated that due to the reach of Apple's network, an Apple product can't move a single city block without its location being updated in large metropolitan areas.

Can your device update its location without being turned on?

iPhones made before 2019 could not update their location without being powered on and with Bluetooth enabled. However, the iPhone 11 series and newer feature an ultra-wideband chip, which allows them to remain findable after being powered off. Even if your Apple device is powered off and undiscoverable, you will see the location of the last time it connected to the Find My network.

How to enable Find My

Before using this network, you need to enable Find My on your devices. This is usually done during device setup, but you can confirm Find My is enabled via the following steps:

On iOS or iPadOS devices

1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. Tap your name at the top of the screen to access your iCloud settings.
3. Select the Find My tab in the list.
4. Tap the Find My iPhone tab.

   

   

   

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5. Tap the toggle next to Find My iPhone to view your iPhone's location when it is powered on.
6. Turn the toggle to on next to Find My network to view your iPhone's location when it is offline, in power reserve mode, and after power off.
7. Tap the toggle next to Send Last Location to send the location of your iPhone to iCloud when the battery is critically low.

   

   

   

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On macOS computers

1. Open the System Settings app.
2. Click your name at the top of the window.
3. Select the iCloud tab.

   

   

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4. Click the Show all apps button under Apps using iCloud.
5. Select Find My Mac.
6. Click the Turn on buttons beside Find My Mac and Find My network. If you see the turn off buttons instead, that means Find My Mac is already enabled.

   

   

   

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How to find a lost or stolen device with Find My on macOS

If you've lost an Apple device and want to use your Mac to locate it, you can do so in two ways. The first, which is by using the native macOS Find My app, is best if the computer you're using is signed in to the same Apple ID as your lost device. If you're using a borrowed Mac, you should utilize the second method, which is through the iCloud web client.

Using the Find My app

1. Open the Find My app on your Mac.
2. Make sure you are on the Devices tab.

   

3. Select the device you want to locate in the sidebar.

   

4. You can view the device's location on the map.

   

5. Tap the 'i' beside the device's name to view the exact address of your device's location.

   

6. View the actions that can be taken for your device. (More on those below)

   

Using the iCloud web client

1. aunch iCloud.com on a smartphone, computer, or tablet you have access to.
2. Log in with your Apple ID and password.

   

3. Click the Find My app.

   

4. Enter your Apple ID password a second time to authenticate your request.

   

5. Click All devices at the top of the screen.

   

6. Select the name of the device you want to find.

   

7. View the device's location on a map. Zoom in to see the device's precise location.

   

Taking actions to find, lock, or erase a lost device

If you can't find your device, you can take a few different actions to improve your situation.

• Play a sound: If you can see that your device is in your home, click to play a sound. You can then follow the sound and find your device.
• Get directions: If your device is not in your home, click on Directions. Apple Maps will open with directions to where you need to go to get your device. Be careful when trying to recover lost or stolen items, and consider consulting local authorities.
• Mark as Lost: When you do this, the phone locks. Additionally, you can leave a message on the phone screen, asking anyone who finds it to get in touch with you.
• Get a Notification: When another Apple device detects your device's location, you will get a notification.
• Erase The Device: This will ensure your data does not fall into the wrong hands. Your data will be permanently deleted and your entire device will be erased. Do not do this if there is information you hope to recover from your device.

Why you should use Find My on your Apple products

Find My is a secure and useful network that ensures you can always find your Apple devices. It makes use of the largest network of its kind in the world, with over a billion active devices to help locate your lost or stolen device. You need to activate Find My before your device gets lost, so make sure you follow the steps above to turn this setting on. In the unfortunate circumstance that your device is lost or stolen, you can also use your Mac to find it via the tips in this article.