Have you ever lost your iPhone? Whether it was stolen or left behind, what should we do when we can't find our iPhone? Don't panic, the following guide will help you on how to find your lost iPhone.
Try calling the phone or the police
First try to communicate by phone, if it was accidentally lost, perhaps it can be found by the ringing of the phone or the person answering the phone will help to return it. If the phone is found to be maliciously turned off or maliciously stolen after making the call, then you should immediately call the police, who will help you to carry out the search. In addition to waiting for the police to investigate, you should also find ways to save your phone, as well as provide more clues for the police.
Use the Find My feature
When you find that your iPhone is lost, you should immediately borrow another Apple device to log in to the Apple ID account of the lost device. After logging in, you can check the location of the lost iPhone, and the iPhone location in the map can be zoomed in to the specific location information. If you don't have another Apple device, you can enter your Apple ID and password on the iCloud.com website.
- On your iPhone, open the Settings app.
- Tap on your name at the top of the screen.
- Next, tap Find My > Find My iPhone.
- Make sure that the switch next to Find My iPhone is on, and while you're there, make sure the switches next to Find My network and Send Last Location are on as well.
Find My app is mainly divided into 3 functions: Play Sound, Lost Mode, and Erase iPhone.
1. Play Sound
When you are close to the lost location located by your iPhone, you can click "Play Sound". Even if the phone is set to silent, the "beep beep beep" alarm sound will continue to be played at the maximum volume for two minutes.
- Open the Find My app.
- Tap Devices.
- Tap your missing iPhone.
- Tap Play Sound.
2. Lost Mode
After confirming that the iPhone is set to "Lost Mode", the iPhone will no longer be able to perform other operations. You can also follow the prompts to enter your contact number and message information, so that a kind person who accidentally picks up the device can return it to you through the contact information on the lock screen of your iPhone.
- Open the Find My app.
- Tap Devices.
- Tap your missing iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap Mark As Lost.
- Follow the on screen steps to enter a custom message with contact information.
- Tap Activate.
3. Erase iPhone
When the iPhone is impossible to retrieve for the time being and you are afraid that the important private data in the phone will be leaked, then you can use the the Erase iPhone function. Once clicked, all data in the phone will be wiped clean, which is equivalent to restoring factory settings. But even if the iPhone is erased, it can still be located as long as the Find My is activated. However, certain services will be temporarily deactivated after the recovered iPhone is back in use.
- Open the Find My app.
- Tap Devices.
- Tap your missing iPhone.
- Tap Erase This iPhone.
Take advantage of Family Sharing
Apple’s Family Sharing service can be integrated with Find My. If you have linked your phone to a family member’s Apple ID before losing your phone, you can use Family Sharing to instantly locate your lost iPhone on the device associated with your family when you realize you've lost your phone.
It is worth noting that in iOS 17.3 Beta, a new security feature - Stolen Device Protection, further protects Apple users' phones by turning it on so you have the best chance of getting your device back. Of course, we hope you don't need to use any of the above methods.
