If Find My was enabled before your iPhone went missing, you can use another Apple device or Apple’s Find My service to view its available location, play a sound, mark it as lost, or erase it remotely if recovery is unlikely.
Quick steps
- Open Find My on another Apple device, or sign in to Apple’s Find My service.
- Select the missing iPhone under Devices.
- Review its current or last available location.
- Use Play Sound if it may be nearby.
- Turn on Lost Mode/Mark As Lost if it is missing.
- Erase the iPhone remotely only when you understand that erasing can limit later tracking options.
If the iPhone is offline
Find My may show a last known location or use the Find My network when the model and settings support it. You can still mark the device as lost so the action takes effect when it reconnects.
Protect your account
Do not remove the missing iPhone from your Apple Account just because someone asks you to. Keeping Activation Lock associated with the device makes it harder for another person to reuse it. Be suspicious of messages claiming your phone was found and asking you to sign in through an unfamiliar link.
Finding another person’s iPhone
Use Apple’s authorized family/location-sharing features or have the owner sign in themselves. Find My should not be used to secretly track someone who has not shared their location or authorized access.
Before you finish
If you believe the iPhone was stolen rather than misplaced, prioritize personal safety. Do not travel to an unfamiliar location to confront someone based only on a Find My map position. Give relevant information to law enforcement or your carrier when appropriate. You can also contact the carrier to discuss suspending cellular service while keeping the device associated with your Apple Account.
What Find My can show for a missing iPhone
Open Find My, choose Devices, and select the missing iPhone. If it can be located, you can see its current or last known position. If it is nearby, Play Sound can help you find it. If the device is offline, enable Notify When Found so you receive an alert when a location becomes available.
Use Lost Mode when the iPhone is genuinely missing
If you cannot recover the phone immediately, mark it as lost from Find My. This locks the device and lets you provide contact information for someone who finds it. Do not remove the iPhone from your Apple Account while it is missing, because doing so can remove protections that make the device harder for someone else to use.
Privacy and Find My
Use the Devices section of Find My for devices associated with your account and eligible family devices. The People section is for people who choose to share their location. Location tools should not be used to secretly monitor another person without their knowledge or permission.
If Find My shows the iPhone offline
An offline status can mean the device is powered off, out of coverage, or unable to communicate. Review the last available location and use the notification option shown in Find My when appropriate. If the Find My network was enabled beforehand, supported devices can sometimes contribute location information even without a normal direct connection.
Keep Activation Lock enabled while the phone is missing
Do not remove the missing iPhone from your Apple Account merely because someone contacts you and asks you to. Activation Lock helps prevent another person from activating the device. Keep that protection in place while you are still trying to recover the iPhone unless you intentionally transfer or relinquish ownership.
Matthew Roberts created this site to help his friends and family with questions that they might have about how to change the settings on their iPhones. It now serves as an archive of iPhone how-to guides to help anyone that stumbles upon this website.