How To Find a Lost iPhone

It is extremely distressing to lose an iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter. In addition to the initial expenses, a staggering quantity of private information is at risk. These days, smartphones may hold a surprising amount of sensitive data in the form of browsing history, social media data, app traces, and other data, in addition to storing private images, videos, and music libraries. Thus, there is reason to fear that the information contained in a lost or stolen iPhone may be misused and exploited.

Consequently, as soon as you learn that your iPhone has been lost or stolen, attempt to locate it and lock it.

What happens if an iPhone is stolen?

The consequences of a stolen phone could include:

1. Wiping an iPhone clean is the first thing thieves will try to do with one that they have stolen. They intend to sell stolen iPhones after erasing all of the data on them, including documents, music files, movies, and photos.
2. The thieves may even attempt to shatter the iPhone’s screen in an effort to use AppleCare to seek a replacement. It is frequently possible for the criminals to convince AppleCare that they are the legitimate owners of the stolen phone and obtain a replacement.
3. You’ve also probably heard of the sketchy stores that provide incredibly cheap iPhone repairs. That’s where the stolen iPhones wind up. Theft frequently disassembles the stolen iPhone and sells the various parts to dubious repair shops for cash once they realize they can’t use it.

How To Find A Lost iPhone With Find My iPhone

Method 1: Use Find My iPhone

If Find My iPhone is enabled on your stolen iPhone, you can do the following:

• Locate your mobile phone
• Protect your iPhone data by choosing Lost Mode or erasing the data remotely

How to use Find My iPhone when the phone is missing

• Sign in to icloud.com on your computer.
• Click on the Find My iPhone link at the bottom.
• On the Find My iPhone’s map interface, select your lost iPhone via the All Devices drop-down menu. The app starts tracking your iPhone’s location on the map.

As you see the location of your device, you can choose to do the following:

• Play sound (if your iPhone is nearby, you can trace it with sound)
• Activate ‘Lost Mode’ (this locks your device and still tracks it)

What does Lost Mode do to your device?

• Lock your smartphone remotely
• shows a message on the missing iPhone’s lock screen that includes your phone number.
• monitors the location of your device.
• Remotely erase your iPhone to stop data from getting into the wrong hands, but you won’t be able to trace it).

How do I erase iPhone data remotely?

Choosing to erase the iPhone remotely deletes the complete data from it.

 Method 2: Track iPhone through Family Sharing

Use family sharing to track your iPhone if you have it set up. Knowing each other’s device locations is made easier through family sharing. Request that someone else in the Family Sharing group use the Find My iPhone app to track down your iPhone. In addition, the member can use iCloud.com to find the lost iPhone.

What to do when ‘Find My iPhone’ is not enabled or the missing iPhone is offline for more than one day?

• To stop anyone from accessing your data, change the passwords associated with your Apple ID.
• Change your social media and other Internet account passwords like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Inform the authorities that the device is missing.
• Report your network carrier to disable services like calls, messages, or data use.

Method 3: Use Google Timeline to find lost iPhone

Google’s Timeline will capture every location your iPhone has been in if you have enabled Location Services and Location History.

When an iPhone disappears, use a map to get the location data and locate the last known location. Keep in mind that Google Timeline only records location information when the iPhone is on and there is an internet connection.

How to see the last location of a lost iPhone in Google Timeline

• Visit <com/maps/timeline> on your computer.
• Sign in to your Google account.
• Click today or select a date.
• Scroll down to see the last reported location of your iPhone.

Note the time that your phone was last linked to Google along with the location. You may locate your misplaced iPhone by using the location and time information as hints. Seek for police assistance if necessary.

Method 4: Take location clue from Google Photos

If anyone has captured a photo from your lost iPhone and you have the Google Photos location-sharing option enabled, then luck is on your side.

Visit <photos.google.com/>. Check if any new photos were uploaded and view their upload location.

Method 5: Location-Tracing tracking apps

Use any location-tracking software that you may have installed on your lost or stolen iPhone, such as iTrack, CocoSpy Cell Phone Tracker, or GPS Location Tracker. These applications allow you to communicate your device’s current position with other connected devices or your computer.

Method 6: Try Calling Yourself

You can try contacting your phone number and listening to the vibration or sound if you have another phone with you or if you borrow a phone from friends or family. You should be able to listen to it and locate your iPhone rather fast if it’s close by.

Method 7: Ping Your iPhone With Your Apple Watch

You can still use your Apple Watch to trigger an audio playback on your iPhone even if you don’t have a backup phone with you.

Your Apple Watch can simplify your life in a number of ways, one of which is by allowing you to ping your iPhone with it.

To find out where your iPhone is hidden, your Apple Watch can ping it. Simply complete the following:

1. To access the Control Center on your Apple Watch, swipe upward from the bottom of the screen.
2. Once you locate the Ping iPhone button, scroll down. It’s the button with the iPhone icon with two lines on either side.
3. To initiate a ping on your iPhone, tap the Ping iPhone button once. Holding down the same button will cause your iPhone to flash and ping.

Method 8: Use Apple’s Tools to Find Your iPhone

There are two methods available from Apple to help you find your iPhone. If you don’t own any other Apple devices but have access to a computer, you can utilize iCloud or the Find My app, which is accessible on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Use the Find My App on Another Apple Device to Locate Your iPhone

It is likely that if you own an iPhone, you also own another Apple product. The Find My app, which is a component of Apple’s Find My network, should enable you to view your iPhone’s last known location.

The Maps app on your second Apple device can help you find your way. What you have to do is this:

1. Open the Find My app on your other Apple device. It can be another iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac, but you need to make sure that device uses the same Apple ID as your lost iPhone.
2. Go to the Devices tab. If you’re using an iPhone or an iPad, it’ll be located near the bottom of your screen. If you’re on a Mac, you should see it near the top of the Find My window.
3. Select the iPhone you’re trying to find.
4. Tap Directions.

Once there, you’ll see the Maps app and, if it’s available, obtain instructions to where your iPhone is. Try to use caution if your iPhone is somewhere else. You should think about calling the police if you believe it is essential because you never know if someone else has it.

If you don’t have an Apple Watch, the Find My app can ping your iPhone in addition to assisting with directions. Here’s how it works:

1. Open the Find My app on your other Apple device. It can be another iPhone, an iPad, or a Mac, but you need to make sure that the device is using the same Apple ID as your lost iPhone.
2. Go to the Devices tab. If you’re using an iPhone or an iPad, it’ll be located near the bottom of your screen. If you’re on a Mac, you should see it near the top left of the Find My window.
3. Choose the iPhone you’re trying to find.
4. Select Play Sound.

Your iPhone will first start vibrating and then play a sound similar to the default alarm sound. Note that you can’t make your iPhone flash, but hopefully this will do the trick. You’ll also get an email saying you used the Find My app to play a sound on your iPhone.

Go to iCloud to Locate Your iPhone

If you don’t have another Apple device, Apple still lets you access your iCloud account with any computer, which should help you locate your iPhone with the Find iPhone feature. This is what you need to do:

1. On any computer or smartphone, go to iCloud.com.
2. Log in to your Apple ID. Make sure it’s the same Apple ID you use on your lost iPhone.
3. Click Find iPhone. You may need to enter your Apple ID password again.

It may take a while, but this feature will let you know your iPhone’s last location. If you have other Apple devices, you should see them on the map too. As we mentioned before, be careful before finding your iPhone, as you don’t know if someone else has it.

Method 9: Check Your Google Location History

Just like iCloud and Find My, Google can also track where you’ve been with the Google Maps app.

If you want to see your location history—and hopefully find your lost iPhone—simply go to the Google Timeline page to see the places you’ve been.

Keep in mind, though, that this feature isn’t always on. So if you haven’t actively enabled your location history, chances are this feature won’t work for you.

So if you haven’t lost your iPhone yet and you want to use your Google Location History, you can turn it on like this:

1. Open your favorite browser and go to your Google account’s Activity Controls.
2. Scroll down and, under Location History, click Turn on.
3. Click Turn on again to confirm your decision.

And that’s it. Now you’ll be able to see where you’ve been with the Google Maps timeline.

Method 10: Contact the Police or Local Businesses

It’s possible that someone was gracious enough to give the police your iPhone if you misplaced it. It’s simple to find out if the cops have your iPhone. You can still report losing your iPhone if it isn’t there.

Similarly, you might inquire with the proprietor or staff of the establishment if you last saw your iPhone there.