How to set up Find My iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, AirPods. Start at your Home screen. Tap Settings > [your name] > iCloud. If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud. Scroll to the bottom and tap Find My iPhone. Slide to turn on Find My iPhone and Send Last Location.
After you set up Find My, you can locate a lost or stolen device, or even help a friend find their missing device. You can also share your location with friends, family, and contacts, ask to follow a friend’s location, or get directions to a friend’s location.
How to turn on Find My for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, open the Settings app.
- Tap your name.
- Tap Find My.
- If you want friends and family to know where you are, turn on Share My Location.
- Tap Find My [device], then turn on Find My [device].
- To see your device even when it’s offline, turn on Enable Offline Finding. To have the location of your device sent to Apple when the battery is low, turn on Send Last Location.
- If you want to be able to find your lost device on a map, make sure that Location Services is turned on. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services, and turn on location services.
How to add your AirPods or Apple Watch to Find My
If your AirPods or your Apple Watch are paired with your iPhone, they’re automatically set up when you turn on Find My iPhone.
How to turn on Find My for your Mac
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Click Security & Privacy, then click the Privacy tab.
- If the padlock in the lower left is locked
, click it, then enter the name and password of the administrator. - Select Location Services.
- Select the Enable Location Services checkbox.
- Next to System Services, click Details.
- Make sure that the checkbox next to Find My Mac is selected.
- Click Done, then return to the main System Preferences window.
- Click Apple ID, then click iCloud.
- Select the checkbox next to Find My Mac.
If you have iOS 12 or earlier, or macOS Mojave or earlier
The Find My app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single app included in iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina. Here’s what to do if you don’t have iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, or watchOS 6:
- Set up Find My iPhone on your devices.
- To find your device, use iCloud.com.
- To locate your friends and family, use Find My Friends.
- See how to share your location with your family.
How to locate a device with Find My in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina
- Open the “Find My” app on an Apple device
- Tap the “Devices” tab at the bottom
- Look for your device on the list and map
- Tap it and you can play a sound, mark it as lost, and erase
In the screenshot above, the MacBook Air being located is offline, but still appears as normal due to the new capabilities in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina. As such, most people probably won’t even notice what’s going behind the scenes in the Find My app – but they’ll surely be grateful for it.
What Apple has done with this new Find My app – specifically the ability to track offline devices – is nothing short of remarkable. It’s even more notable that Apple was able to do it in a way that completely protects the user’s privacy.
Ideally, offline support for Find My will further increase the situations in which you’re able to locate a lost device. It should also further deter thieves from
Do you have any notable success stories from using Find My iPhone or the new Find My app? Let us know down in the comments.
Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
