Your Holiday Survival Guide to Finding a Dead or Stolen iPhone

“It's time for holiday parties and celebrations, but a lost iPhone can quickly dampen the joy and spirits. Whether lost or stolen, modern iPhones have powerful features that can help.

Apple's Find My feature, with its crowdsourced Find My Network feature, will be your best ally. It sends your phone location to meCloudeven when the device is turned off. For added protection, Stolen Device Protection Protects sensitive data such as credit cards and passwords.

If you have an iPhone 11 or later (excluding 2020 and 2022 models) iPhone SE), you have an ultra-wideband chip for offline searching. While Find My is enabled and you are signed in to your account Apple IDyou can find your iPhone even if the battery is low. Before you panic, follow these steps to restore your phone.

Apple Find My and Find My Network are not the same thing

Apple Find My and Find My Network are different from each other, which can be confusing. While “Locate” is now the name of the app, “Find My Network” is what allows you to locate your device when it's offline, turned off, or low on power.

You can use the Find My Network feature in Apple's Find My app or sign in to your Apple ID on iCloud.com to find your lost iPhone. Additionally, the app also allows you to add other Apple products and items that you want to track to your Find My Network network.

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How to enable Find My and Find My Network features

You'll need to make sure that Find My and Find My Network are set up so that you can find a turned off iPhone. Open Settings and do the following:

1. Click on your name in the Settings menu.
2. Go to Find mine > Find my iPhone and make sure the switch is turned on.
3. Below “Find my iPhone” you will see Find my network And Send latest location switches. Turn them on too.

You can check if your iPhone is accessible even when it's turned off by going to the Power menu: Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center and press and hold the Power button in that corner or hold the Side button and Volume Down button. Under the “Move to turn off” slider, find “iPhone can be found after turning off.” Your iPhone is now ready to be discovered, even if a thief turns it off.

However, there are a few exceptions. If your iPhone hasn't sent its location to Apple through Find My in the last seven days, you'll see “Location Not Found” next to your device. This may happen if there is a problem with your device's location services.

How to Find a Lost iPhone Using the Find My App on Another Apple Device

Now comes the hard part: what happens after you lose your iPhone? Assuming you have followed the steps above, you can remain calm. If you have another Apple device, e.g. Apple Watch, iPad or MacBookfollow these steps to find your lost or stolen iPhone. This will also work on the device of the friend or family member you shared your location with.

1. Open the Find My app and find your iPhone in the list under Devices tab. You should see it in this list (even if it's turned off) if you previously enabled the Find My iPhone, Find My Network, and Send Last Location options.
2. Tap or click your iPhone's name. You'll be taken to a menu with several options to find your phone or mark it as lost.
3. If you've lost your iPhone and are sure it's nearby, tap or click Play sound or Directions to have the device play audio or get directions to the device's last recorded location, respectively.
4. If you are sure your iPhone is stolen, click Activate under Mark as lost option. This will immediately lock the device with your passcode, pause Apple Pay, and display a special message with your contact information to anyone who finds it. You can also use Send latest location to determine your device's last known location.

How to Find a Lost iPhone If You Don't Have Another Apple Device

If you don't have another Apple device, you can sign into your iCloud account in a web browser to find your lost iPhone (though this option can be problematic if you don't have another Apple device due to two-factor authentication). Follow these steps to use a web browser to locate your lost iPhone:

1. Go to icloud.com/find and sign in using your Apple ID.
2. Go to Devices list.
3. From here, use the same options to play audio, mark your device as lost, or erase your device as you do in the app.

You can also turn off Control Center access on your lock screen when you're traveling abroad to prevent a thief from turning off data or turning on Airplane mode. To do this, do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Face ID & Password (or Touch ID and passcode) and enter your password.
2. Under Allow access when blocked section, disable Control Center option.

This option can be a bit of a nuisance in day-to-day use, but I recommend turning Control Center off when traveling.

These settings give you a better chance of finding your iPhone if it's stolen and turned off. For more iPhone tips and tricks, check out our guide to Camera control and how block distracting websites.