How to Set Up Find My iPhone

By Abbey Dufoe Updated 03/23/2021

Apple's Find My app (formerly Find My iPhone) enables you to locate any of your devices instantly, so if you're wondering what to do if you lost your phone or how to locate a lost iPad, the Find My feature is all you need. It’s easy to use and you are be able to see the location of all your devices right there on the map view. The best part of Find My iPhone is being able to see where your iPhone, iPad, and Mac are from any of your devices. That means if you've lost your iPhone, you can find its location from your computer or another Apple device.

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How to Set Up Find My

Find My comes automatically installed on your phone. To enable it take the following steps:

Tap Settings.
Tap on your name.
Tap Find My.
Tap Find My iPhone.
Toggle Find My iPhone on.
You can also set up Send Last Location, which will automatically send the location of your device to Apple when its battery is low to make it easier to find it the battery is dead.

How to Use Find My

Once you ensure your settings are to your preference, here is how to use Apple's Find My function. You can even learn how to help your friends find their list lost phones using your own Find My app.

Open the Find My app.
A map will appear showing your current location through the device you are using.
On the bottom menu, tap Devices, then swipe up to get the full menu.
Tap the device you'd like to locate. If location is enabled, it will show up on the map.
For options on what to do, swipe up to get the full menu for that device.
You can select Play Sound for a chime to help you find it in a room or Directions if it's farther away and you want navigation to get to it.
You can also select Mark as Lost, which will disable all sounds and notifications as well as Apple Pay on your phone.

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Author Details

Abbey Dufoe

Abbey Dufoe is a freelance writer and a web producer at a nonprofit based in Princeton, NJ. She's always itching for the newest iOS gadget (current favorite - the Apple Watch). She tweets and blogs about the earth and the Internet on Twitter at @abbeydufoe and at abbeydufoe.com.

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