How to locate a lost or borrowed iPhone
If you need to find another person's iPhone, you have two main routes: use Find My iPhone if you know their Apple ID and password, or ask them to help you locate it themselves through their own device. The first method works when someone has given you access to their account or you share a family plan. The second works when the person is reachable and willing to help. Both methods require that location services are turned on — which you learned about in the previous guide — and that the iPhone is powered on and connected to the internet.
The fastest path depends on your situation. If you're trying to find a family member's phone, you may already have access through Family Sharing. If you're trying to find a friend's or colleague's phone, you'll need their permission and their Apple ID details. If the phone is your own but you're using a different device to search for it, the process is the same as finding someone else's phone.
Key Takeaways
- Find My iPhone requires the Apple ID and password for the account that set up the phone you're searching for.
- Family Sharing lets you see the location of family members' iPhones without needing their individual passwords.
- You can search from iCloud.com on any computer, or from the Find My app on another Apple device.
- The phone must have location services enabled and an active internet connection for you to see its location in real time.
- If the phone is offline, Find My iPhone will show you its last known location, which can still help narrow down where to search.
Using Find My iPhone through iCloud.com
Go to iCloud.com in any web browser and sign in with the Apple ID of the iPhone you're trying to find. This is the account that was used to set up that phone, not your own account. If you don't know the Apple ID, ask the phone's owner directly — you'll need both the email address and the password.
Once you're signed in, click the Find My iPhone icon (it looks like a radar or target). A map will appear showing the location of all devices linked to that Apple ID. Click on the iPhone you're looking for from the list on the left side. The map will zoom to show its location, and you'll see whether it's online or offline. If it's online, the location updates in real time. If it's offline, you'll see the last place it was connected to the internet.
From this screen, you can play a sound on the phone to help locate it if it's nearby, lock the phone remotely, or erase it if it's been stolen. The sound plays for two minutes at full volume, even if the phone is on silent.
Using the Find My app on another Apple device
If you have an iPad, Mac, or another iPhone, you can use the Find My app instead of going to iCloud.com. Open the Find My app and tap or click the People tab at the bottom. You'll see a list of people who have shared their location with you, or who you've shared your location with through Family Sharing.
If the person hasn't shared their location with you yet, you can send them a request. Tap Add and choose to share your location or ask them to share theirs. They'll receive a notification and can approve or deny the request. Once they approve, their iPhone's location will appear on your map.
The Find My app also has a Devices tab where you can see all devices linked to your own Apple ID. If you're trying to find someone else's device, you'll need to use the People tab instead, or sign into their account through iCloud.com.
Finding a family member's iPhone through Family Sharing
If you've set up Family Sharing with the person whose iPhone you're looking for, you don't need their Apple ID password. Open the Find My app on your device and tap the People tab. You'll see all family members who have agreed to share their location. Tap their name to see their iPhone's location on the map.
Family Sharing is set up through Settings on the iPhone itself, so if you don't see the person listed, they either haven't enabled location sharing for the family group, or Family Sharing hasn't been set up between your accounts yet. Ask them to go to Settings, tap their name at the top, then Family Sharing, and make sure location sharing is turned on.
Family Sharing also lets you see the battery level of each family member's device, which is useful if you're trying to find someone who might not answer their phone.
What to do if the iPhone is offline or unreachable
If the iPhone hasn't connected to the internet recently, Find My iPhone will show you the last location where it was online. This location can be hours or even days old, depending on when the phone last had internet access. The map will display this as the phone's last known location, and it's often accurate enough to help you narrow down where to search in person.
If the phone is turned off, you won't be able to locate it at all until it's powered back on and connects to the internet. Some newer iPhones have a feature called Find My when offline, which uses Bluetooth to communicate its location to nearby Apple devices even when the phone itself is offline — but this only works if the phone is powered on.
If you're searching for a phone that's been lost for several days, check the location history in Find My iPhone. Some versions show you a timeline of where the phone has been, which can help you retrace the person's steps.
Troubleshooting when you can't see the location
If you sign into the Apple ID but don't see the iPhone on the map, the most common reason is that location services are turned off on that phone. Location services must be enabled in Settings for Find My iPhone to work. Ask the phone's owner to go to Settings, tap Privacy, then Location Services, and make sure it's turned on. They should also check that Find My iPhone specifically has permission to use location — it should be listed under Location Services with a toggle next to it.
Another common issue is that the phone isn't connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data. Find My iPhone needs an internet connection to send location data. If the phone is in airplane mode, or if it's in an area with no signal, you won't see a current location. In this case, the last known location is all you'll have to work with.
If you've recently changed the Apple ID password, the phone may not have updated to the new password yet. Sign out of Find My iPhone on the phone itself and sign back in with the new password. Go to Settings, tap the name at the top, then scroll down and tap Sign Out. Then sign back in with the updated credentials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find someone's iPhone without their permission?
No. You need either their Apple ID password, or they must have shared their location with you through Family Sharing or a location-sharing request. If you don't have either, you cannot see their location. Attempting to access someone's account without permission is illegal.
What if I don't know the Apple ID password?
Ask the phone's owner for the password, or ask them to help you locate the phone themselves using their own device. If the phone belongs to you but you've forgotten the password, you can reset it through Apple's account recovery process at iforgot.apple.com, though this requires access to the email address associated with the account.
Does Find My iPhone work if the phone is in another country?
Yes, as long as the phone has an internet connection. The map will show the location anywhere in the world. However, if the phone is in airplane mode or has no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, you'll only see the last known location.
Can I find an iPhone that's been turned off?
Not until it's turned back on and connects to the internet. Once it powers on, it will send its location to Find My iPhone within a few minutes. Newer iPhones with Find My when offline can share their location via Bluetooth even when powered off, but this only works if the phone is in range of another Apple device.
What happens if I play a sound on someone else's iPhone?
The phone will play an alert sound at full volume for two minutes, even if it's on silent mode. This is useful if the phone is nearby and you're trying to locate it by sound. The person using the phone will see a notification that someone has triggered the sound.