Use Find My iPhone to locate your phone in real time
Find My iPhone is built into every iPhone and works even if your phone is locked, off, or in silent mode. It shows your phone's location on a map, plays a sound to help you find it nearby, or locks it remotely if you think it's been stolen. You access it from any other device — another iPhone, iPad, Mac, or a web browser — without needing your phone itself.
The feature only works if you turned on location services and signed into iCloud before your phone went missing. If you did both, you can start searching right now. If you didn't, the steps below explain what you can still do.
Key Takeaways
- Find My iPhone works from iCloud.com or another Apple device and shows your phone's location on a map even if it's powered off.
- Playing a sound through Find My iPhone helps you locate a phone that's nearby but hidden under furniture or in a bag.
- If your phone is truly lost or stolen, you can lock it remotely and erase all data to protect your personal information.
- Find My iPhone only works if location services were already turned on before the phone went missing.
- If you never set up Find My iPhone, contact your carrier and local police; your carrier can sometimes track the phone's location.
Search from iCloud.com on any computer or browser
Go to iCloud.com in any web browser and sign in with your Apple ID and password. Click Find My (or Find My iPhone on older versions). A map will load showing your devices. Look for your iPhone in the list on the left side of the screen.
If your iPhone appears on the map with a green dot, location services were on when it went missing and you can see roughly where it is. The accuracy depends on whether the phone is indoors or outdoors and how recently it connected to the internet. A phone in a building may show a wider circle of possible locations than a phone in open air.
If your iPhone does not appear in the list at all, it was not signed into iCloud or location services were off. Move to the section below about what to do in that case.
Play a sound to find a phone that is nearby
If the map shows your iPhone close to your current location — in your home, car, or office — click on it in the list and select Play Sound. Your iPhone will ring loudly for two minutes, even if it is set to silent. This works best for phones that are powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Listen for the sound and follow it. Check under cushions, in bags, between car seats, and other places where phones often slip. If you hear it ringing but cannot reach it, you may need to move furniture or ask someone to help you search.
If you click Play Sound and nothing happens, the phone is either powered off, out of range of Wi-Fi and cellular service, or the battery is dead. In that case, move to the next section.
Lock your iPhone remotely if it is lost or stolen
If you believe your phone has been stolen rather than straightforward misplaced, you can lock it remotely so no one can use it without your passcode. From the Find My screen on iCloud.com, click your iPhone and select Lost Mode. You will be asked to enter a phone number where someone can reach you and a message to display on the lock screen.
Once you turn on Lost Mode, the phone locks when ready. Anyone who picks it up will see your message and the phone number you provided. They cannot access your photos, messages, or any other data. Lost Mode also stops Apple Pay from working on that device.
If you later find your phone, you can turn off Lost Mode from the same screen. If you are certain the phone is gone for good, you can erase all data from it instead — see the next section.
Erase your iPhone remotely as a last resort
If your phone is truly lost or stolen and you want to make sure no one can access your personal information, you can erase all data from it remotely. From Find My on iCloud.com, click your iPhone and select Erase iPhone. This permanently deletes all photos, messages, contacts, and other data stored on the phone.
Erasing is permanent and cannot be undone. You should only do this if you are certain you will not find the phone and you have backed up your data to iCloud or another source. Once you erase, you will no longer be able to locate the phone on a map.
After erasing, your phone will show as offline in Find My. If the phone turns up later, you can restore your data from an iCloud backup when you set it up again.
What to do if Find My iPhone is not working
If your iPhone does not appear on the Find My map, location services or iCloud sign-in was not turned on before it went missing. You have two other options: contact your wireless carrier and file a police report.
Call your carrier — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or whoever provides your service — and tell them your phone is lost. They can sometimes locate a phone by its cellular signal, though they will only do this if you report it stolen and file a police report. They may also be able to remotely disable the phone's ability to make calls or use data, which prevents someone from running up charges on your account.
File a police report with your local police department, either in person or online through their website. Include your phone's model, color, serial number (which you can find on your original receipt or Apple ID account), and the date and location where you last saw it. Police reports create an official record that carriers and phone repair shops can check if someone tries to sell or repair the phone.
Prevent this from happening again
If you recover your iPhone, turn on Find My iPhone before you need it. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Find My iPhone and toggle it on. Make sure you are signed into iCloud on your phone — you can check this in Settings under your name at the top.
Also check that location services are on. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and make sure the toggle is green. Find My iPhone uses location services to pinpoint your phone, so both must be enabled.
If you use an iPhone 15 or newer, you also have access to Precision Finding, which uses your other Apple devices to locate your phone more accurately when you are close to it. This works even if your lost phone is offline, as long as it is near another Apple device that is online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find my iPhone if it is turned off?
Yes, but only if your phone has an Apple silicon chip (iPhone 15 or newer) or if it is an iPhone 11 or later with a fully charged battery. These phones can send their location to Apple's servers even when powered off. Older iPhones cannot be located once they are turned off.
Will Find My iPhone work if the SIM card has been removed?
Yes. Find My iPhone uses iCloud and Wi-Fi to send location data, not your cellular service. Removing the SIM card does not stop it from working, though it does prevent the phone from connecting to cellular networks if Wi-Fi is not available.
What if someone else has my iPhone and turns off location services?
Once location services are turned off, you cannot locate the phone through Find My iPhone. This is why turning it on now, before anything happens, matters. If location services are already off, your only option is to contact your carrier and file a police report.
Does Find My iPhone show the exact address of my phone?
No. It shows a map with a circle or pin marking the general area where your phone is located. The accuracy varies — outdoors it may be within a few meters, but indoors it could be off by 50 feet or more depending on Wi-Fi signal strength and building materials.
Can I use Find My iPhone to locate someone else's phone without their permission?
No. You can only locate devices signed into your own Apple ID. If you are trying to find a family member's phone, they must add their device to a shared Family group in iCloud, or you must have their Apple ID and password — which you should not ask for or use without their knowledge.