Have you lost your iPhone somewhere and need to find it FAST?
It’s a horrible feeling loosing something so valuable like your iPhone and you might wonder if you can find your iPhone on a computer or PC.
You can!
I have an easy way to find where your iPhone is.
It’s not 100% guaranteed, but most people find their iPhones using the method I’ll show you below.
How to find your iPhone using iCloud
Go to iCloud.com/find
Login and immediately see where your iPhone is on the map
Tap the i symbol next to your iPhone
Click Play Sound to play a sound and locate your iPhone nearby
Go To iCloud.com/find
Visit iCloud.com/find and login using your Apple ID.
iCloud is Apple’s online network that handles your Apple ID, Photo Stream and locating devices like your iPhone or Apple Watch. It’s part of Apple and it’s safe to login there.
Enter your Apple ID – usually your email address.
See the location of your iPhone on the map
When you successfully log in to iCloud, you might see a loading screen like the one above for a minute or two. It usually doesn’t take very long for iCloud to find your iPhone and then show you where it is on a map.
How to play a sound on your iPhone via iCloud
To make it even easier to locate your iPhone when it’s nearby, you can instruct iCloud to send a message to your iPhone to play a sound. This makes finding your iPhone way easier and has saved me a headache.
Click the “i” symbol next to your iPhone’s name
When you tap the i symbol that’s next to your iPhone’s name (it may be different than mine), you’ll see more options like this:
Here you can:
- Play a sound – Your iPhone will play a chime so you can find it easier
- Lost Mode – Your iPhone will be locked so no one can access your private information
- Erase iPhone – Your iPhone will be completely erased of any data and locked. Your Apple ID and Password is required to unlock the device.
These are really good to remember because you could rely on them one day to protect your iPhone and your information.
Find My iPhone isn’t working?
Not seeing your iPhone on the iCloud map? There could be a few reasons for this. If Find My iPhone isn’t turned on, you’re out of luck unfortunately! There’s nothing that can be done to locate your iPhone. If you’re wondering how you can check if your iPhone is setup for Find My, follow these steps:
Reason #1 Find My iPhone isn’t working – Check Find My iPhone is Enabled
For you to be able to locate your iPhone using the Find My website, your iPhone has to have Find My iPhone enabled in it’s settings. This is usually activated by default when you first bought your iPhone and set it up.
Open the Settings App
Find the Settings app on your iPhone home screen. If you have a lot of apps, swipe down on any home screen to reveal the search box. Type Settings and tap the icon that looks like the one above. You can’t delete the settings app, so you’ll definitely have it somewhere!
Tap the first menu item
Tap the very first item shown in the settings menu that says Apple ID, iCloud, Media & Purchases. It usually has a photo and your name next to it. This will take you to the iCloud and Apple ID management menu.
Tap Find My
Tap the Find My menu item to manage location tracking for your iPhone.
Tap Find My iPhone
Check Find My iPhone Is Enabled
Make sure all three options are enabled:
- Find My iPhone = ON
- Find My Network = ON
- Send Last Location = ON
Reason #2 Find My iPhone isn’t working – Location Services is Disabled
Even if you enable Find My iPhone, it won’t work at all if location services have been disabled. You can check this easily in the settings app. Here’s how:
Open the Settings app
You can find the settings app on your iPhone home screen or by searching for it by swiping down and typing in Settings
Tap Privacy
Scroll down, find and tap the Privacy menu item.
Tap Location Services
Find Location Services at the top of the list and tap it.
Find Find My
Scroll down the list until you see Find My. It’s alphabetical and you’ll probably have different apps installed than I do. Find My can’t be deleted, so you’ll definitely have it. Whether it’s turned on or not is a different question and you can check that in the last step
Check Find My is enabled in Location Services
Make sure Allow location access is enabled and has a check mark next to it. Also, make sure Precise Location is toggled on and has a green button next to it.
Check that your iPhone is correctly setup
After you’ve made the changes, go to https://www.icloud.com/find and login. Make sure your iPhone is showing and being tracked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to find my iPhone using a computer even though “Find My” is turned off?
No, not at all. If Find My is turned off on the iPhone, then you won’t be able to see it’s location using a computer. Period.
Can I find my iPhone using a computer if I’ve forgotten my Apple ID?
Yes. You can visit https://www.icloud.com/find and click Forgot Apple ID or Password at the bottom of the screen:
Can I Erase My iPhone From A Computer?
Yes. Go to https://www.icloud.com/find and login. From there click on your iPhone and tap Erase iPhone.
Can I Display A Contact Email On My Lost iPhone?
Yes. Go to https://www.icloud.com/find on a computer. Login and click your iPhone, then tap Lost Mode. You’ll be able to enter an email address for someone to contact you if they find your iPhone (and are super nice).