Locate a lost device
Overview
Find My locates a lost or stolen iPhone, iPad, or Mac on a map. Whether a user or an organization can locate a particular device, and how, depends on how the device is set up and managed.
Requirements and expected behavior
Find My turns on automatically when a user sets up their Apple Account to use iCloud on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac with an unmanaged (personal) Apple Account. The user then locates the device from the Find My app on another device signed in to the same Apple Account, or from iCloud.com/find.
Using Find My, the user can see the device on a map, get directions to it, and play a sound on it even when its volume is off.
If the device is offline, Find My shows its last known location for up to seven days. If Send Last Location is on, the device reports its location to Apple when the battery runs low. The Find My network uses nearby Apple devices to detect an offline device over Bluetooth and report its approximate location, encrypted and anonymously.
Reported behavior
A user reports that they can’t find a device in Find My, or that Find My shows “No location found” or “Offline” in place of a location. A user may also see “Not sharing location” when the device is online but can’t report its position.
Isolating the issue
Two things determine how to locate the device: who manages it, and whether it’s online. If the device is managed, see Managed environments. Otherwise, an online device reports its current location, while an offline device is often still found through the Find My network or shows its last known location. When Find My shows no location at all, continue to Troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting
If Find My shows “No location found,” the device is off, out of battery, or unable to reach the Find My network. It reports its location again once it’s back online.
If the user can’t locate a lost, stolen, or transferred user-owned device, have them remove it from their Apple Account.
If you can’t locate an organization-owned iPhone or iPad, contact the organization’s theft and loss team for instructions.
Managed environments
When a user signs in to a Managed Apple Account, Find My isn’t available. On an organization-owned device, a user who signs in to their own unmanaged Apple Account can turn on Find My and locate the device, but only when the device management service allows it. For more information, see Protect a device with Activation Lock. To locate a lost supervised iPhone or iPad, an organization places it in Managed Lost Mode through its device management service.
Managed Lost Mode locates a supervised iPhone or iPad without requiring Find My to be turned on. The device management service can query the device’s location, even if Location Services is off, and play a sound. Managed Lost Mode also turns on Low Power Mode to help extend battery life. Only a device management service administrator can turn off Managed Lost Mode. When they do, the device notifies the user that it was in Managed Lost Mode and that the service collected its location.
A device management service is unable to locate a Mac; it can only lock a lost managed Mac remotely. For more information, see Remotely lock a lost device.