Mark a device as lost in Find My on iPhone

Use the Find My app to mark a missing iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, or Mac as lost so that others can’t access your personal information. In order to mark a device as lost, you must turn on Find My [device] before it’s lost.

An iPhone Lock Screen with the message: “Lost iPhone. This iPhone has been lost. Please call me. (669) 555-3691.” You can add a custom message with your phone number.

What happens when you mark a device as lost?

A confirmation email is sent to your Apple ID email address.
You can display a custom message on the device’s Lock Screen. For example, you may want to indicate that the device is lost or how to contact you.
Your device doesn’t display alerts or make noise when you receive messages or notifications, or if any alarms go off. Your device can still receive phone calls and FaceTime calls.
Apple Pay is disabled for your device. Any credit or debit cards set up for Apple Pay, student ID cards, and Express Transit cards are removed from your device. Credit, debit, and student ID cards are removed even if your device is offline. Express Transit cards are removed the next time your device goes online. See the Apple Support article Manage the cards that you use with Apple Pay.
For an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch, you see your device’s current location on the map as well as any changes in its location.

Mark a device as lost

If your device is lost or stolen, you can turn on Lost Mode for your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch, or lock your Mac.

Tap Devices, then tap the name of the lost device.
Under Mark As Lost, tap Activate.
Follow the onscreen instructions, keeping the following in mind:
- Passcode: If your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch doesn’t have a passcode, you’re asked to create one now. For a Mac, you must create a numerical passcode, even if you already have a password set up on your Mac. This passcode is distinct from your password and is only used when you mark your device as lost.
- Contact Information: If you’re asked to enter a phone number, enter a number where you can be reached. If you’re asked to enter a message, you may want to indicate that the device is lost or how to contact you. The number and message appear on the device’s Lock Screen.
Tap Activate (for an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch) or Lock (for a Mac).

When the device has been marked as lost, you see Activated under the Mark As Lost section. If the device isn’t connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network when you mark it as lost, you see Pending until the device goes online again.

Change the Lost Mode message or email notifications for a lost device

After you mark your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch as lost, you can update your contact information or email notification settings.

Tap Devices, then tap the name of the lost device.
Under Mark As Lost, tap Pending or Activated.
Do any of the following:
- Change Lost Mode message: Make any changes to the phone number or message.
- Get email updates: Turn on Receive Email Updates if it’s not already on.
Tap Done.

Turn off Lost Mode for an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple Watch

When you find your lost device, do either of the following to turn off Lost Mode:

Enter your passcode on the device.
In Find My, tap the name of the device, tap Pending or Activated under Mark as Lost, tap Turn Off Mark As Lost, then tap Turn Off.

Unlock a Mac

When you find your lost Mac, enter the numeric passcode on the device to unlock it (the one you set up when you marked your Mac as lost).

If you forget your passcode, you can recover it using Find My iPhone on iCloud.com. For more information, see Use Lost Mode in Find My iPhone on iCloud.com in the iCloud User Guide.

If you lose your iPhone, you can turn on Lost Mode using Find My iPhone on iCloud.com.

Helpful?

iPhone User Guide