Our phones are almost constantly in our hands. From checking emails on the go, scrolling through social media, getting directions or paying for groceries at the store, it’s easy to set it down for a second and not realize until minutes later that you never picked it back up.
With today’s technology, phone finder apps are able to use GPS tracking to help pinpoint the exact location of your lost phone. And fortunately, both iOS and Android devices feature built-in phone finder apps to keep things simple. Trademore is here to answer your question “how do I locate my phone?” the next time you misplace it. Let’s get started:
Locate My Phone: iPhone Users
The Find My app on iOS devices helps locate missing, offline or sleeping devices by sending Bluetooth signals that can be detected by Apple devices in use nearby. These devices then relay the detected location of your device to iCloud so that you can locate it in the app. Unless Find My is activated, you will be unable to track your phone. Let’s get started:
Launch Settings and tap your Apple ID.
Locate Find My and switch it on.
To view your device when it’s offline, enable Offline Finding.
To have the location of your device sent to Apple when the battery is low, turn on Send Last Location.
To locate your missing Apple device, you can use the Find My app on another iOS device or you can easily access it through a browser at iCloud.com. To get started:
Launch Find My on whatever device you’re using or visit iCloud.com.
Tap on the Devices tab to see where your devices are located on a map.
Tap your missing device.
Swipe up and tap one of the following options:
Play Sound: Your device will play an alert signal.
Directions: Maps gives you directions to where your device is located.
Notifications: Tap if you want to be notified if someone else finds your phone.
Mark as Lost: Tap Activate if you want to mark your phone as lost. This will lock your device and require a passcode to view its contents, as well as allow you to display a message on the screen for whoever may find your device.
Erase This Device: This will erase all contents on the device, including credit, debit or prepaid cards for Apple Pay so that an intruder cannot access your personal information. If the device is erased, you will no longer be able to find it using Find My.
Locate My Phone: Android Users
If you added a Google account to your Android device, then Find My Device is automatically turned on. To find, lock or erase and Android phone, keep in mind the device must:
Be turned on
Be signed in to a Google account
Be connected to mobile data or WiFi
Be visible on Google Play
Have Location turned on
Have Find My Device turned on
To check that Find My Device is activated:
Launch Settings.
Tap Security.
Locate Find My Device and make sure it is toggled on.
To find, lock or erase a lost Android device, you can use the Find My Device app on another Android device or access it through a browser at android.com/find.
Launch Find My Device on whatever device you’re using or visit android.com/find.
Select the lost phone at the top of the screen.
On the map, you’ll get information about where the phone is located.
oIf the phone can’t be found, you will see the last known location of the device, if available.
Choose what you want to do with the lost device:
Play sound: Your phone will ring at full volume for 5 minutes, even if it’s set to silent or vibrate.
Secure device: Locks your phone with your PIN, pattern or password. If you don’t have a lock, you can set one. To help someone return your phone to you, you can add a message or phone number to the lock screen.
Erase device: This will permanently delete all data on your phone (but may not delete SD cards). If the device is erased, you will no longer be able to find it using Find My Device.
Losing a phone can be a dreadful experience, so knowing how to track it down will save you money and stress. If you’ve recently lost your phone, buy a device with Trademore. For more tips, tricks and how-to guides like this, be sure to check out our blog.
Trademore has no connections, affiliations, partnerships or sponsorship agreements with the companies, entities, services and/or products mentioned in this blog post. The opinions, thoughts, views and expressions made within this blog post are independently created by and attributable to Trademore authors and/or contributors.
