How to Find a Lost iPhone Without Find My iPhone.
The newest iPhone isn’t cheap. I just bought an iPhone Xs Max and most of my savings are gone. Such a price tag imposes additional responsibility. And now I am always afraid of losing my phone. In fact, I panic even if it slips between the cushions of my couch and I can’t find it.
Calling your number from a rented phone or using the Find My iPhone feature is the first thing anyone will try. But what if your phone is in silent mode or just lying under the seat in Uber, where no one will even hear his call. Don’t worry, I have put together a few situations on how to find your lost iPhone. Let’s check them out.
Find lost iPhone without finding My iPhone
1. Use your Apple Watch
If you work with the entire Apple ecosystem, then your Apple Watch can be of great help at times. If your iPhone goes missing somewhere in that messy bedroom, you can simply ping to find your phone through your Apple Watch.
Just slide up the Apple Watch menu and tap the phone icon. Your iPhone will ping with a specific piercing tone. The phone rings regardless of whether it is in silent mode or the ringer volume is low. Another cool feature of this feature is that if you press and hold the ping button on the watch, the iPhone starts flashing. Your iPhone must be on the same Wi-Fi network or connected to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth for this to work.
2. Say “Hey Siri” out loud
This may seem a little odd, and the people looking at you may find it even more odd. But a good way to find a lost iPhone stuck under a couch or bed is to say “Hey Siri†as loudly as possible. Previously, this feature was limited when your iPhone was charging. But now almost all models allow “Hey Siri†to be disconnected from the charger.
If your iPhone is near you, it will light up and answer Siri speaking to you. Try this in any room or place where you think your iPhone is lost. Just warn those around you.
3. Use Find My Phone
Okay, I know, I said, how to find a lost iPhone without finding your iPhone, but since this method is very useful, it is worth mentioning again. For this to work, you must have Find My iPhone set up, but most Apple devices already have Find My Phone set up when you first set up your device.
To track your iPhone with Find My iPhone, use one of Apple’s other devices, such as iPad or Mac. Or borrow someone’s computer and go to https://www.icloud.com/#find. Here enter your iCloud username and password to login.
When you sign in to your iCloud account, all your Apple products appear with their current or last visit. Obviously, they need to be connected to the Internet. If your phone didn’t have internet when it was lost, you’re out of luck.
From here, you can track your phone’s current or last location. This feature also gives you the ability to make calls to your iPhone, again, regardless of ringer volume or silent mode. Moreover, you can even display a message on your phone lock screen and lock your phone. And if all else fails, you also have the option to remotely wipe data from your iPhone if you want to keep your data safe from falling into the wrong hands.
4. Use Find Friends
A less frequently used function may be the one that saves the day. Find Friends is another native Apple app to connect and share location data with friends and family.
If you’ve shared your device’s location with friends and family, you can quickly contact them to find out your phone’s current location. The app updates the location in real time without any notifications. So if you’re lucky, you can still track your phone discreetly.
The app also allows you to set notifications for specific settings so you can know if your phones are leaving a specific location. This can come in handy when you get close to the location of the phone.
Consider a third-party app
In addition to native apps and features, there are many third-party tracking apps available in the App Store. It may also be helpful to share your location with friends and family in these apps. In fact, if you use a family finder app, you have another chance to find your missing phone.
Third party family finder apps can be very tricky and do their job in complete silence. Most third-party location apps do not require any system profiles to be installed, just location permissions. In fact, some services don’t even require downloading an app to your phone. A simple link is provided that can be accessed from any web browser to see the current location of the device.
Such third party data sharing applications include Glympse, Life 360, Foursquare Swarm, and many more. Many of you may not know this, but your own Google Maps also has its own service that lets you share your location endlessly. You can find the location sharing option on the Google Map menu bar. The feature works cross-platform and is not limited to the Android system. To learn more about these apps, read the article on the family finder apps mentioned below.
Read: 7 Best Family Locator Apps for Android and iOS
Closing words
So there you go, these were step by step instructions on what to do if you lose your iPhone. Although we do not promise that any of these options will necessarily return you to your iPhone. We believe that if you cannot find your phone for several hours, you should apply to the authorities and your service provider. There are several insurance options available if you are not enrolled in Apple Care. If you’re lucky and find any of these useful, share your experience with us in the comments below. Unfortunately, there is no efficient way to find a powered off iPhone.