How to find your iPhone even if it’s turned off

There’s no getting around it: Losing your phone is stressful. Fortunately, if you have an iPhone, you can view its location on another device, even if it’s turned off. That’s because iPhones can use Apple’s Find My Network, which crowdsources other nearby Apple devices anonymously and encrypted to relay your phone’s location to iCloud.

Offline Finding is nothing new for the iPhone, but Apple has improved its Find My service and anti-theft protection over time. Last year’s iOS 17 update, for example, introduced the ability to share Find My-enabled devices like an AirTag with up to five other people. Earlier this year, Apple introduced Stolen Device Protection as an additional measure to prevent thieves who also know your passcode from accessing important information.

However, it’s important to remember that not every iPhone supports offline search; this feature is only available on the iPhone 11 and later (excluding the iPhone SE 2020 and 2022). These iPhones have an ultra-wideband chip that gives them better spatial awareness.

Here’s what you need to know about using the Find My app. As long as you’re signed in with your Apple ID on the iPhone you want to use to sign up for Find My, follow the steps below.

Enable Find My and Where My

To find your phone when it is offline, you need to make sure Find My and Find My are set up. Open your iPhone’s Settings menu, tap your name, and select Find my.

Knock Find my iPhone and make sure the switch is on.

Under Find My iPhone, you’ll see two more options: Find my network And Send last location. You should turn both on. Find My Network lets you locate your device when it’s offline, turned off, or low on power. Send Last Location automatically saves your iPhone’s last location when the battery gets low.

Tip: If you want to make sure your device is discoverable even when it’s turned off, press and hold the Side and Volume Down buttons. You should see a note below the Slide to Power switch that says “Make iPhone discoverable after powering off.”

How to see your iPhone’s location when it’s turned off

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you should be able to see the last location of your lost phone by logging into your iCloud account in a web browser or using the Find My app on another Apple device. This can be either another Apple product registered to the same Apple ID or the device of a family member with whom you’ve shared your location.

There are some exceptions, however. If your iPhone hasn’t sent its location to Apple using Find My in the last seven days, you’ll see “No Location Found” next to your device. If there’s a problem with your device’s location services, you might also not be able to locate your phone using Find My.

If you have another Apple device with the Find My app

Open the Find My app and find your iPhone in the list under the Devices tab. As mentioned, you should see your iPhone in this list (even if it’s turned off) as long as you have Find My iPhone, Find My Network, and Send Last Location options enabled.

Tap your iPhone. You should see a menu that gives you a few options for finding your phone or marking it as lost. You can make the device play a sound, get directions to the device’s last recorded location, mark it as lost, or erase the device.

If you don’t have another Apple device with the Find My app

You can also see your device’s location on the web by signing in to your Apple ID. First, go to icloud.com/find. Then sign in with your Apple ID.

Find your lost iPhone in the device list. From here, you’ll see the same options as in the app to play a sound, mark your device as lost, or erase the device.

If you’ve misplaced your device and can’t recover it using Find My, or you find it’s in an unknown location, consider putting it in Lost Mode. This will lock your device with a passcode and block payment cards and transit passes stored in Apple Pay. You can also display a phone number and message so the device can be easily returned once it’s found.

Apple also introduced another device theft protection feature earlier this year called Stolen Device Protection. It requires an additional layer of authentication for certain actions to prevent thieves from performing critical actions or accessing sensitive information on your phone, even if they know your passcode. For example, an iPhone with Stolen Device Protection enabled may require Touch ID or Face ID to access credit cards and passwords without requiring a passcode for security.

For more iPhone tips and advice, check out our guide to Dynamic Island and blocking annoying websites.