How to use the Find My app on your iPhone

Apple's Find My app is one of the hidden gems that comes with your device already downloaded. Many people do not utilise or even know about this app and the different features that it includes. 

Find My is different to Apple's previous Find My iPhone app that many people used. Although it encompasses the same feature of locating missing or misplaced devices, it also combines Find My Friends into it making it a one-stop app for geolocation. 

In this blog we will take a look at the basics of how to enable the Find My app, share your location and locate devices. 

How to enable Find My:

Enabling the Find My app is a simple and easy process that just takes a couple of seconds:

1. Launch the Settings app and tap on your Apple ID.
2. Choose Find My and tap to switch it on.
3. To find your device even when it is offline, turn on Offline Finding
4. To have the last location of your device sent to Apple when your battery is low, turn on Send Last Location
5. If you have an Apple Watch or AirPods, they will automatically link with your Find My app when they are next connected to your iPhone

How to locate a lost device:

The main function of the Find My app is to locate missing or misplaced devices, which could include iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, AirPods and so on. The Find My function is powered by Location Services, so it is important to ensure that you have allowed it access the Find My app in order to let it be fully usable. You can do this in Settings > Privacy > Location Services. 

You can use Find My to have your device play an alarm sound, even if it was in silent mode the last time you used it. You can also set a notification for when Find My locates your device. This is helpful if your lost device’s battery is low or dead or the device is not connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network. Whenever your device is detected, you get notified.

If you think your device has been stolen, you can also mark it as lost. When marked as lost, your device will be locked, which requires your passcode to view its contents. If your phone is offline, it will lock on power-up and you will get an email notification to track your phone’s location. You can also set up Find My to display your phone number and a message on the locked device so that anyone who finds it can notify and even return it to you.

You can also remotely erase your device so no one can intrude on your photos, emails, or any other documentation or information on your phone. If you had credit, debit, or prepaid cards on Apple Pay, Lost Mode suspends this feature so no one can spend your money either.

Here’s how track a missing device on your Find My app:

1. Launch Find My app and tap Devices
2. Tap on the device you are missing
3. Swipe up and tap on one of the following options:

• Play Sound: Your device will play an alert signal
• Directions: Maps will give you directions to where your device is located
• Notifications: Tap if you are trying to locate your device and want to be notified if someone finds it
• Mark as lost: Tapping Activate marks your device as lost

If you marked the device as Lost, tap Continue. You can enter your phone number or type in a message for whoever finds your device, so they can notify and return the device to you. 

If you want to remotely erase your device just launch the Find My app and tap on devices followed by the device you wish to erase. Swipe up and tap erase this device. When you erase a device, all your information is also deleted and you will no longer be able to find it using the Find My app or Find iPhone on iCloud.com. If you remove the device from your account after erasing it, the Activation Lock will disable allowing another person to use your device if they found it.

 How to share your location:

With the Find My app you can also use it to share and receive locations with your friends and family. This is a process that involves consent from both parties involved so you don't have to worry about all of your contacts knowing your location without your permission. 

When you first launch the app, it prompts you to enable Location Services and choose when the app can use your location: Allow While Using App, Allow Once, or Don’t Allow. Allow While Using App is the preferred and most limited use, causing the same prompt to reappear every time you open Find My on your device. You can change this by going toSettings > Privacy > Location Services.

To share your location simply:

• Tap on Me at the bottom right of the screen
• Turn on Share My Location
• Choose the device you want to share your location from. With multiple devices, you can only select one at a time
• When you share your location from an iPhone paired with a GPS Apple Watch, your location switches to the watch whenever it’s out of range of the iPhone
• You can easily switch off this option when you want your location to be private

Find My is an amazing tool to use not only to find your devices if you misplace them, but it is also a great safety feature. Keep an eye out for our next blog about AirTags and how you can integrate them into your Find My app! 

Here at DeXTech, we are here to help you with your technology requirements. We stock a wide range of Apple products, from the iPhone 4s all the way through to the iPhone XS, plus the iPad range. Along with this, we carry a huge range of Android smartphones and tablets, including Samsung, Pixel and LG. With these devices on hand we are able to offer technical support every step of the way from assisting to get your device setup to dealing with issues such as network issues or software troubleshooting. We have a helpful team who can lend a hand via our tech support email address: support@dextech.co.nz. Do not hesitate to reach out!