Lost Your iPhone? Do These Things Before You Panic

If your iPhone disappears, your first move should usually be to use Apple’s Find My system—not to rush back into an unsafe location or immediately erase the phone.

Apple lets you use the Find My app or its web-based Find Devices service to locate supported devices and take protective action.

Check its location

Use another trusted device to open Find My.

If the phone is simply somewhere nearby, playing a sound may solve the problem quickly.

If the map suggests the phone is somewhere unsafe or was stolen, do not confront someone to recover it yourself.

Protect the device

Find My provides options intended to protect a missing device and its information.

Follow Apple's current prompts carefully rather than relying on instructions in an unsolicited text message or email.

Watch for the follow-up scam

A stolen iPhone can lead to a second problem: phishing.

Someone may send a message claiming that your iPhone was found and ask you to sign in through a link.

Do not enter your Apple Account credentials into a page reached through an unexpected message. Navigate to Apple's services independently.

Be careful about erasing it

Remote erase is a serious action.

If you reach the point where erasing the device is appropriate, read Apple's current instructions and understand what that will do before confirming it.

Prepare before a loss

Open Find My while you still have your iPhone and make sure you understand how it is configured.

A lost-device feature is far more useful when it was set up before the device disappeared.

Sources and Further Reading

Apple Find My and lost-device support documentation.