If you think iPhones are the only devices that can help you find a lost or misplaced phone, think again. The Apple Watch has a hidden feature that lets you ping your iPhone from your wrist. This trick works even if your phone is on silent and doesn’t alert others to your search. But there’s more to this trip than simply asking Siri to ping your iPhone. Here’s how it works, plus some other ideas for getting in touch with your missing device.
How To Ping Your Phone From An Apple Watch?
1. Put your Apple Watch in Lost Mode.
With the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, go to General > Activate Lost Mode. Enter a phone number where you can be reached, then tap the Confirm button to activate the mode.
2. Ping your iPhone from your wrist.
Press and hold the Digital Crown on your Apple Watch until you see a black screen with a red SOS icon in the center of it. While holding down the Digital Crown, press and release the Side Button once to ping your iPhone’s location. You should get an audible response from your iPhone if it’s within range (30 feet). If not, an alert will appear on its screen telling you that someone is trying to ping it and where it is. After two minutes, if there’s still no response from your iPhone, the watch will automatically switch back into a normal mode so you can call or text someone else or play some games on your watch instead of waiting for a response from the missing device.
3. Use the Find My iPhone app to keep tabs on your iPhone’s location.
You can also use the Find My iPhone app on your phone as an alternative to activating Lost Mode on your watch first. The advantage of using Find My iPhone is that you can track your phone from the moment it goes missing, even if you can’t ping it from a watch or a computer. When you open Find My iPhone, you’ll see a map of your location that shows your phone’s last known location. If it’s on the same Wi-Fi network as a computer or iPad, you can click the device button to see its current location.
4. Use an Apple Watch app to help find your phone.
Some apps on the Apple Watch can help you track down a missing phone, too. The app Find My Friends has been available for iPhones since 2011 and it works with the Apple Watch as well (as long as both devices are connected to the same iCloud account). When you open the app on your watch, you’ll see a list of friends who have installed Find My Friends on their phones and are sharing their locations with you. Tap any name to see where they are on a map. You can also tap Ping Location to ping your own iPhone’s location from your watch if it’s within range (again, 30 feet). If someone else pings your phone using this app, you’ll get an alert telling you that someone is trying to ping it from another device (but not which one).
5. Use the Find My iPhone app to make your phone play a sound.
If you’re sure your phone is nearby but you just can’t find it, Find My iPhone has a setting that will make the device ring and vibrate even if it’s on silent. To use this feature, open the App Store app on your iPhone, tap Updates at the bottom of the screen, and then tap Find My iPhone under “Updates Available for Download.” Tap Update All to install all of the new updates at once. Once you do that, open Find My iPhone and scroll down to the Help section (you may have to scroll from side to side until you see it). Tap Play Sound, then choose one of two options: Play One Sound or Play Several Sounds. If you choose “Play One Sound” (the default), tap the white arrow next to “Single Sound” and choose one of three options: a ping sound, an alarm bell, or a message saying “Hey Siri! Where are you?” Using this feature could help someone who finds your phone call its owner or return it with no questions asked. If you want to play multiple sounds, tap Select Sounds and choose as many as five different sounds in any combination again, these are all choices that should help someone who finds your phone return it without any suspicion about what they might find on their (such as private photos).
6. Use the Find My iPhone app to lock your phone remotely.
If you lose your iPhone, the Find My iPhone app can help you find it, but it can also help you safeguard it from anyone who might pick it up and make a call or use your personal information. To lock your phone remotely with this app, open the App Store app on your iPhone, tap Updates at the bottom of the screen, and then tap Find My iPhone under “Updates Available for Download.” Tap Update All to install all of the new updates at once. Once you do that, open Find My iPhone and scroll down to the Help section (you may have to scroll from side to side until you see it). Tap Lock Screen Remotely (this option is above Play Sound). You’ll be asked to enter your Apple ID password before you can continue. Once you do that and tap Continue, a message will appear warning you that someone else will need to unlock your phone if they want access to any personal information stored on it (like e-mail messages or photos). If that’s what you want (and we think it is), tap OK in this message box and then tap Lock Screen Now in the main window of the Find My iPhone app. Your phone will immediately be locked so no one can use it without entering a passcode first. To unlock this phone again, later on, open Find My iPhone and tap Unlock Screen Now. Enter your passcode and tap Unlock to restore access to the phone.
Benefits Of Using Find My Phone:
- Find my phone helps you track your phone in case it is lost or stolen.
- Find my phone allows you to lock your device remotely, wipe the data from it, or display a message on the screen of the phone if you lose it.
- Find my phone lets you play a sound on your device even if it is set to silent mode.
- Find my iPhone can help you locate your iPhone if it has been misplaced or stolen and provides a way for you to communicate with whoever finds it and return it to you.
Bottom Line
If you lose your phone and it’s still powered on, you can use Find My iPhone to ping your phone and ring it loudly, even if it’s on silent. If you’re logged into iCloud on your computer, you can ping your phone via Siri as well. Find My iPhone can do far more than ping your phone. You can also use the app to remotely lock your phone, remotely erase your phone, show your phone’s current location on a map, or play a sound. If your phone has been stolen, you can use Find My iPhone to remotely erase your phone and protect your data. You can also use the app to locate your phone and have the police go to the device’s last known location.
FAQ’s:
Q1. How can I use Find My iPhone to ping my phone?
A1. Launch the Find My iPhone app from your Home screen or from the Utility folder. The app will take you through a series of steps until you reach the main window. Tap the Play Sound button at the bottom of this window, and then tap your device’s name in the list that appears. The Play Sound button turns into Stop Playing, and a progress bar will appear on-screen as your phone rings loudly. When you hear your phone ring, tap Answer on your device’s screen to answer it or tap Decline if you don’t want to answer it now. If your phone is set to silent mode and doesn’t ring, tap Silent Mode Off at the top of this window to turn off Silent Mode, and then tap Play Sound again.
Q2. How can I use Find My iPhone to remotely wipe my device?
A2. Launch the Find My iPhone app from your Home screen or from the Utility folder on your computer (or open iCloud if you’re using a Mac). Tap Lost Mode at the top of this window, enter your Apple ID password if prompted to do so, and then tap Continue in the dialog box that appears next (you may have to scroll down slightly until you see it). Next, choose whether or not you want to display a message on-screen when someone finds your device by tapping either Yes or No in the dialog box that appears. Enter a phone number in the Phone Number field if you want to, and then tap Next. Finally, enter a message in the Message field and tap Send Message. Your device is now remotely wiped, but you can also erase it by tapping Erase iPhone at the top of this window and then entering your Apple ID password again if prompted to do so.
Q3. How can I use Find My iPhone to show my device’s current location on a map?
A3. Launch the Find My iPhone app from your Home screen or from the Utility folder on your computer (or open iCloud if you’re using a Mac). Tap Lost Mode at the top of this window, enter your Apple ID password if prompted to do so, and then tap Continue in the dialog box that appears next (you may have to scroll down slightly until you see it). Next, choose whether or not you want to display a message on-screen when someone finds your device by tapping either Yes or No in the dialog box that appears. Enter a phone number in the Phone Number field if you want to, and then tap Next. Finally, enter a message in the Message field and tap Send Message. Now open Safari on your computer from there; then click All Devices at the top of this window and click All Devices again under Devices Near You—you may need to scroll down slightly until you see it. Next, click the device you’re looking for, and then click the blue dot that represents its current location on the map.
