With observe My enabled , nearly all your Apple gear can be give chase if you lose it . But what happens if it takes you a while to notice and your iPhone or iPad ’s battery lead down before you do ? What localisation selective information does it send to that point , and then how long do you have to utilize Find My to identify its location ?
Apple has added ever more ways for discover My on an iPhone or iPad to leave a signal that serve you find it over time . But there are limits depending on type and exemplar .
Powered off iPhone still sends its location
If you have an iPhone 11 ( any model ) or after with iOS 15 or later on install , your iPhone proceed to charge a brusk - range signal over Bluetooth even when it ’s ostensibly powered off — it act like an AirTag in that mood . Starting with Io 15,when you convey up the screenthat allow you swipe the power - off slider , you see a substance on any plump for iPhone :
iPhone stay Findable After Power Off
Find My help you locate this iPhone when it is lost or stolen , even when in power military reserve style or after superpower off . The localisation is seeable in Find My on your other gimmick , and to people in Family share you portion out location with . you may change this “ Find My mesh ” functionality by going to Find My in options .
When you power down your iPhone with a model that supports the feature, Find My continues to send a signal for up to five or 24 hours.
The signaling proceed to send for up to 24 hours after you ’ve turned your iPhone off . If the iPhone is at its low-spirited power level , power reticence modal value , it will send its current location over the Find My web for up to five hours .
Foundry
There ’s no way to disable this feature without turn off the Find My web . I commend against it since it ’s such an aid to finding your computer hardware when it ca n’t reach the net or has no ability to use the internet , like earbuds . The determine My connection securely and anonymously relays the emplacement of Apple computer hardware ( devices like an iPhone , Find My item like an AirTag , and Apple and Beats audio hardware ) through other people ’s nearby iPhones , iPads , or Macs using Bluetooth .
Send Last Location gives you one last hope of finding a device before its battery depletes fully.
discover My is geminate with Activation Lock , a thieving - determent tool : if you have discover My enabled , then an iPhone , iPad , or Mac ca n’t be erased and used by someone else without them entering the Apple ID password associated with the machine ( iPhone or iPad ) or macOS account ( Mac ) . you’re able to also polish off the gimmick from your Apple ID report ’s leaning of machine-accessible devices . As another part of iOS 15 and afterward , if an iPhone has any power and has Activation Lock enabled , it will set about to share its fix , which might serve you recover a stolen earphone .
Gasping for power but still sending a location
When you expend feel My to locate a gadget , the app tries to contact it over the net , via Bluetooth , or via a paired twist ’s connective ( like an iPhone and an Apple Watch not on Wi - Fi ) and return a late localisation . However , if you ca n’t connect to the gadget because it had run out of power , at one point it would just be list as “ offline . ”
Almost a decade ago , however , Apple tally a Send Last Location option , usable for iPhones and iPads ( but not Macs ) . This feature increases the chances of finding your misplace twist by provide a “ last gasp ” signal to be sent when your iPhone or iPad is at a power level Apple describes as “ critically low . ” That positioning is held for you in your iCloud account for later viewing or else of requiring a alive check - in .
In preferences > Account Name > Find My > Find My iPhone / iPad , ensure Send Last Location is turned on .
institutionalise Last Location gives you one last promise of finding a twist before its bombardment depletes fully .
Limits of finding
Apple has several kinds of limits about in what fount and how long you could use a native Find My app on one of your other gadget logged into the same iCloud write up to prevail the current or last - known locating of a gadget run out of battery power or already dead :
If you ca n’t access another gimmick and employ a Find My app on it , you could lumber into iCloud.com and use the Find My Devices app there . However , Apple does n’t stomach the Find My web through iCloud.com , so any signals sent over that web when there ’s no cyberspace access for the twist or it ’s an iPhone and powered down ca n’t be take in . Further , iCloud.com only shows the last fix for 24 hour .
This Mac 911 article is in response to a question submitted by an anon. Macworld reader .
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