Find My iPhone is a helpful tool when your iPhone is lost or stolen. However, if you discover Find My iPhone not working on your device, the situation could move from bad to worse. This tool helps locate lost or stolen iPod touches too, as it combines the built-in GPS on the devices with iCloud’s online service so you can find the devices on a map.
If they’re stolen, you can lock them to keep prying eyes from accessing your information. You can also delete all data from your phone remotely. You can download the app from App Store if you want, but this doesn’t help find the device.
Any device with iCloud that has Find My iPhone on and is compatible can be tracked from the iCloud site. The app helps you track devices that are lost if installed on the device you want found. If you’re on the move and trying to find the iPhone, it can be useful but not required for the app to work.
If you want to track down your device and the apps isn’t working, there are some fixes you can try to get it back.
How to Fix Find My iPhone Not Working
Find My iPhone and iCloud aren’t enabled
This is the first requirement to use the tool. If both are enabled before the device you want to find is lost or stolen, you can use the app or the website to find the device as it’ll know which device to find and how to contact it. Make sure this is enabled when you first set up the device, though you can set it up any time.
iPhone is on low battery or turned off
Find My iPhone also locates iPhones that have enough battery power or are turned on because it communicates with WiFi or cellular networks to send GPS signals so as to send the location to the app. If the app is enabled but the phone is out of battery power, or off, the best the site can do is show the last known location of your device for up to 24 hours.
No internet connection
The missing device needs to have an internet connection to report its location. If it can’t connect, then it won’t say where it’s located. This is one of the reasons for Find My iPhone not working. Your iPhone could be out of range or not near networks, or the person who has it turned off the features by enabling Airplane mode, for example. In this case, you’ll also only get to see the last known location for 24 hours.
No SIM card
If your iPhone didn’t have a SIM card, it can’t connect to the cellular 3G or 4G network to communicate with Find My iPhone. If the person who has the phone has removed the SIM, it’ll not be found on the internet unless there’s a WiFi connection. If they put a different SIM card, the phone can be seen on Find My iPhone next time it’s back online.
Wrong date on device
The date set on your iPhone determines if Find My iPhone works properly. This is true for many other Apple services. To prevent this from happening, tap Settings>General>Date & Time and move the Set Automatically slider green/on.
Wrong Apple ID
You need the right Apple ID logins to log into Find My iPhone otherwise it won’t track your lost or stolen iPhone.
Find My iPhone not available in your region
If you’re in a country where the app isn’t available, then you won’t be able to track the device on a map using Find My iPhone. However, the other services like data deletion and remote locking will still be available.
Elsie is a tech writer with 8+ years professional experience. For Tech News Watch, she brings rich experience contributing to topics such as Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS among others. In her spare time, she loves checking out the latest tech trends, gadgets, and news, listening to music and cars.
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