The step-by-step (the full walkthrough is in the video above)
What you will need: Someone else's iPhone (a friend, family member, or even a kind stranger). You will borrow it briefly to sign into your own Apple ID and find your lost phone.
- Find someone with an iPhone. Anyone willing to help works: a friend, a family member, or someone nearby. You just need to borrow their phone for a few minutes.
- Open the Find My app on their iPhone. The icon is a green circle with a blue dot. If you cannot see it on their home screen, swipe down on the home screen and type Find My in the search bar.
- At the bottom of the Find My app, tap "Me." It is the option that looks like a small arrow.
- Swipe up until you see "Help a Friend" highlighted in blue. Tap it. Safari will open Apple's lost device website.
- Tap "Sign In." A message will ask if you want to use the current Apple ID. Say no, because that is the other person's account.
- Tap "Use a different Apple account."
- Enter your own Apple ID email and password. If a "passkey" prompt appears, tap the small X to skip it and type your email and password manually. Then tap Continue.
- Find your iPhone in the device list. You will see all of your Apple devices listed: Apple Watch, iPad, AirPods, and your iPhone. Tap your iPhone.
- See where your iPhone is. The map will show its location, how much battery it has left, and when its location was last updated.
- Tap "Play Sound" if the phone is nearby. Your iPhone will ring loudly, even on silent. This is the easiest way to find it under a couch cushion, in a jacket pocket, or in another room.
- Tap "Mark as Lost" if the phone is somewhere farther away. This locks the phone remotely and lets you display a custom message with a callback number on the screen.
- When you are finished, sign out. Tap the small person icon in the top corner of the Apple website and sign out of your Apple account. This protects your information so the person who lent you their phone does not have access to it.