How to Locate a Lost Apple Watch Using Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is an iOS feature that enables you to locate lost or misplaced Apple devices – including your Apple Watch. If you've already set up Find My iPhone on your paired iPhone, it's automatically enabled on your Apple Watch too.


When you sign in to iCloud.com or the Find My iPhone app, you can see your Apple Watch on a map and play a sound to locate it if it's nearby. Find My iPhone also has a Lost Mode to lock, track, or remotely erase all of your personal information.

Locating an Apple Watch Lost Nearby

You can find your Apple Watch using the Find My iPhone app on iOS devices and iCloud.com. If your Apple Watch is powered on, it will show up on the Find My iPhone map just like an iPad, iPhone, or Mac.

1. Launch the Find My iPhone app on an iOS device or iCloud.com.


2. Tap the Apple Watch in the list.


3. Tap Actions.


4. Tap Play Sound.

A soft chirping sound will start playing after you initiate the "Play Sound" command, which will gradually get louder and louder with each chirp to make the Apple Watch easier to locate.

Locating an Apple Watch Lost Far Away

The way Find My iPhone works with an Apple Watch that's lost far away depends on the model. Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 4 use GPS and a trusted Wi-Fi or cellular connection to give you their approximate location, while Apple Watch Series 2 uses GPS and a trusted Wi-Fi connection. Apple Watch Series 1 models don't feature GPS, and they can only use the location of your paired iPhone or its Wi-Fi connection, making locating them at a distance impossible unless your iPhone is also nearby.

For these reasons, using Find My iPhone to locate an Apple Watch Series 2, Series 3, or Series 4 that's been left behind isn't going to be very accurate, but it will give you a general idea of where the watch was lost so you can go back to that location. When attempting to locate an Apple Watch this way, tap the little car icon and it will give you Apple Maps directions to the last known location.

How to Put Your Apple Watch in Lost Mode

If you didn't turn on Find My iPhone before your Apple Watch was lost or stolen and your watch isn't connected to Wi-Fi, cellular, or your paired iPhone, you can't use it to locate your device. However, you can put your Apple Watch in Lost Mode, which ensures your passcode is required before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone, erase your watch, or pair it with another iPhone.

1. Launch the Find My iPhone app on your iPhone.


2. Tap your Apple Watch in the list of devices.
   
   
3. Tap Actions.


4. Tap Lost Mode.


5. Confirm that you want to lock your watch and tap Turn on Lost Mode.
   
   
6. Enter a phone number where you can be reached, then tap Next.


7. Enter the message that you want to appear on the watch screen.


8. Tap Done.

Find My iPhone will send you an email message to confirm that you've put your Apple Watch in Lost Mode. Once it's activated you can turn off lost mode any time using the same Actions menu described in the above steps (Lost Mode -> Turn Off Lost Mode).