Windows 10’s first big update in November 2015 added a device-tracking feature. You can now enable GPS tracking and remotely locate a lost Windows 10 tablet or laptop just like you’d track a smartphone, tablet, or MacBook.
Previously, this required third-party software like Prey. Now, it’s integrated for everyone to use with a Microsoft account. It is off by default, so you will have to enable it before you lose your device.
Limitations
But breathe easy, it's just as simple to track the last location of a dead iPhone. Select All Devices at the top and choose your missing iPhone. Windows Location Tracker REVIEW – track your Surface This is a Review of Windows Location Tracker App for the Surface: In my last post, Stolen Surface Tablet – what to do?, I talked about what you can do to prevent your Surface tablet from getting stolen and how to help ensure that you recover it.
RELATED:What’s New in Windows 10’s First Big November Update
Before you enable this feature, be aware that it has some limitations. This is only a device-tracking solution, and it won’t allow you to remotely wipe or lock your PC. You also won’t be able to play an alarm or snap a photo of the person using your device with the webcam. It will only show you your device’s location– that’s it! Microsoft may add more features to this in the future, but it hasn’t yet.
This also won’t work quite as well as a lost-smartphone-tracking solution. You can have your computer automatically check in and report its location, but it needs to be powered on and connected to the Internet to do so. A smartphone with a cellular data connection is always-on, always-connected, and can be more easily tracked.
It’s also possible for a thief to wipe your device, restoring it to factory settings. This will stop you from tracking that device. Windows 10 doesn’t offer the factory-reset-protection iPhones, iPads, and even modern Android devices do.
Enable “Find My Device” in Windows 10
To enable the device-tracking, open the Start menu or Start screen and select Settings.
If you’ve already lost your PC or tablet, there’s usually no way to enable this remotely. If you’ve previously installed a remote-desktop solution like Chrome Remote Desktop, TeamViewer, or another remote-access program, you could try to remotely access your PC and enable the device-tracking feature.
Navigate to Update & security > Find My Device in the Settings app to find this feature.
You’ll need to be using a Microsoft account to enable this. You’ll log into that Microsoft account from a web browser to track the device if you ever lose it.
You’ll see a message saying “Find my device is off” if you haven’t enabled it yet. Click the “Change” button to enable this feature.
Activate the the “Save my device’s location periodically” option when prompted and your Windows 10 PC will regularly and automatically send its location to Microsoft. This will allow you to locate your PC even if it isn’t powered-up and online when you go to track it, as you can view the last known location.
![Project Project](https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3676037/microsoft_surface_pro_03_thumb800.jpg)
Choose a Name for Your PC
The PC appears in the list of registered devices with the name set on the PC itself. To rename the PC and give it a more usable name, open the Settings app on the PC and navigate to System > About. Click the “Rename PC” button and give your PC a more meaningful name.
Track Your Lost Device
When you want to track your lost device, open a web browser and go to account.microsoft.com/devices.
Sign in with the same Microsoft account you used on that Windows 10 PC you want to track.
You’ll see a list of devices registered to your Microsoft account. Scroll through the list and look for the device you want to track. You’ll see “Last seen at [time] in [City]” to the right of the device.
Click the “Find my device” link and you’ll be able to track the device on a map. If the device is powered on and connected to the Internet via Wi-FI, a wired Ethernet cable, or a cellular data connection, its location will update regularly.
Microsoft is bringing Windows 10 for phones and Windows 10 for PCs closer together. The desktop version of Windows 10 is now getting features that were previously only on Windows phone. The “Find My Device” feature is just one example of this. If you have a Windows 10 phone, you can enable “Find My Device” in almost exactly the same way and track a lost Windows phone from the same Microsoft website.
Image Credit: Earth’s City Lights from NASA
READ NEXT- › Windows 10’s Phone Calls Will Support All Android 7+ Phones
- › What Is Patch Tuesday for Windows, and When Is It?
- › How to Disable Interactive Pop-Up Ads on Your Roku TV
- › What’s New in macOS 10.15 Catalina, Available Now
- › How to Copy and Back Up Files To External Storage on iPhone and iPad
By Sarah Kingsburyupdated on 10/08/2019
* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. Sign Up. *
If you need to find and track a lost iPhone, using the Find My app to locate your iPhone is the easiest method. If you've enabled the Find My iPhone feature in the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, you can use Find My to locate the missing device, even if it's powered down or the battery's dead. Here’s how to find your iPhone when it’s lost, whether it’s offline, dead, or even if you don’t have Find My enabled for the iPhone.
When your iPhone is lost, there’s an understandable tendency to panic. But even if your battery is dead or the Wi-Fi and cellular data are turned off, you can usually still find your iPhone. Apple's new Bluetooth location feature will help you locate an offline iPhone, as long as the iPhone is powered on. But even if you're iPhone battery is dead, finding the device is as simple as tracking the last known location. We’ll use iCloud and the Find My app to get that precious iPhone or iPad you’ve lost back into your hands—dead or alive. We'll also cover how to enable Lost Mode for your iPhone remotely and various options you have when finding your iPhone. Here’s how to find your iPhone even if the battery is dead or out of range.
Master your iPhone in one minute a day:
Sign up to iPhone Life's Tip of the Day Newsletter and we'll send you a tip each day to save time and get the most out of your iPhone or iPad.
Master your iPhone in one minute a day:
Sign up to iPhone Life's Tip of the Day Newsletter and we'll send you a tip each day to save time and get the most out of your iPhone or iPad.
If you suspect your iPhone has been stolen, contact local authorities; do not attempt to recover it yourself.
Advertisement
How to Set Up the Find My App
Having Find My iPhone enabled is only part of making sure even a dead iPhone can be found with iCloud’s location tracking. With Offline Finding enabled in Settings in iOS 13, you can find your iPhone even if it's dead or powered down. With Send Last Location turned on, you'll be able to see where your iPhone was most recently in use, so there are lots of ways to locate your missing device as long as your Find My options are fully enabled. To do this:
- Open Settings.
- Tap your name at the top.
- Select Find My.
- Toggle on Share My Location.
- Select Find My iPhone.
- Toggle on Find My iPhone.
- Tap OK.
- Toggle on Enable Offline Finding.
- Toggle on Send Last Location.
How to Find Your iPhone (Even If It’s Dead or Offline) with Your iPad
You'll be using the Find My app on the iPad to locate your iPhone. If your iPhone is dead, you'll be directed to the last place your iPhone was located before the battery died. If your iPhone is offline but not dead, then the Find My app will locate the iPhone's current position using nearby Apple devices. To find your lost iPhone on an iPad or a friend’s iPhone (even if it’s dead):
- Open the Find My app on the iPad.
- Tap the Devices tab.
- A map will pop up with featuring your Find My enabled devices.
- If your iPhone is turned off, it will appear on the map and sidebar as an iPhone with a blank screen
- If your iPhone is turned on, it will appear on the map and sidebar as an iPhone with an active Home screen.
- Select your iPhone from the list of devices.
- Tap Directions to get driving or walking directions to your iPhones' general location.
- If the iPhone is offline, but not dead, you can tap Play Sound to help you locate your iPhone.
- If the iPhone is dead, you can toggle on Notify When Found to send notifactions and a location update to your iPad the next time your iPhone is turned on.
How to Find Your iPhone with Someone Else's Device
Your friends and family can help you find your lost iPhone by allowing you to log into your device on their iPhone. When using a different iPhone tied to someone else's Apple ID, don't sign out from their ID in Settings; use the Me tab in the Find My app to log in remotely. Here's how to use someone else's Apple Device to find your lost iPhone.
- Open the Find My app on your friend's iPhone.
- Select the Me tab.
- Tap Help A Friend.
- You will be asked to log into iCloud. If prompted to log in using Touch or Face ID, select Use Different Apple ID.
- Log in using your iCloud ID and password.
- When prompted to save your password, select Not Now.
- You can now follow the steps in the previous section to locate your missing iPhone.
- When you're finished, tap your name on the top right of your friend's iPhone in their Find My app.
- Select Sign Out.
How to Find Your iPhone (Even If It’s Dead or Offline) on a Computer
I imagine most people will end up looking for their lost and potentially dead iPhone on the computer. While the app has been renamed on the iPad and iPhone, it's still called Find My iPhone when you log on using your Mac or PC. If you need to track your iPhone using iCloud's Find My iPhone app from a laptop or desktop, here’s how:
Advertisement
- Open a browser and go to icloud.com.
- Sign in using your Apple ID and password.
- Click the Find iPhone app icon.
- Select All Devices at the top and choose your missing iPhone.
- The map will display where your lost iPhone is located. Go find it!
How to Enable Lost Mode & What That Means
When you use Find My to locate your lost iPhone, you’ll see an option called Mark as Lost. When enabled, Mark As Lost will remotely lock your device and display a custom message with a phone number where you can be reached. Your Apple Pay will be disabled, as well as most notifications, although your phone will still be able to recieve calls and Face Time messages with Mark As Lost enabled. This mode turns on your location services remotely, so that you can locate your device in the Find My app.
Mark As Lost requires that your iPhone still have battery power to work. If your iPhone is dead, you can still turn enable Mark As Lost but the mode will only engage when your iPhone powered back up and connects to the internet or Bluetooth. If you suspect your iPhone still has battery power, I would recommend using Mark As Lost. To do this:
- Open the Find My app on your iPad.
- Select your lost device.
- Under Mark As Lost, select Activate.
- Tap Continue.
- Enter a phone number you can be reached in case someone finds your lost iPhone.
- Tap Next.
- Enter a message to display from the Lock screen.
- Tap Activate.
- Recover your lost iPhone using iCloud or the Find My app to track your phone's location.
- When found, unlock your device with your passcode.
- Tap Settings when prompted to sign back into your Apple ID on your recovered iPhone.
Related: How to Use Find My iPhone to Find iPhones Misplaced in the House
What If I Haven’t Enabled Find My iPhone? How to Find Your iPhone Using Google Maps
Unfortunately, if you don’t have Find My iPhone enabled, you’ll need to resort to retracing your steps. Unless you’ve enabled location history for Google Maps. Location history with Google maps will be able to tell you the last location of your lost iPhone. If you aren't sure whether or not you've enabled location history, visit the link below. If you haven't, it will give you an option to enable it, which is a good idea in case you lose the phone in the future.
Advertisement
- Head over to www.google.com/maps/timeline.
- Make sure you’re logged into your Google account.
- Then select the date your iPhone went missing.
- Check your last location and go get that phone!