How to Find a Lost Phone: Android, Galaxy, and iPhone

The steps below follow Google’s, Samsung’s, and Apple’s official help pages as of October 2026. App names and menus change often, and labels can differ by phone model, carrier, and software version, so expect small differences on your screen.

What should you do first when your phone goes missing?

1. Call or text the phone from another phone. Someone nearby may answer, or you may hear it.
2. Open the finding service for your phone on another device or in a web browser. The table below shows which one to use.
3. If the map shows the phone close by, make it ring. Google says Find Hub plays a sound at full volume for 5 minutes, even if the phone is on silent or vibrate. Samsung says its ring lasts one minute, also on mute or vibrate.
4. If you can’t reach it quickly, mark it as lost. This locks the phone and lets you show a message and a contact number on the lock screen.
5. If it looks stolen, do not go to the location yourself. Samsung’s help page says to inform the authorities and let them retrieve it.
6. Leave the phone in your account’s device list. Removing it can switch off the protection that stops a thief from setting it up again.

Which tool finds which phone?

Galaxy phones work with both Samsung’s tools and Google’s Find Hub, so if one can’t see your phone, try the other.

How do you find a lost Android phone with Google Find Hub?

Google says Find Hub turns on automatically once a Google Account is added to the phone. To secure or erase it remotely, the phone must have power, be connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi, be signed in to a Google Account, have Find Hub turned on, and be visible on Google Play.

1. On another Android phone or tablet, open the Find Hub app. If you don’t have another Android device, go to android.com/find in a browser.
2. Sign in. If you are on a friend’s phone, tap Sign in as guest and enter your own account details.
3. Select the lost phone from the list. The phone gets a notification. You may be asked for its lock screen PIN (Android 9 and up) or your Google password.
4. Check the map. If the current location can’t be found, you may still see the last known location.
5. Pick an action: Play sound, Mark as lost, or, as a last step, Factory reset.

Mark as lost locks the phone with your PIN, pattern, or password. You can add contact info and a message that appears on the lock screen. If you get within about 10 meters (around 33 feet), Google says you can tap Find nearby to get a shape that fills in as you get closer.

By default, Android phones also join the Find Hub network, a crowdsourced network of Android devices that uses end-to-end encrypted location information. For supported models such as the Pixel 8 series, Google says the network can still locate the phone for several hours after it is turned off or the battery runs out.

How do you find a lost Samsung Galaxy phone?

Samsung says its tools need four things: the phone is turned on (if it is off, you only get the last known location), it has a stable network connection, a Samsung account is added, and remote controls are enabled. Remote controls are on by default once you add a Samsung account.

1. In a web browser, go to the Samsung Find website (samsungfind.samsung.com) or the SmartThings Find website (smartthingsfind.samsung.com).
2. Sign in with your Samsung account.
3. Select your phone from the list on the left to see its location on the map.
4. Choose what to do next from the options for that device.

• Ring: plays a ringtone for one minute, even on mute or vibrate.
• Track location: sends the latest location every 15 minutes.
• Extend battery life: turns on Maximum power saving mode remotely so the battery lasts longer while you search.
• Lock: you create a PIN and can add an emergency contact and a message for the lock screen.
• Erase data: a remote factory reset. Samsung notes that an inserted SD card is also erased.

If you can’t erase the phone remotely, Samsung recommends changing the passwords for any accounts signed in on it. Changing your Samsung account password signs out every device that uses that account.

How do you find a lost iPhone with Apple Find My?

1. Open the Find My app on another Apple device, or sign in at icloud.com/find in any browser. Apple says you don’t need a verification code there, so it works even if your lost iPhone is your trusted device.
2. Go to Devices and select your iPhone.
3. If it is close, tap Play Sound. If not, tap Directions to open its location in Maps.
4. To lock it, tap the More button, scroll to Lost [Device], and turn on Lost Mode.
5. Follow the onscreen steps to show your contact info, then tap Activate.

Lost Mode locks the iPhone with your passcode and suspends Apple Pay cards and passes. If Stolen Device Protection is on, Face ID or Touch ID is required to turn off Lost Mode, so a thief who knows your passcode is still locked out.

If the battery has died, Apple says the Find My app can show the last known location for up to seven days. Apple also warns that it will never contact you to say your iPhone has been found, so ignore any message asking for your passcode or verification codes.

When should you erase a lost phone remotely?

Erase only after you have tried everything else. On every platform, a remote erase can’t be undone, and you lose the chance to see the phone’s live location on Android.

• Android (Find Hub): select the device, open its Settings, and tap Factory reset. Google says this permanently deletes the data but may not delete SD cards, and the phone no longer appears in Find Hub afterward. If you get the phone back, you need your Google Account password to use it again.
• Samsung Galaxy: select the phone on the Samsung Find or SmartThings Find website, then choose Erase data. Samsung says that if a Google Account was on the phone, Google’s device protection then asks for that account before the phone unlocks.
• iPhone: in Find My, select the device and choose Erase This Device, or use icloud.com/find. If the iPhone is offline, the erase starts the next time it connects. Apple says not to remove the iPhone from Find My afterward, because that removes Activation Lock and makes it easier to resell.

What should you do if your phone was stolen?

1. Stay safe. Don’t try to recover the phone yourself, even if the map shows an exact address.
2. File a police report. Apple says police may ask for your iPhone’s serial number. For Android, Google says you can find the IMEI number in Find Hub: select the device, then tap Settings (or select Settings next to the device at android.com/find).
3. Call your carrier. Apple recommends reporting the missing phone and asking the carrier to disable your account. Google notes that your mobile service provider can use the IMEI number to disable the device. Ask your carrier whether it can block the phone by IMEI and send you a replacement SIM.
4. Mark it as lost, then erase it once you accept it is gone, using the steps above.
5. Change your passwords. Start with your Google Account, Samsung account, or Apple Account, then your email and banking apps. Apple suggests reviewing your account at account.apple.com or on another trusted device.
6. Check your coverage. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, file a claim and keep the iPhone in Find My until the claim is approved. For other phones, check your carrier plan or insurance.

If you think someone has been using your accounts, our guide on how to tell if your phone is hacked covers the account checks to run next.

How can you set up your phone before it’s lost?

Most finding tools only work if they were turned on before the phone went missing. Spend five minutes on this now.

Android phones (Google Find Hub)

1. Open Settings > Location and turn on Use location.
2. Open Settings > Security > Find Hub and check that Allow device to be located is on. On Samsung phones, Samsung lists this under Settings > Google > Find Hub.
3. Open Settings > Google > All services > Find Hub > Find your offline devices and pick With network in busy places only or With network everywhere.
4. Set a PIN, pattern, or password. Google says the Find Hub network needs one to help locate your phone.
5. Test it by signing in at android.com/find and checking that your phone appears.
6. Save Google 2-Step Verification backup codes. Your phone may be how you sign in, so without backup codes or a security key you may need a new SIM from your carrier before you can reach Find Hub.

Samsung Galaxy phones

1. Open Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection.
2. Turn on Allow this phone to be found, Send last location, and Offline finding.

iPhone

1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap Find My.
2. Tap Find My iPhone and turn it on. Also turn on Find My network and Send Last Location.
3. Turn on Stolen Device Protection under Settings > Face ID & Passcode. Apple says it needs iOS 17.3 or later and must be on before the phone is lost or stolen.

Every phone

• Write down your IMEI or serial number and keep it somewhere other than the phone.
• Keep a current backup so a remote erase doesn’t cost you your photos and messages. Our guide to setting up a new Android phone shows how to restore one.

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