Does Find My iPhone Work When Phone is Off?

My iPhone had a low battery when it was lost in this morning. Does Find My iPhone work when the phone is off?

Losing your iPhone can be incredibly stressful, and the first question that often comes to mind is, "Does Find My iPhone Work When iPhone is Off?" The good news is, thanks to Apple's evolving Find My network, the answer is often yes, particularly for newer iPhone models.

This comprehensive guide will unravel the mysteries of finding a lost or stolen iPhone when it's powered down. We'll cover everything from locating its last known position to utilizing advanced offline tracking features, helping you regain peace of mind and potentially your device.

Part 1. What is Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is a built-in feature of the iOS system, which enables you to manage your Apple devices associated with your iCloud account. When your iPhone is lost or misplaced, it provides options for location tracking, playing sound, putting the device in Lost Mode, and erasing data.

To take a precaution, you'd better set up Find My iPhone on your device by these steps:

Step 1. Go to Settings and tap on your profile.
Step 2. Select Find My/Find My iPhone.
Step 3. Turn on Find My iPhone, Enable Offline Finding, and Send Last Location.

Part 2. Does Find My iPhone Work When the Phone is Off

The capability of Find My iPhone when your device is off depends primarily on two scenarios: whether your iPhone has some remaining battery life even if powered down, and its model.

2.1 iPhone Off (But Still Has Some Battery - iPhone 11 and Later)

For iPhone 11 models and newer (running iOS 15 or later), Apple introduced a groundbreaking feature: the ability to be found by the Find My network even when powered off or after the battery has critically depleted. You can go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Find My iPhone to ensure the Find My network feature is on.

When an iPhone 11 or later is powered down (or its battery is extremely low), it doesn't entirely shut off its Bluetooth chip. Instead, it periodically broadcasts a secure, anonymous Bluetooth Low Energy beacon. Hundreds of millions of Apple devices around the world form the "Find My network." If another Apple device (like someone else's iPhone, iPad, or Mac) comes within Bluetooth range of your lost, powered-off iPhone, it will detect this beacon.

2.2 iPhone Completely Dead Battery (or Older Models)

If your iPhone has been off for an extended period, or if it's an older model (iPhone X or earlier), the situation is slightly different.

Even if your iPhone's battery is completely dead, or it's an older model that doesn't support the Find My network feature when off, Find My iPhone can still show you its last known location. This occurs if you had "Send Last Location" enabled in your Find My settings. Your iPhone automatically sends its location to Apple when its battery level becomes critically low.

Part 3. How to Find a Dead iPhone

Method 1. iCloud Website

You can check the iPhone's last known location via the iCloud Website. However, it can only be displayed for up to 24 hours.

Step 1. Visit icloud.com and sign in with your Apple ID and password.
Step 2. Tap on the Find iPhone icon and click All Devices.
Step 3. Select the missing iPhone and check the location on the map.

Method 2. Find My App

The iPhone's last location provided by Find My App will last up to 7 days. You can launch it on another trusted iOS device.

Step 1. Run the Find My app.
Step 2. Click the Devices tab at the bottom of the screen and select your lost iPhone. If the iPhone is powered off or offline, the iPhone's icon will be the phone with a black screen.
Step 3. Hit on Directions to get the location.

Method 3. With the Help of Family Members or Friends

If you have shared your location with friends in the Find My app, or you belong to a Family Sharing group, they can see your iPhone's location in Find My.

Method 4. Google Maps

If you fail to locate the lost iPhone in the methods above, you can try this:

Step 1. Open Google Maps and log in to your Google account.
Step 2. Click your profile and go to Your Timeline.
Step 3. Select the date when your iPhone gets lost.
Step 4. Check the last location of your iPhone.

Part 4. How to Turn Off Find My iPhone Without Password

There are various problems you may encounter when you want to turn off Find My iPhone as well. For instance, if you don't remember your Apple ID password before selling your iPhone, you will need a handy tool to turn off Find My iPhone to prevent the iPhone from being locked by Activation Lock.

TunesKit Activation Unlocker is an unbeatable option for the issues of unlocking iCloud on Apple devices. It allows you to turn off Find My iPhone without password in a high success rate. This program also comes with features like bypassing Activation Lock, unlocking iPhone in Lost Mode, and removing Apple ID. No matter what your computer system is, Mac or Windows, you can handle the problem with TunesKit Activation Unlocker without expert skills.

Here is a guide:

Step 1Connect Your iPhone to Computer

Download and run the TunesKit Activation Unlocker on a computer, then connect your iPhone to it. Click Start to continue.

Step 2Jailbreak Your iPhone

After a jailbreak tool is downloaded, you need to jailbreak your iPhone following the on-screen instructions.

Step 3Turn Off Find My iPhone Without Password

Reboot your computer when the jailbreak is done. Then, launch the TunesKit Activation Unlocker again. It will turn off Find My iPhone automatically.

Part 5. FAQs about Find My iPhone

Part 6. Summary

We have discussed the topic of does Find My iPhone work when the phone is off. Commonly, the user can get the last location of it. In this guide, TunesKit Activation Unlocker is recommended for users who have trouble turning off Find My iPhone. Any questions you may have on this process are always welcome.