How to Set Up Find My on iPhone and Android (Vancouver Guide)

Find My on iPhone and Google’s Find Hub on Android (formerly Find My Device) let you locate, ring, lock or erase a lost phone from any browser. They only help if they’re switched on before the phone goes missing, and setting them up takes a few minutes. Here’s how to turn them on, test them and avoid the common mistakes.

Why set it up before you need it

Most people only think about phone tracking after the phone is already gone. By then it’s too late to switch anything on. With tracking enabled, you can see the phone on a map, make it ring even if it’s on silent, show a message with a contact number on the lock screen, or erase it remotely if you think it’s been stolen.

In a busy downtown, where a phone can slip out of a pocket on a bus, at a patio table or in a rideshare, that can be the difference between getting it back quickly and starting from scratch. Our guide to what to do if your phone is lost or stolen in Vancouver covers the steps after the fact; this one is about getting ready.

How to set up Find My on iPhone

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap Find My, then Find My iPhone.
3. Turn on Find My iPhone.
4. Turn on Find My network. This lets your iPhone be located with help from nearby Apple devices, even when it isn’t connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
5. Turn on Send Last Location, so the phone reports where it was when the battery is about to run out.
6. Check that Location Services is on: in Settings, go to Privacy & Security, then Location Services.

Turning on Find My iPhone also turns on Activation Lock. Even if someone erases your iPhone, they can’t set it up and use it as their own without your Apple Account password, which makes a stolen iPhone far less useful to a thief.

Also worth turning on: Stolen Device Protection

On recent versions of iOS, Stolen Device Protection adds an extra layer in case someone steals your phone after watching you type your passcode. When the iPhone is away from familiar places like home or work, sensitive changes such as your Apple Account password need Face ID or Touch ID, and some come with a security delay. You’ll find it in Settings under Face ID & Passcode. Find My must be on for it to work.

How to set up Find Hub on Android

Google renamed its Find My Device service to Find Hub, so depending on your phone and software version you may see either name. Menus vary between manufacturers, so the easiest route is the search bar at the top of Settings.

1. Make sure you’re signed in to your Google Account on the phone.
2. In Settings, search for “Find Hub” or “Find My Device” and open it. It’s often under Google settings or Security.
3. Make sure it’s switched on.
4. Look for the option that lets your phone be found when it’s offline (it may mention the Find Hub network or offline devices) and choose the setting you’re comfortable with.
5. Turn on Location (search for “Location” in Settings).

Google has also been adding theft protection features to Android, such as locking the screen automatically if the phone is snatched from your hand. Search Settings for “theft protection” to see what your phone supports.

Samsung Galaxy phones

Samsung phones support Google’s Find Hub and also have Samsung’s own service, which you’ll see as Find My Mobile or Samsung Find depending on the software version. It needs a Samsung account. Search Settings for “Find My Mobile” or “Lost device protection” and turn it on. Having both enabled gives you two ways to find the phone.

Test it before you need it

A setting you’ve never tested is a setting you can’t count on. Take a few minutes to check it works:

• iPhone: on a computer, go to icloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple Account, or open the Find My app on another Apple device signed in to your account.
• Android: on a computer, go to google.com/android/find (or search for “Google Find Hub”) and sign in with the same Google Account that’s on your phone.
• Check that the phone appears on the map, then try Play Sound so you know what it sounds like.

If signing in asks for a code sent to the very phone you’re trying to find, that’s a problem worth solving now. In your account’s security settings, add a recovery option you can reach without your main phone, such as a trusted family member’s number.

Common mistakes that stop tracking from working

• Forgetting your account password. If you can’t sign in from someone else’s device, you can’t track your phone. Keep it in a password manager you can access elsewhere.
• Location turned off to save battery. The phone can’t report where it is without it.
• Tracking set up on an old account. If you’ve changed Google or Apple accounts, make sure the phone is signed in to the one you actually use.
• No lock screen. Tracking is far less useful if anyone who picks up the phone can open it. Set a passcode, not just a swipe.
• A dead battery. Once the phone is off, you’ll often see only its last known location. Keeping the battery healthy and carrying a power bank on long days helps.

Selling, trading in or giving away your phone

Before a phone leaves your hands for good, sign out of your Apple Account or remove your Google Account, then erase it. On iPhone, that removes Activation Lock; on Android, it stops Factory Reset Protection from asking the next owner for your Google password. If you skip this, the new owner may not be able to set the phone up at all.

If you’ve forgotten the passcode for a phone that’s yours, see our guide on what to do when you forget your phone passcode. The official recovery routes from Apple and Google are the way forward; Activation Lock and Factory Reset Protection exist precisely so nobody else can get around them.

Need a hand with your phone? Visit MyChoice on Granville Street

If a software glitch is getting in the way, or your phone needs a repair before you can rely on it again, bring it to the MyChoice Mobile Repair kiosk in Downtown Vancouver on Granville Street and we’ll check it. We help with software issues and repairs for iPhone, Samsung and other major brands, every day from 9 AM to midnight. Call (236) 785-8300 or ask for a quote online.