Find my son’s lost phone

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is lost or stolen - Apple Support describes your options.

Hi iw34!

That sure sounds scary. Let's see what we can do to help.

So, depending on your son's model of iPhone, if may be harder or easier to find.

First off, the first set of solutions I am providing will require the lost iPhone to have an internet connection as you can imagine. I listed a solution later down that will work without a connection if your son does not have his own data plan or the phone lost in a place where it is not connected to a WiFi network.

To find a device using Find My on iOS 13 or newer, you must know what Apple ID your lost device is using. If your son had his own Apple ID (account with Apple) then just login on iCloud.com and find the "Find My" button. iCloud will find your son's device.

If you use family sharing, (if you don't know what I am talking about, then you probably don't. Still, though, Family sharing is a way for families to link their Apple ID's to find each other, and each other's devices, make payments on the App Store with parent's permission and card, etc.) and you and your son's Apple ID's are on the same family, then just open Find My on your iPhone, and your son's phone should magically (you know what I mean) pop up, probably labeled with your son's name next to the word "iPhone", i.e. Luke's iPhone. This should find the phone just as the first method would.

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NO PHONE SERVICE OR NUMBER:

If your son does not have a cellular plan, (phone number or internet on his phone out of the house from a phone company like Verizon) but his iPhone was updated to iOS 13 and has offline finding turned on, then you should be able to see the phone on a map, with limited functionality on iCloud.com

If the phone is really gone for good and he really does need a phone, or you want him to have one, or he is willing to find a way to buy one, then consider a 1st gen iPhone SE. Now that the $399 2nd iPhone SE came out, the first gen is probably a steal on Craigslist, eBay, or elsewhere.

If you get a new iPhone for him or if he gets a new one, then setup online finding anyway, phone plan or not, because why not, (it doesn't even suck too much battery at all, and you don't notice it) and MAKE SURE THAT FIND MY IS ON. Then if your son does loose things a lot, buy a Tile Slim and stick it on to the back of the new or old phone hard. Then you can use Find My and the Tile app, which is from another company, to find your son's phone when he inevitably looses it again.

I don't know where you live, but here are some SE 1 gen prices in LA, California which are a little high and not adjusted yet:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=rel&query=iphone+se

There is one selling for $90 right now, while most sell for 100-200 in this area right now.

And prices in Spokane, WA, where things did settle a bit:

https://spokane.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=rel&query=iphone+se

There is one for $40 here.

And New York where I found one from $40 up to $200 range:

https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=rel&query=iphone+se

I even found the new model here for $375, but if you want the new iPhone SE for your son, then buy from Walmart since they are selling it for only $199!!! You do have to finance for the first month for $6.63/mo but you can pay it 100% off after. The deal is only for Verizon and AT&T, though. I also believe that it may include T-Mobile, though.

Whatever you do, good luck!! Have a wonderful day and stay safe.

Luke