To turn on Send Last Location, open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap Find My, tap Find My iPhone, and turn on Send Last Location. Your iPhone then sends its location to Apple automatically when the battery gets critically low, so you have a last known spot to check if the phone dies while it’s missing.
These steps are for iPhones running iOS 16 or later, including iOS 26. The same switch is on iPad under Find My iPad. Apple lists the path in How to turn on Find My on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The setting only helps if you turn it on before the phone goes missing.
Sign In With Your Apple Account
- Sign in with your Apple Account. Find My is tied to your account. If Settings shows a sign-in prompt at the top instead of your name, tap it and sign in.
- Turn on Find My iPhone. Send Last Location is part of Find My iPhone and does nothing if the main switch is off. The steps below turn on both.
- Turn on Location Services. Find My needs it to put your phone on a map. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and make sure the switch at the top is on.
Turn On Send Last Location
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap your name at the top of the screen. Your Apple Account settings open.
- Tap Find My.
- Tap Find My iPhone. The next screen shows three switches: Find My iPhone, Find My network, and Send Last Location.
- If Find My iPhone is off, turn it on. Enter your Apple Account password if you’re asked.
- Turn on Send Last Location. The switch turns green.
- While you’re here, turn on Find My network too (explained below).
There’s no Save button. The setting takes effect right away, and you can leave Settings.
What Send Last Location Does
When your iPhone’s battery reaches a critically low level, the phone sends its current location to Apple on its own. It doesn’t ask first, and you don’t need to do anything. Apple doesn’t publish the exact battery percentage that triggers it.
Without this setting, a phone that runs out of battery can disappear from the map with no recent position. With it, you can see roughly where the phone was shortly before it shut down.
That stored location doesn’t last forever. Apple’s article on Find My showing a device as offline says a device with Send Last Location on can show as offline once more than 24 hours have passed since it last connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data. If your phone goes missing with a low battery, check Find My as soon as you can.
Find My doesn’t keep a trail of past trips. For the places you have visited, check your iPhone location history in Apple Maps.
Send Last Location vs. Find My Network
The two switches on the Find My iPhone screen cover different situations, and it’s worth having both on.
| Switch | When it helps | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Send Last Location | The battery is about to run out | Sends the phone’s location to Apple when the battery is critically low |
| Find My network | The phone is offline, with no Wi-Fi or cellular connection | Lets nearby Apple devices detect your phone over Bluetooth and report its approximate location to you, anonymously and encrypted |
On supported iPhones, the Find My network can also locate the phone for a while after it’s turned off or in power reserve mode. Together, the two settings give you the best chance of seeing a location for a phone that has lost power or signal.
The same network is what shows an AirTag’s location. For setup, read about connecting an AirTag to your iPhone.
Find My can also warn you when you walk away from your earbuds, and you can change the AirPods left behind notification if it goes off too often.
<p>Android has similar tools under a different name, covered in our guide on <a href=”https://www.solveyourtech.com/find-lost-android-phone/”>how to find a lost Android phone</a>.</p>How to See Your iPhone’s Last Location
If your iPhone goes missing, you need another device signed in to the same Apple Account, or a web browser.
- On another iPhone, iPad, or Mac: open the Find My app, tap Devices, and tap the missing iPhone. Its location and the time it was found appear on the map.
- On any computer: go to icloud.com/find, sign in with your Apple Account, and select the iPhone from All Devices.
- On a family member’s iPhone: if you use Family Sharing, your devices appear in their Find My app under their own devices.
If you see No location found, turn on Notify When Found for that device, and you’ll get an alert when it reports in. If the phone may be lost or stolen, mark it as lost right away. Using Find My for setup and lost devices walks through Lost Mode, playing a sound, and remote erase.
How to Turn Send Last Location Off
Go to Settings > your name > Find My > Find My iPhone and turn off Send Last Location. This only stops the low-battery report. Find My iPhone itself stays on, and your phone can still be located while it has power.
If you’re selling or giving away your iPhone, the switch to turn off is Find My iPhone, not just Send Last Location. Turning off Find My iPhone also removes Activation Lock.
Then factory reset the iPhone so the next owner starts with a clean phone.
Signing out also turns off Find My, so keep that in mind before you sign out of your Apple Account on an iPhone.
If You Can’t Find or Change the Setting
- There’s no Find My option under your name. Make sure you’re signed in to your Apple Account. Find My isn’t available with a Managed Apple Account from a school or other organization.
- Send Last Location is missing. The switch is one level deeper than many people expect. Tap Find My, then tap the Find My iPhone row to open it.
- The switch is grayed out. Screen Time restrictions or a work or school device management profile can lock Find My settings. Check Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, or ask the organization that manages the phone.
- Your phone doesn’t appear in Find My on another device. Confirm both devices use the same Apple Account, the iPhone has Wi-Fi or cellular service, and Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically is on.
Send Last Location Questions
Is Send Last Location on by default?
Apple doesn’t say what the default is, and it can depend on how the phone was set up. Check Settings > your name > Find My > Find My iPhone to be sure.
Does Send Last Location work if Find My iPhone is off?
No. Send Last Location only works when Find My iPhone is on. If Find My was off before the phone went missing, it won’t show up in the Find My app or on iCloud, and you can’t turn it on remotely.
Can I find my iPhone after the battery dies?
Possibly. With Send Last Location on, you’ll see where the phone was shortly before it shut down. With Find My network on, a supported iPhone may be located for a limited time after it powers off. Neither guarantees a current, exact location.
Does Send Last Location share my location with other people?
No. The location goes to Apple and shows up only on devices signed in to your Apple Account, plus Family Sharing members if you share devices with them. Sharing your location with friends is a separate setting in the Find My app.
Does the iPad have Send Last Location?
Yes. Go to Settings > your name > Find My > Find My iPad and turn on Send Last Location. While you’re protecting your devices, make sure you also use a passcode on your iPhone so a missing phone stays locked.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are checked step by step against the device or app maker’s own documentation and tested on his own devices whenever he has the hardware or software, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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