Technologies

Lost Your iPhone? Easy Steps to Find It Even if It’s Dead

Losing your iPhone at the beginning of the New Year is no fun, but there’s hope. Here’s what you can do to find it.

We’ve officially kicked off the New Year! However, if you or someone you know has lost or misplaced their iPhone during all the holiday festivities, you’ve come to the right place. Most iPhones nowadays have powerful features that can locate your device.

Apple’s Find My feature, with its crowdsourced Find My Network, is your best ally. It sends your phone’s location to iCloud, even when the device is off. For added defense, Stolen Device Protection secures sensitive data, such as credit cards and passwords.

If you have an iPhone 11 or newer (excluding the 2020 and 2022 iPhone SE), you have the ultra-wideband chip for offline finding. As long as Find My is enabled and you’re signed in to your Apple ID, you can locate your iPhone even if the battery is dead. Before panicking, follow these steps to recover your phone.

Apple Find My and Find My Network aren’t the same

Apple Find My and Find My Network are different, which can be confusing. While Find My is now the name of an app, the Find My Network is what allows you to locate your device when it’s offline, turned off or low on power.

You can use the Find My Network feature within Apple’s Find My app or sign into your Apple ID at iCloud.com to locate your misplaced iPhone. Plus, the app also allows you to add other Apple products and items that you want to track to your Find My Network.

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How to turn on Find My and Find My Network

You need to make sure Find My and Find My Network are set up to allow you to locate your switched-off iPhone. Open Settings and follow these steps:

Tap on your name in the Settings menu.
Go to Find My > Find My iPhone and make sure the switch is toggled on.
Below Find My iPhone, you’ll see Find My Network and Send Last Location toggles. Turn them on, too.

You can check if your iPhone is discoverable even when it’s switched off by going to the power menu: Swipe down from the top-right corner to view Control Center and press and hold the power button in that corner, or hold the side and volume down button. Under the «slide to power off» slider, look for «iPhone Findable After Power Off.» Your iPhone is now all set to be found, even if a thief turns it off.

However, there are a few exceptions. If your iPhone hasn’t sent its location to Apple through Find My in the last seven days, you’ll see «No location found» next to your device. It can happen if there’s an issue with your device’s location services.

How to find a lost iPhone with the Find My app on another Apple device

Now comes the hard part: What happens after you lose your iPhone? Assuming you’ve completed the steps above, you can keep calm. If you have another Apple device, such as an Apple Watch, iPad or MacBook, follow the steps below to locate your misplaced or stolen iPhone. This will also work on a friend’s or family member’s device that you’ve shared your location with.

Open the Find My app and locate your iPhone in the list under the Devices tab. You should see it in this list (even if it’s powered off) as long as you have previously enabled the Find My iPhone, Find My Network and Send Last Location options.
Tap or click the name of your iPhone. This should take you to a menu with several options for finding your phone or marking it as lost.
If you misplaced your iPhone and you’re sure that it’s nearby, tap or click Play Sound or Directions to make the device play a sound or get directions to the device’s last recorded location, respectively.
If you’re sure your iPhone is stolen, tap Activate under the Mark As Lost option. This immediately locks the device with your passcode, suspends Apple Pay and displays a custom message with your contact information for anyone who finds it. You can also use Send Last Location to locate the last known location of your device.

How to find a lost iPhone if you don’t have another Apple device

In case you don’t have another Apple device, you can sign into your iCloud account in a web browser to find your lost iPhone (though this option can be troublesome if you don’t have another Apple device because of two-factor authentication). Follow these steps to use a web browser to see your lost iPhone’s location:

Go to icloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple ID.
Go to the Devices list.
From here, use the same options for playing a sound, marking your device as lost or erasing the device as you would in the app.

You can also disable Control Center access on the lock screen while traveling abroad to prevent a thief from turning off data or enabling Airplane mode. To do this, do the following:

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) and enter your passcode.
Under the Allow Access When Locked section, toggle off the Control Center option.

This option can add some inconvenience to day-to-day use, but I recommend turning off Control Center while traveling.

These settings give you the best chance of finding your iPhone if it’s been stolen and turned off. For more iPhone tips and advice, check out our guide to the Camera Control and how to block distracting websites.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 2, #466

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 2, No. 466.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is pretty tricky. That purple category expects you to recognize sports-team names with one change, so try and spot terms you know hidden inside the words. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Raring to go.

Green group hint: Aces high.

Blue group hint: Robin Hood.

Purple group hint: Hockey teams, with a twist.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Full of energy.

Green group: Actions with a deck of playing cards.

Blue group: Archery terms.

Purple group: NHL teams, with the last letter changed.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is full of energy. The four answers are fresh, invigorated, rested and restored.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is actions with a deck of playing cards. The four answers are cut, deal, draw and shuffle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is archery terms. The four answers are arrow, bullseye, nock and quiver.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is NHL teams, with the last letter changed. The four answers are Bluey (Blues), ducky (Ducks), start (Stars) and wilt (Wild).

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Jan. 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 2.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s pretty straightforward, but read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Fill in the ___
Answer: BLANK

6A clue: Large quantity at a pot dispensary
Answer: OUNCE

7A clue: Remove one’s name from, as an online photo
Answer: UNTAG

8A clue: Org. whose upcoming Artemis II mission will launch astronauts around the moon
Answer: NASA

9A clue: Parched
Answer: DRY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Hop like a kangaroo
Answer: BOUND

2D clue: ___ lander (moon vehicle)
Answer: LUNAR

3D clue: Squirming in one’s seat
Answer: ANTSY

4D clue: College Football Playoff org.
Answer: NCAA

5D clue: Beer dispenser
Answer: KEG

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 2, #936

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 2 #936.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a very challenging purple category that requires the ability to mentally add in a letter that’s not there. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Get me a pen.

Green group hint: Hokey.

Blue group hint: This is a level to meet.

Purple group hint: Garden produce, with a twist.