Do these before you leave
- Save every device you are taking, so last-seen positions are recorded from the first day of the trip.
- Arm clap detection with the automatic option, so your phone stays findable by sound in a hotel room.
- Put a tag inside your checked bag, not on the handle. Handle tags get removed.
- Check Find My is on with Send Last Location enabled.
- Photograph what is in your bag. It makes any claim or report dramatically easier.
- Charge every tag and tracker. A flat tag is the same as no tag.
What actually goes missing on trips
- Chargers, left in hotel sockets. The most abandoned item in hospitality by a wide margin.
- Earbuds, on planes and in seat pockets.
- Anything in the hotel room safe, which is the most-forgotten container in travel.
- Bags in taxi and transfer boots.
The one habit that helps most
A fixed pre-departure sweep of every room you leave: both sides of the bed at floor level, the bathroom door hook, the safe, and every socket. It takes ninety seconds and catches almost everything.
Related methods
If this was not the situation you are in, one of these probably is.
- How to help someone else find their phone, Method
- How to find your phone when it’s on silent, The silent phone problem
- How to make your phone ring loudly on demand, Ring it
- How to find a phone lost in the house, Method
- How to find something in a hotel room before you check out, Method
- Clap to find your phone, Clap tab
- Find My network: Apple’s crowd-sourced finding
- All how-to guides, the complete list
Common questions
Is an AirTag worth it for luggage?
For travel specifically, yes. Bluetooth alone only tells you the bag is near you; the crowd-sourced network is what covers a bag in another airport.
In the app: This is what the app is built for. Read about My Devices.