There is a real, visceral pain to misplacing expensive electronics. Don’t let it happen to you.
Did you accidentally lose your Apple Watch? Don’t panic! Whether you’ve actually lost it or just misplaced it, Business Insider released a step-by-step outline on how you can easily retrieve your favorite smartwatch.
Take note, this is on the assumption that you’ve already linked your Apple Watch with an existing Apple device. If you haven’t had time to set up your Apple Watch yet and it got lost, say, just as you were leaving the store where you bought it, then you’re out of luck.
This method works thanks to Find My iPhone’s special Activation Lock feature, which ensures that your Apple Watch can’t just be used by any random person. Activation Lock requires users to enter their Apple ID and password first before unpairing the Apple Watch from the paired iPhone, pairing it with a new iPhone, or even turning off the Find My iPhone feature. This means that even if you end up misplacing your watch, other people won’t be able to use it without having your credentials.
By using Find My iPhone, you’ll be able to see your Watch’s exact location if it’s a Series 2 or higher. Since the Series 1 isn’t equipped with a GPS, it will only be able to show the general location as well as the WiFi network that the Watch is connected to.
Find My iPhone also works for other Apple devices like iPad and iPad. If you also own a Macbook, Apple has a similar feature called Find My Mac.
