How to ping phone from apple watch

How to ping phone from apple watch

Do you often misplace your iPhone? If you have an Apple Watch, it’s easy to find your phone using the ping feature, saving you the embarrassment or hassle of asking a friend or family member to call your phone to help you find it.

Your Apple Watch must be connected to your iPhone via either Bluetooth or the same Wi-Fi network to be able to use the ping feature on your watch to find your phone.

To ping your iPhone, make sure the clock face is showing on your watch. If it’s not, press the digital crown until the clock face displays. Swipe up from the bottom of the watch screen to open the Glances.

How to ping phone from apple watch

Swipe right until you see the Settings glance, which is the leftmost glance screen. Tap the pinging phone button.

How to ping phone from apple watch

Your iPhone will emit a short, pinging sound to help you find it, even if it’s in silent mode. A message saying “Pinging iPhone” displays briefly on your watch’s screen as well.

How to ping phone from apple watch

If your iPhone is not in range of your watch, you can use iCloud.com to find your phone. In a browser, go to iCloud.com and log in using your Apple ID and password.

NOTE: When using the “Find iPhone” feature on iCloud.com on a Windows PC, it only works in Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, or in an Incognito browsing window in Chrome. It will not work in a standard Chrome window or Firefox.

How to ping phone from apple watch

Click on the “Find iPhone” icon on the main iCloud page.

How to ping phone from apple watch

A page displays indicating that “Find iPhone” is “Locating…” your device.

How to ping phone from apple watch

A point on a map indicates where your device is currently located.

How to ping phone from apple watch

You can access more options for dealing with a lost iOS device by clicking “All Devices” at the top of the map in the browser window. Click on the device you located.

How to ping phone from apple watch

A popup dialog box displays showing you how long ago your device was found and even the battery level displays in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. To play a sound on your phone, click “Play Sound”. This can be useful if you discover your phone is not far away, but the connection between your phone and watch has been lost.

How to ping phone from apple watch

When you select your device from the “All Devices” menu, a popup also displays above the location of your phone on the map.

How to ping phone from apple watch

If you left your phone (or other iOS device) somewhere or someone stole it, use “Lost Mode” on iCloud. “Lost Mode” locks your device with a passcode so that others can’t access your personal information. For more information about “Lost Mode”, see Apple’s support article. You can also erase your iPhone remotely using iCloud.

READ NEXT

  • › Apple Watch Stuck on the Apple Logo? Try These Fixes
  • › How to Customize Your Apple Watch’s Control Center
  • › How to Locate Your Lost Apple Watch
  • › How Apple’s AirTags Prevent Stalkers from Tracking You
  • › How to Find a Lost iPhone
  • › Here’s When Windows 10 Will Delete Internet Explorer
  • › 5 Technologies That Mean You Can Never Believe Anything on the Internet Again
  • › The Best VoIP Services of 2022

How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. Want to know more?

It happens to all of us. You take off your Apple Watch and suddenly can’t find it anywhere. But don’t worry! You can ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone to find it quickly if it’s nearby.

Pinging plays a loud sound on your watch to help you locate it from wherever it disappeared, such as the crack in the couch, the abyss behind your bed, or the pocket of the coat you threw into the laundry. Let me show you how it works.

  • How to find your Apple Watch by pinging it from iPhone
  • How to ping iPhone from Apple Watch
  • Can’t ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone? 4 Ways to fix it

Before you ping your Apple Watch to find it, make sure that:

  • You’ve previously enabled FindMy
  • Your phone and watch are connected to Wi-Fi

How to find your Apple Watch by pinging it from iPhone

Keep in mind that this only makes sense if your watch is nearby to hear the sound and retrieve it.

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone.
  2. Go to the Devices tab. 
  3. Tap your Apple Watch on the list of devices.
  4. Tap Play Sound
    Your watch will start playing a sound that can help you locate it if it’s nearby. 

    How to ping phone from apple watch

  5. Once you find it, tap Dismiss to stop the pinging sound on your Apple Watch.

    How to ping phone from apple watch

It’s that easy! Moreover, just like pinging your lost Apple Watch, you can also ping your iPhone using your watch. Read on to find out more.

  1. On your watch face, swipe up to access the Control Center.
  2. Tap the phone icon.

    How to ping phone from apple watch

  3. Your iPhone will start ringing, provided it’s within the Bluetooth range of your Apple Watch.

Note: You will need to keep tapping the button to keep your phone ringing until you find it.

Can’t ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone? 4 Ways to fix it

Are you facing issues with the Find My Apple Watch sound not ringing? This is probably because your device doesn’t meet the criteria needed for this to work. Follow the tips below to ensure you can ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone.

1. Pair your iPhone with Apple Watch

Your watch must be paired with your iPhone for Find My to work. Open the app on your phone and ensure your watch appears as a paired device. If it doesn’t, you will not be able to ping it. 

2. Both devices must be on the same iCloud account

You must be signed into the same iCloud account on your iPhone and Apple Watch to ping your Apple Watch.

3. Enable Find My iPhone and Find My Apple Watch

Find My helps you track down your Apple devices. So you must have enabled Find My on your Apple Watch and iPhone to play the ping sound.  

4. Check the network connection on both devices

As mentioned above too, your watch and phone must be connected to a working Wi-Fi network for the ping sound to work. 

That’s it! Now you know how to ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone. Let me know in the comments if you have additional questions.

Read more:

  • Apple’s Find My network: How to use it and opt out of it
  • How to use the Find My app to locate a lost or stolen device
  • How to set up and use cellular on Apple Watch
  • Best places to buy refurbished Apple Watch

How to ping phone from apple watch

iGeeksBlog has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. We may earn commissions on purchases made using our links. However, this doesn’t affect the recommendations our writers make. You can read more about our review and editorial process here.

Mehak has a master’s degree in communication and over ten years of writing experience. Her passion for technology and Apple products led her to iGeeksBlog, where she specializes in writing product roundups and app recommendations for fellow Apple users. When not typing away on her MacBook Pro, she loves being lost in a book or out exploring the world.

How do I Find My phone using Apple Watch?

Open the Find Devices app on your Apple Watch, then tap a device. If the device can be located: It appears on the map so you can see where it is. The device's approximate distance, time it last connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, and charge level appears above the map.

Why can't I ping my phone from my Apple Watch?

Check Your Wi-Fi and BlueTooth Connections. A network connectivity issue is the most common cause if you're unable to ping your iPhone. Since Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connections need to be up and running for your iPhone to ping on your Apple Watch, the first step is to ensure that both these connections are enabled.

How can I ping my iPhone?

Another option for pinging your iPhone is to use Siri on any other iOS 12+ device connected to your account, whether that's another phone, computer, iPad, or Apple watch. To do this, make sure Find My is enabled and that Siri is turned on. Call her. Once she replies, say, “Siri, find my iPhone.”