Apps Locate lost iPhone with watch?

[oeagleo]

Is there a way to locate a lost iPhone with just the cellular watch? I'm not talking the simple "ping", but something that will show a map with the location.
Say, you're out riding your bike, and you notice that somehow your phone has escaped it's hiding place on your person. Where to look? Rather than walk the entire bike route, it would be nice to be able to pull up a map on the watch, with a (pick your favorite color) "X" where your phone is.
Is that possible? Is there an app that will do that?

 

[erinsmith]

Yeah, I’ve actually been in almost the exact same situation — dropped my iPhone while out on a trail ride and didn’t notice until way later. Good news is: yes, your cellular Apple Watch can help you find your lost iPhone on a map, not just with the little “ping” sound.

Here’s what I learned the hard way:

If your iPhone still has battery, is turned on, and Find My is enabled, you can open the Find Devices app directly on your Watch.

1. It’ll actually show you the live location of your phone on a map — no need for the iPhone to be nearby. You just need a decent signal on your watch.
2. You’ll see a little dot where your phone was last detected. It’s not as detailed as using your iPhone or iCloud.com, but it absolutely works and can save you a TON of time retracing your steps.
3. From there, you can even play a sound or get directions back to it.

As far as third-party apps — not really necessary in this case since Apple’s built-in Find Devices app already does the job. But if you ever need extra backup (like tracking a different phone with just the number), I’ve heard tools like MLocator can be helpful in some situations too.

But yeah — if you’ve got a cellular Watch and everything’s set up, you’re already good to go. Just make sure Find My is fully enabled on your iPhone ahead of time. Trust me, it makes all the difference.