macOS Security

Find My Mac and Lost Mode

Locate or lock a missing Mac — setup before theft, not after.

9 min read Beginner Updated 9 Jun 2026

Step-by-step guide

Work through each section in order. Stop when your issue is resolved — you do not need every step for every situation.

Warning

Create a Time Machine backup before major updates, disk operations, or security changes on macOS.

What you will achieve

Locate or lock a missing Mac — setup before theft, not after.

1) Ensure Find My is enabled now

Open System Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Find My Mac and confirm it is on.

2) Mark Mac as lost

  1. Sign in to iCloud.com/find.
  2. Select the Mac and choose Mark as Lost with contact message.

3) Remote wipe if unrecoverable

Use Erase This Device only when recovery is unlikely and you have backup.

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