Why does Find my iPhone not work ?

After searching for my iPhone for over 6 hours and reading all the instructions on what to do if “find my” doesn’t ping or make any sounds I’m still extremely annoyed that there’s not an option to fix this problem without actually FINDING the iPhone. Of course AFTER I found it in between some sofa cushions I checked to see if it was online (it was). The volume was up but it was on vibrate which I can usually hear. I tried “find my” again with phone in hand and again nothing happened. Not even a vibrate so I turned the phone on and off and voila “find my” worked loudly. It really isn’t logical that one must actually Find the phone to fix it. Any advice?

Posted on Nov 18, 2025 10:46 AM

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1 reply

Nov 18, 2025 1:50 PM in response to Btpk

What you describe is certainly off-normal behavior.


If you activate “Play Sound” using FindMy on another device signed-in to your account …


… and the searched-for device has a clear comms channel to the internet …


… the phone will first vibrate for a few seconds and then start making a quite loud “pinging” sound.


This will occur irregardless of any Do Not Disturb mode, Focus, or Ringer Silence switch setting.

Why does Find my iPhone not work ?

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