Mac Security · FileVault & Mac Data Protection · Lesson 3 of 5

Find My Mac and Activation Lock

Locate, lock or erase a lost Mac, and see why thieves can't reuse it.

Finding a lost Mac

Find My is Apple's way to see your devices on a map. It only helps if it is on before the Mac goes missing. So check it today.

1. Open System Settings and click your name at the top of the sidebar.
2. Click iCloud, then look for Find My Mac.
3. Make sure it is on.
4. Also turn on the Find My network if you see it. It lets nearby Apple devices quietly help locate your Mac, even when it isn't on Wi-Fi.

Now picture the Mac is lost. You don't need the Mac to find it. Use another device:

• On any computer, go to icloud.com/find in a web browser and sign in with your Apple Account.
• On an iPhone or iPad, open the Find My app.

Choose your Mac from the list. You'll see where it was last seen, and three main choices.

• Play Sound makes the Mac beep. Use it when you think it is nearby, like under a sofa cushion or at a friend's house.
• Mark as Lost locks the Mac. You can add a message with a phone number, so an honest finder can call you. While it is lost, the Mac stops showing alerts and notifications.
• Erase This Device deletes everything on it. The next task covers this.

How Mark as Lost locks it depends on the Mac. An Apple silicon Mac is locked with your Apple Account password. On an Intel Mac, you make a number passcode when you mark it lost, even if it already has a password. Write that passcode down.

Nobody can unlock a lost Mac from a website or from another device. You unlock it at the Mac itself, with the right password or passcode.

Erasing from far away

Sometimes a Mac is truly gone. Maybe the map shows it somewhere you don't know, or it was stolen. Then you may decide to erase it.

Choosing Erase This Device in Find My deletes everything on it, from wherever you are. Know these points first:

• If the Mac is offline, the erase waits. It starts the next time the Mac connects to the internet.
• If you get the Mac back before that happens, you can stop the erase request.
• After the erase, you usually can't see it on the map or play a sound any more.

So go in this order: locate, lock, and erase only when you are sure. With FileVault on, your files are already scrambled, so there is time to think. Erasing is easier to accept when you have a Time Machine backup.

Now the part that frustrates thieves. You learned that Activation Lock ties a Mac to your Apple Account. It stays on even after a remote erase. Anyone who tries to set the Mac up again needs your Apple Account and password. To a thief, the Mac is much harder to use or sell.

That leads to an important rule. Don't remove the lost Mac from your account. Removing a device from your account turns Activation Lock off, which is the opposite of what you want.

A few more steps help:

• Report a stolen Mac to the police. They may ask for the serial number, the Mac's unique ID. You can see it in your device list when you sign in at account.apple.com.
• If you think someone knows your Apple Account password, change it.