How to track a lost computer with Find My Mac

If your computer is stolen or otherwise liberated from your possession, don’t despair: If you’ve remembered to enable Find My Mac, you can track it, remotely lock it, and even send messages to your Mac’s screen.

Found in the clouds: Turn on Find My Mac from the iCloud preference pane.

You may have already enabled the Find My Mac service if you’ve set up your Mac with a free iCloud account. You can check by opening the iCloud preference pane in System Preferences. If you’re already logged in to iCloud, all you have to do is make sure you’ve selected the Find My Mac checkbox; if you’re not logged in (or if you don’t have an iCloud account), you can go ahead and do so from this screen. After you turn on Find My Mac, you’re set—you don’t need to do anything else unless your Mac falls into wayward hands.

If the worst happens, you can track your Mac via iCloud.com or the Find My iPhone app on your iPad or iPhone. (We should note that even though the app is called Find My iPhone, it allows you to find any iOS device or Mac.)

You can use the Find My iPhone iOS app or the iCloud website to find them. Launch the app on any iOS device, signing in with your Apple or iCloud ID and password; or log in at iCloud.com and click the Find My iPhone button.

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