Only These iPhones Running iOS 15 Can Be Tracked Offline Using Find My

BY Rajesh Pandey

Published 22 Jul 2021

iPhone 12

Apple is further improving the Find My experience in iOS 15 by making it possible to track iPhones even when they are turned off. Apple has been consistently improving its Find My feature with every new iOS release, and with iOS 15, it is making it possible to track lost or stolen iPhones even when they are turned off.

Just like an AirTag, an iPhone running iOS 15 will enter into an extremely low-power state when powered off, making it possible to track it. The device will send Bluetooth pings to other Apple devices on the Find My network nearby in this low-power state, which will then relay its location to Apple’s servers. What’s even more impressive about this feature is that it will work even when an iPhone is reset with Activation Lock enabled.

Sadly, this impressive new Find My feature in iOS 15 is only coming to selected iPhones, which are as follows:

  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max

Apple is only supporting the above iPhones because they feature a U1 Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip, which is what the feature relies on to work. This also means that the feature won’t make its way to Apple’s iPad Pro lineup since they miss out on the U1 chip. On the other hand, while the Apple Watch Series 6 does feature a U1 chip, it cannot be tracked once powered off.

[Via 9to5Mac]