It's a situation we all dread finding ourselves in. Yous get for a coffee or a beverage after work and put your MacBook in its bag on the floor past your feet. When it'due south time to leave, you bend down to pick information technology up and it's non at that place. It's been stolen.

It might seem like a hopeless state of affairs. Later on all, they could be miles away by now. Merely all is non lost. You see, the chances are, in that situation, your MacBook was stolen by an opportunist, rather than someone who planned their criminal offence carefully. And opportunists tend to make mistakes, like not immediately shutting your MacBook down, or heading to another coffee shop and logging into the wifi in that location. If they do, Find My Mac can help trace your stolen MacBook.

Earlier nosotros get to how to use Find My Mac, however, you'll demand to prepare it up.

How to prepare Discover My Mac

  1. Go the Apple tree menu and choose System Preferences.
  2. Click on the iCloud pane.
  3. Log in, if yous're non already logged in, by entering your usual iCloud proper name and countersign.
  4. In the list on the correct hand side, scroll downward until you come across Detect My Mac.
  5. Make sure the box adjacent to it is checked.
  6. Click Allow.
setting-up-find-my-mac

You're all set! Now, if your MacBook is stolen, the iCloud Find My Mac utility will help you track it.

Tip: At that place is one other precaution you should have before you head to a coffee shop to work, or accept your MacBook to a public place: securely delete sensitive data. While you can use macOS' securely empty Trash feature, information technology's very slow. We recommend CleanMyMac Ten'south Shredder. It volition deeply delete files and folders and fifty-fifty delete locked items without encountering Finder errors. You can download it free here.

One time you've downloaded information technology, launch information technology, choose the Shredder utility and select the files and folders y'all want to erase, and so press Shred.

Shredder module of CleanMyMacX

How to track a stolen Mac

Ok, so you've got Notice My Mac gear up and the worst has happened. You're now thinking 'how tin can I find my MacBook?' You have two options here. You can either apply another Mac or PC – annihilation capable of running a spider web browser will practise, or y'all can employ the Detect My Mac app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you decide to use a web browser, and your using it on a figurer on which you've never logged into iCloud previously, and you have two-factor authentication switched on, yous'll need a device with you lot that'due south registered on your account to receive an hallmark code. Apple calls it a 'trusted device.' That volition well-nigh likely exist an iPhone. Here'south what to do adjacent.

  1. Open up a web browser on a Mac or PC.
  2. Go to icloud.com.
  3. Log in with your username and countersign.
  4. On your trusted device, click Permit.
  5. When the six-digit lawmaking appears, type it into the boxes.
  6. If the Mac or PC is not your own, choose Do Non Trust in the adjacent window, and so that no i else tin log onto your business relationship from there without a code.
  7. When the master iCloud screen appears, click Find iPhone.
  8. In the All Devices carte at the middle of the top toolbar, click and choose your MacBook.If your Mac is online, you'll run across a map with its location and an indication of how long ago Find My Mac is able to verify it was in that location.
track-stolen-macbook

Now yous accept iii choices, displayed in a window at the top right of the screen under the name of your MacBook. Y'all can:

  1. Play a sound. This is handy if you lot recollect the MacBook might still be nearby, as yous'll be able to hear it. Even if it's not, it may spook the thief and make them dump your laptop. It too displays a bulletin on screen saying 'Find My Mac alarm' which may further spook the thief.
  2. Lock. This will preclude the thief accessing your MacBook without entering a four-digit lawmaking yous set.
  3. Erase. This is the concluding resort. If you think there's lilliputian chance of recovering your MacBook quickly, clicking erase volition wipe all your data.

How to runway a stolen MacBook on your iPhone

  1. Launch the Detect iPhone app.
  2. Log in with your iCloud username and password.
  3. Tap your MacBook in the list of devices.
  4. If a location is displayed on the map, it'south plant your estimator.
  5. Tap the MacBook in the centre of the screen.
  6. Tap Play Sound, Lock, or Erase Mac.

How to lock and erase your MacBook if it'due south stolen

Equally nosotros said above, provided you gear up Find My Mac and your Mac is online after it's stolen, you tin log into Find My Mac on a Mac or PC, or iOS device and use the Erase or Lock buttons to wipe data or lock the thief out of your MacBook.

How do I track my MacBook if it's offline?

Find My Mac uses a range of methods, including wifi cell information to runway your Mac. And so if it's switched off, or not connected to a wifi or cellular network, Find My Mac won't be able to locate it.

However, all is not lost. If Notice My Mac can't locate your MacBook, it will offer yous the option to play a sound, lock or erase information technology when it'due south next dorsum online. Yous tin can as well keep checking Find My Mac, as it will update the map location the adjacent time your Mac is online.

track-mac-with-find-my-mac

How to find your MacBook without Discover My Mac

All of the higher up relies on you having fix up Find My Mac before your Mac was stolen. If you didn't, information technology won't work.

Withal, all is non lost. There are several online services that log the email accost of your devices when you lot log into them. If your Mac is connected to ane of those, and the thief doesn't realize, when they connect to the Internet, the service will log the IP accost of your Mac.

Here's how to locate the IP address for different services:

Dropbox

  1. Go to dropbox.com in a spider web browser on any Mac or PC.
  2. Log in.
  3. Click on your business relationship moving-picture show — information technology's at the top right of the screen, if you don't accept ane, the default is a smiley face up.
  4. Choose Settings.
  5. Click the Security tab.
  6. Roll down to Devices.
  7. Locate your MacBook in the listing.
  8. Place the mouse pointer over the 'i' nether About contempo activeness. The current IP address of your Mac will exist displayed.

Gmail

  1. Get to gmail.com on whatsoever Mac or PC browser and log into your account.
  2. Curlicue to the bottom of the listing of messages in your inbox.
  3. Click on Details nether Final account activeness.
  4. A new tab or window volition open and brandish details of recent IP addresses from which your business relationship was accessed.

Facebook

  1. Log into your Facebook account in a spider web browser on any Mac or PC.
  2. Click in the downward arrow in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Choose Settings.
  4. Select Security and login from the sidebar on the left of the screen.
  5. Expect at the Where y'all're logged in list and check if your Mac is listed as Active Now. If so, hover over information technology with the mouse pointer and the IP address volition exist displayed.

A few things to go along in mind

1. Check your email

This one is a long shot, but it has happened. If the thief drops or otherwise damages your MacBook during the theft, they may effort and get it repaired past Apple tree. If that happens, Apple tree volition transport an email to the address registered to that Mac, confirming the repair. If you get an email like that, contact Apple immediately explaining what has happened, then contact the police with the details.

2. Go to the constabulary

If Find My Mac manages to locate your MacBook, get direct to the police. It's tempting to tackle the thief on your own. Nonetheless, it's unlikely that the thief will just hand over your computer and you may exist putting yourself at hazard. Give the police the information and let them do their job.

three. Exist careful

Having your Mac stolen is horrible, just losing precious data could exist worse. Therefore, you lot should back up your Mac regularly and utilise CleanMyMac's Shredder to erase sensitive data you no longer demand. CleanMyMac tin can also uninstall applications you no longer need with one click, and remove junk files from the System, Photos, iTunes, keeping you Mac running chop-chop and smoothly.

CleanMyMac X - Smart Scan complete

Find My Mac is a bright tool for tracking a stolen MacBook, or any other Mac, but you must set it up showtime. So practice that every bit soon as you finish reading this commodity. If, for any reason it doesn't work, try using the tips in a higher place for Dropbox, Facebook, and Gmail. Higher up all, your personal safety comes first. Don't endeavor to tackle a thief or in whatever other way put yourself at risk of damage in an attempt to recover your computer. Contact the law and give them any information you've managed to gather.

Good luck! And stay tuned!