Find my phone: How to set up your smartphone so you'll always find it

If your phone disappears, it should be easy enough to locate it, assuming you activated the right function in Android or iOS. — Robert Günther/dpa

Lost your smartphone? Don't worry, the device's location feature can help you find it. However, you have to make sure the feature is turned on at all times. Here's what you need to do.

Apple devices: If you own an iPhone (iOS 13 or higher), go into Settings and tap on your name, then "Find My". Make sure "Find my iPhone" is turned on.

You can also turn on "Enable Offline Finding" on the same screen. That allows you to find devices that aren't connected to WiFi or a cellular network.

Also on this screen, you can choose to turn on "Send Last Location”, which automatically sends the phone's location to Apple when the battery is critically low.

To be able to find your lost iPhone on a map you need to turn on location services under Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

Android devices: For people with Android phones to be able to find their device they need to be signed into their Google account on the phone. You also need to ensure that Find My Device and Location are both turned on in the Settings app.

The Android device also has to be visible on Google Play. If you hide it there, it won't appear in Find My Device. To check that the device is visible, open play.google.com/settings and under "Visibility”, choose the device.

The phones can now be located using other Android or Apple devices or by visiting www.android.com/find or www.icloud.com. – dpa