Lagos is one of the safest towns in Portugal. It is also a town with a busy tourist season, crowded terraces, bustling markets, and the kind of relaxed atmosphere that occasionally causes people to leave things on chairs, tables, and the backs of mopeds.
Find My is Apple's location and recovery system. It works for Mac, iPhone, iPad, AirPods, and — with an AirTag — essentially anything you care to attach one to. When it is set up correctly, it is extraordinarily powerful. When it is not set up, it is entirely useless, and you will discover this at the worst possible moment.
The question is not whether Find My is useful. The question is whether it is turned on right now, on your device, in the configuration that would actually help you if something went wrong today.
Most people do not know the answer to that question until they need to.
What Find My Actually Does
Find My uses a combination of GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and — most impressively — Apple's vast network of over a billion Apple devices worldwide. When your Mac goes offline, other Apple devices nearby can silently detect its Bluetooth signal and relay its location to Apple's servers, entirely anonymously. This means that even a Mac that has been switched off and taken somewhere without WiFi can potentially be located — because there are Apple devices everywhere, and they are all quietly helping each other.
For MacBooks, Find My also enables Activation Lock — which means that even if someone wipes the drive, they cannot use the Mac without your Apple ID credentials. This does not get your Mac back. But it does make it considerably less appealing to steal.
Is Find My Turned On Right Now?
Open System Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → Find My Mac. It should say On. If it says Off, turn it on now, before you finish reading this.
Also check: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → Find My Mac. This should also be enabled.
The scenario nobody wants to be in
You leave your MacBook at a café in Lagos old town. You realise thirty minutes later. You open Find My on your iPhone and search for your Mac. It says "Location Not Available."
This means one of two things: either Find My was not set up, or the Mac is somewhere without internet and no nearby Apple devices. The first is fixable right now. The second is why you also need the other things on this list.
What to Do If Your Mac Goes Missing in Lagos
Immediately: Open Find My on another Apple device or icloud.com. Mark the device as Lost — this locks it with a passcode and displays a message with a contact number.
Within the hour: Report it to the GNR (the Portuguese national police) on Rua General Alberto Silveira in Lagos. You need a crime reference number for insurance. The GNR are helpful and accustomed to dealing with tourist-related incidents.
Also: Change your Apple ID password immediately. If your Mac had saved passwords in Safari or Keychain, change those too.
AirTags — For Everything That Is Not a Mac
AirTags are small, inexpensive trackers that use the same Find My network. One in your bag. One on your keys. One on your bicycle if you have one. They cost about €35 each and provide the same network-powered location tracking as your Mac and iPhone. In Lagos, where bags are occasionally left on restaurant chairs and keys are occasionally left in locks, they are a sensible investment.
Not sure if Find My is properly configured?
I check this as part of every Mac health check in Lagos. Takes five minutes and gives you the peace of mind that if something goes wrong, you have every possible option available. Same day, in your language.
Book a health check →Lagos is safe. Sensible precautions make it safer still. Your Mac is a significant investment — treat it like one.