How to ping your iPhone from the Apple Watch

Whether your iPhone has disappeared down the back of the sofa or slid under a car seat, sometimes it's handy to have the option of pinging it from your Apple Watch.

Since updating to watchOS 10, some users have noticed that the ping function on the Apple Watch isn't where it used to be. Whereas before users could swipe on their screen to bring up the phone icon and send a ping, it's no longer possible to access it this way.

The good news is that the ping iPhone feature still exists on the Apple Watch. Read our step-by-step instructions to find out more - and jump to our guide to setting up Find My for the Apple Watch to ensure you don't lose track of your smartwatch.

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How to ping your iPhone from Apple Watch

1. Bring up the Control Center

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Press the button underneath the crown on the right side of the Apple Watch case. This should bring up the Apple Watch Control Center for users running watchOS 10 or later.

For watchOS 9 or older, swipe up from the bottom of the display to bring up the Control Center.

2. Tap the iPhone icon and locate your device

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Next, locate the iPhone icon on the screen. Tap it to play a sound on your iPhone - if it's in Bluetooth range, you should be able to hear it. 

If you're using this feature on the Apple Watch Series 9, this is slightly more advanced thanks to the addition of 'Precision Finding'.

Instead of playing a sound immediately after opening this feature in the Control Center, the Apple Watch will instead provide directions and distance to your lost iPhone. Again, this only works if the device is within Bluetooth range. 

You can then tap the icon in the bottom right to play a sound as you get closer.