How to Track a Macbook

Every 53 seconds, a laptop is stolen. This statistic can be scary for all laptop owners, but especially Mac owners. In NYC, Apple thefts make up 14% of all the crimes! Also, theft of other electronic brands has decreased. In other cities and countries, Apple product theft might be even more.

Keeping this in view, Apple has designed a solution to help track your Macbook. If your Macbook is ever lost, you can track it easily using the iCloud App. It is even better if you are reading this BEFORE losing your Macbook to take precautionary measures to ensure you can track it in time.

In this article, we have discussed different methods to track a Macbook. If you are a windows user, you can also study how to track a laptop with serial number.

Find my Mac

Find My Mac is built-in software that you need to toggle on to sync it to your iCloud. This way, you can track down your Macbook quite easily. Here is how you can turn on the ‘Find my Mac’ option on your MacBook:

1. Search for the option “System Preferences” on your Mac
2. Go to the iCloud icon (it will be in the shape of a blue cloud)
3. From the list, search for “Find my Mac.”
4. Tap to enable the option
5. A popup will ask you to allow using the location of the Mac.
6. A blue checkmark will appear showing that you have toggled the feature on

Here’s what you can and cannot do with the “Find my Mac” option:

1. You have the option to play a sound. So, if it is stolen and you have noticed it right away, you might be able to catch the thief instantaneously. Read How to improve laptop sound
2. It has an option to wipe the memory of the Macbook remotely, so your data, pictures, and documents are secure.
3. You can also remotely lock the Macbook so the user cannot access it and use it.
4. However, it does not take iSight pictures of the thief. This can be done with the help of some premium apps.

Premium Apps

There are premium apps like ‘Hidden App,” which help in tracking down your Macbook. It takes pictures of the thief using iSight. It also allows spoken message alerts and captures the screenshot of the Macbook. Therefore, the photos and location information are enough evidence for the police to track down your MacBook.

Unfortunately, if you have not turned on the ‘Find my Mac’ option or installed a premium software for tracking beforehand, you cannot use the serial number to track down your Macbook.

Steps to Track the MacBook

Here are some SOPs that you can follow if you have to Find My Mac Active:

1. Visit https://www.icloud.com/
2. Use your Apple ID and password to log on.
3. Once signed in, click on “Find iPhone.”
4. Click on “My Devices” to open a menu of your active devices.
5. Find your Mac on the list and select it.
6. You can now play a sound to locate it, lock it remotely, and erase data from it. It can track it in real-time so you can find out the location and get your MacBook back.

However, if you have not turned on your “Find my Mac” option, you can follow these steps:

1. Sign in from https://www.icloud.com/
2. Change your Apple ID and password to secure the data.
3. Change passwords for the apps logged in on your MacBook
4. Report the theft by giving them the serial number, which can be found on the original packaging

With these steps, you can track down your MacBook. However, if you are reading this article after you have lost and have not toggled on the “Find my Mac” feature, you might not be able to track it down quickly.