How Can I Find My Car With My iPhone? A Comprehensive Guide

Misplacing your car in a busy parking lot or a new city is a common frustration. Fortunately, if you’re an iPhone user, you have a built-in feature within Apple Maps that can help you remember and easily locate your parked vehicle. This guide will walk you through how to set up and use the “Parked Car” feature on your iPhone, ensuring you can always find your way back to your car with ease.

Setting Up Parked Car Location on Your iPhone

Before you can rely on your iPhone to remember where you parked, you need to ensure the necessary settings are enabled. This feature is available on iPhone 6 and later models running iOS 10 or later. Here’s how to configure your device:

Enable Location Services

Location Services is fundamental for your iPhone to track and remember locations, including where you park. To turn it on:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Privacy & Security.
3. Select Location Services.
4. Make sure the Location Services toggle is switched to the on position (green).

Activate Significant Locations

Significant Locations allows your iPhone to learn places important to you to provide helpful location-related information. This is crucial for the Parked Car feature to function correctly. To enable it:

1. In the Location Services settings (Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services), scroll down and tap on System Services.
2. Find Significant Locations and toggle it on (green). You might be asked to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode for privacy reasons.

Turn On Show Parked Location in Maps

This setting specifically enables the “Parked Car” feature within the Maps app. Here’s how to activate it:

1. Go back to the main Settings menu and scroll down to find and tap on Maps.
2. Scroll down until you see Show Parked Location.
3. Toggle Show Parked Location to the on position (green).

Allow Notifications for Maps (Optional)

While not mandatory for the feature to work, enabling notifications for Maps can provide helpful alerts about your parked car. To manage Maps notifications:

1. In the Settings app, tap on Notifications.
2. Scroll down and select Maps from the list of apps.
3. Ensure Allow Notifications is toggled on. You can also customize the type of alerts (Lock Screen, Notification Center, Banners) and sounds you wish to receive.

How to Find Your Parked Car Using Your iPhone

Once you have configured these settings, your iPhone will automatically drop a parked car marker in Maps when you disconnect your iPhone from your car’s Bluetooth or CarPlay system and exit your vehicle. Here’s how to find your car:

Using the Maps App

1. Open the Maps app on your iPhone.
2. In the search bar at the top, type “Parked Car”.
3. Select Parked Car from the search results. Maps will display the location of your car on the map, marked with a “Parked Car” pin.
4. Tap the Directions button to get turn-by-turn navigation from your current location back to your car.
5. You can also tap on the “Parked Car” marker on the map to see options to Edit Location if the location is slightly inaccurate, or Add Notes to remind yourself of parking details like the level or section of the parking lot.

Using Siri Suggestions on the Home Screen

For even quicker access, Siri Suggestions can also help you find your parked car directly from your Home Screen:

1. Swipe down from the middle of your Home Screen to bring up Search.
2. Type “Parked Car” or simply look for Siri Suggestions below the search bar. If your car’s location is saved, you should see Parked Car as a suggestion.
3. Tap on Parked Car. This will open Maps and immediately show you the location of your parked car and offer directions.

Important Considerations

• Bluetooth or CarPlay Connection: The Parked Car feature is triggered when your iPhone disconnects from your car’s Bluetooth or CarPlay system. Therefore, ensure you are using one of these connection types in your vehicle for the feature to work automatically.
• Exiting Your Vehicle: The marker is dropped when you disconnect from your car system and move a certain distance away from the car, indicating you have exited the vehicle.
• Accuracy: Location accuracy depends on GPS signal and environmental factors. While generally reliable, the parked location might sometimes be slightly off. You can manually adjust the parked location in Maps if needed.
• Privacy: Remember that using location services and significant locations involves data collection. Review Apple’s privacy policy to understand how your location data is used and protected.

Conclusion

The “Parked Car” feature on your iPhone is an incredibly useful tool for anyone who frequently parks in unfamiliar or large areas. By following these simple steps to set up and use this feature, you can significantly reduce the stress of finding your car and spend more time on what matters most. Make sure you have enabled all the necessary settings to take full advantage of this convenient iPhone capability.