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Q. I heard that I can use my iPhone to find my parked car. Can you tell me how that works? I don’t like to admit this, but sometimes I forget where I parked my car. If I’m shopping in a big mall, forgetting where my car is parked can be a big problem.
My friends and family make fun of me because I just don’t pay attention to where I park my car. I’m afraid someday I’ll go on a long trip and forget where I parked my car at the airport when I get back.
Is there an app I can get to find my car?
A. You heard right. Your iPhone can find your parked car with a tool called Find My Parked Car that debuted in iOS 10 last September. You don’t need to add an app to your phone, this new feature works in Apple Maps, an app that comes pre-loaded onto your phone.
Find My Parked Car can help you locate your vehicle when you’ve parked on a city street or in a large parking lot, such as a shopping mall, sports stadium or amusement park . You can also use this feature when you’re driving a rental car and don’t remember exactly what your car looks like.
You can even use this tool in a multi-level parking garage to remember where you parked your car.
What You Need to Use Find My Parked Car
You need a few things for Find My Parked Car to work.
1. iOS 10. You need to update your iPhone to iOS 10. If you haven’t done that yet, then this Find My Parked Car feature may be just the reason you need to update.
iOS 10 is a free update, available for iPhone 5 and later.
2. Bluetooth and/or Apple CarPlay in your car. Your iPhone needs to connect with your car to know where you’ve parked it and when you’ve walked away.
Find My Parked Car won’t work if:
- Your car doesn’t have Bluetooth
- You haven’t paired your phone to your car
- Your iPhone has Bluetooth turned off when you park your car
[tip] Be sure to pair your iPhone with a rental car before you drive it. Also be sure to unpair it when you drop off the car. [/tip]
3. Frequent Locations needs to be enabled. Go to: Settings => Privacy => Location Services => System Services => Frequent Locations and turn it on.
Find out more at The Creepiest or Coolest iPhone Feature You Didn’t Know About — And How to Opt Out
How to Turn On Find My Parked Car
You need to turn on Find My Parked Car in Settings:
Open the Settings app => Maps
Scroll down to Find Parked Location
Slide the switch to turn it on.
[note] You only need to turn on Find My Parked Car in Settings once. You don’t need to drop a pin or adjust your settings every time you park your car. [/note]
How to Use Find My Parked Car to Find Your Car
After you’ve turned on Find My Parked Car, you can see where your car is located when you park it and walk away.
There are two ways to find your parked car.
1. Use Notifications
You will receive a notification that Find My Parked Car has marked the location of your car:
Tap that notification to open the Maps app with a map showing the location of your parked car.
2. Open the Apple Maps App
On your home screen, tap the Maps app icon. You will see a map with your location marked by a blue dot.
Your car’s location will also be marked on the map:
More Information to Help You Find Your Parked Car
Tap on the parked car icon to get more information about the location of your car. You will see options to Edit Location and get Directions, so your phone can act like a GPS to guide you to your car.
You will also see how long your car has been parked in that location.
You can add a note, such as “parked on the 4th level.” This comes in handy when you’re parked in a multi-level parking garage, as Find My Parked Car does not tell you the altitude of the car.
There is also a space to add a photo. Tap the square with Add Photo to open the camera app and take a picture.
Your Thoughts
Did you know you could use your iPhone to find your parked car? Have you ever lost your car in a parking lot or on a city street? Have you used Find My Parked Car?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
* Mall parking lot image (edited) courtesy of Daniel Oines via Flickr and Creative Commons
Voice of America Learning English
Fans of tech who want to learn English should check out my personal technology column at Voice of America Learning English. This week’s article is: Twitter Update Lets Users Block People and Words
Too funny. Who among us hasn’t forgotten where she has parked her car? Still I sometimes wonder whether we are becoming too dependent on technology rather than being present and using our own brain power to remember stuff or read a map.
Hi Penny, Well I have to confess, I once left a show and couldn’t find my car in a parking garage. I thought I remembered exactly where I parked it, but the car wasn’t there. I walked all over the parking garage and then went to the attendant who informed my that I was in the wrong parking garage!
The funny thing is that since I’ve been using Find My Parked Car, I’ve been better at remembering where I parked my car. But it’s good to know that it’s there when I need it!
I’ve been running iOS 10 since the first beta on a 6S + with a newer Kenwood receiver where it connects to my phone every time I turn on the radio and I’ve never seen a parking location. The button has been switched on the whole time. Not that I even need this but I do wonder why it doesn’t work.
Have anyone ideas or solutions?
Hi Salauddin, So you connect your phone via Bluetooth to the car, correct? And you have Find My Parked Car enabled? Make sure that you also have enabled Frequent Locations, as described in the article above.
Please let me know if you have met all three of the requirements and I can try to figure out why it’s not working for your parked car.
Hi Carolyn
I was just passing through a thought that if I could have app like searching the car from very big crowded parking would be best for me to search on my iPhone 7.
And now I got your article which is 101% my answer related to what I was exactly searching for. It’s really really useful and worth for those who think like me.
A grand thank to you Carolyn. Thanks a lot for sharing
Hi Bhavin, Isn’t it great you don’t need a new app to find your parked car in a big parking lot? Just take a moment to check your settings and you won’t have to worry about losing your parked car again.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us, Bhavin.
Ahh…It happens with me often..especially in malls where I re-enter the parking from a different entrance and then keep on guessing where I parked my car.
However, I’ve heard a lot of scary stories around pairing your iPhone with rented card. So I think ppl need to keep the security thing in mind as well.
Hi Jitendra, Good point. You should not download your contact list to a rented car. And be sure to unpair your phone from the Bluetooth connection before you turn in a rental car.
Good point. Often we can come out of a different exit then where we went into a mall, making finding our car a challenge. This feature should make finding your car much easier!