Step-by-step tracking guide
How to track
a package on iPhone.
Start with a tracking number, match it to the carrier and follow each checkpoint to your door. Here is the useful part of package tracking—without the logistics jargon.
Start here
From confirmation email to live delivery updates.
Find the tracking number
Look in the shipping confirmation from the store or carrier. It is different from the merchant’s order number.
Add or scan it
Paste the number into Shipments, or scan the barcode on a physical shipping label when the package is nearby.
Confirm the carrier
Automatic detection helps match the number to UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL or another supported carrier.
Follow the timeline
Review the latest status, delivery estimate and checkpoints, then enable alerts for meaningful changes.
Detailed instructions
Track the right number with the right carrier.
Most tracking problems begin before the first lookup. A valid carrier tracking number and a little patience after label creation solve many of them.
1. Find your package tracking number
After an order ships, the merchant usually sends a shipping confirmation by email, text or app notification. Look for a link labeled “Track package” or a string identified as the tracking number. An order number identifies your purchase inside the store’s system; a tracking number identifies the shipment inside the carrier’s network.
If the merchant says the order shipped but no tracking number appears, open the order details in the merchant’s app or website. Some stores wait until the carrier accepts the package before showing the number.
2. Add the number to Shipments
Copy and paste the full tracking number into Shipments. Avoid including surrounding words, spaces added by line wrapping or punctuation from the message. If you have a physical label, scan its barcode instead of typing a long number by hand.
3. Let automatic detection identify the carrier
Many carriers use recognizable number formats. Shipments uses the number to help match the delivery with a supported service. The app covers more than 1,200 carriers, including UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon Logistics, DPD and SEUR.
If more than one carrier could use the format, confirm the service named by the merchant. International shipments may also be handed to a local carrier near their destination.
4. Read the latest event and delivery estimate
Begin with the newest checkpoint rather than the oldest. It tells you what the carrier last confirmed and where the package was at that moment. Then review the official delivery estimate and any separate smart prediction available in Shipments.
5. Turn on useful delivery alerts
Notifications save you from repeatedly refreshing a tracking page. Shipments can alert you as a package moves, changes course, goes out for delivery or arrives. Keep device notifications enabled if you want those updates outside the app.
Tracking language, translated
What common package statuses mean.
Wording varies by carrier, but most delivery timelines follow the same basic progression.
Label created
The merchant generated shipping information, but the carrier may not have received or scanned the physical package yet.
Accepted or picked up
The carrier has possession of the package and recorded its first movement in the delivery network.
In transit
The package is moving between facilities or awaiting its next scheduled transfer. Gaps between scans can be normal.
Arrived at facility
The package reached a sorting location. It may be processed there before leaving for another hub or local station.
Out for delivery
The package is assigned to the final delivery route. Timing still depends on the carrier’s route and conditions.
Delivered
The carrier recorded the final handoff. Check the delivery location, household members or building staff if it is not visible.
When tracking looks stuck
A quiet timeline is not always a lost package.
Why package tracking may not update
Tracking events appear when a carrier records a scan or system event. A package can continue traveling between distant facilities without generating a public update at every step. New labels can also take time to receive their first physical scan.
Try these checks before contacting support
- Confirm that the tracking number is complete and belongs to the current order.
- Check whether the latest status is only “label created.” The merchant may still be preparing the handoff.
- Allow for weekends, holidays, customs processing and long transfers between hubs.
- Compare the newest checkpoint with the carrier’s current delivery estimate.
- If the carrier reports an exception, address issue or delivery attempt, follow its instructions directly.
Need carrier coverage details? See which major services are included on the supported carriers page.
When to contact the merchant or carrier
Contact the merchant if an order has not actually shipped, the number is invalid or the item inside the package is wrong. Contact the carrier for address changes, delivery holds, claims, missing-package investigations or an operational exception. Shipments organizes carrier tracking data but does not transport or control the delivery.