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Do This *Before* You Lose Your iPhone or Android
The Problem
If your iPhone or Android becomes lost or stolen, what are you going to do?
Do you know how to locate it electronically?
If you can’t locate it (or it stops working), do you know how to replace it? How will you prove who you are if the company wants to send a code to your phone?
Read on for my advice, which outlines how to:
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Prepare for your phone getting lost
- Try to locate your phone if it’s lost
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Report your phone as lost
- Set up a replacement phone
Advance Prep #1: Set a passcode on your phone
Whether you have an iPhone or Android, if your phone is lost and you set a passcode in advance, that will prevent someone else from getting into it if they don’t know (or can’t guess) the code. You can choose a code that’s 4 digits, 6 digits, or an arbitrary-length password. On Android you can also choose a “connect the dots” swipe pattern.
If you forget the passcode (or if someone else finds your phone and cannot guess it), you will never get in, and there is no “Forgot my passcode” reset. The only other option is to erase the phone and start fresh, but that only works if you can also sign in to the corresponding Apple or Google account, which in turn may require using that phone.
Advance Prep #2: Gather the information you’ll need now
Whether you have an iPhone or an Android, gather the following info now:
- Your Wifi network’s name and password
- Account #1 for an iPhone: Your Apple username (email address), password, and what method(s) it uses for 2-factor authentication (2FA); your associated iCloud account uses the same sign-in info; you can also call Apple for help at (800) 275-2273 or support.apple.com/contact
- Account #1 for an Android: Your Google username (Gmail address), password, and what method(s) it uses for 2FA; you cannot contact Google for live help unless you have a Google Pixel phone
- Account #2: Your username (phone number or username or email), password, and 2FA method(s) for your cell phone service provider or carrier (Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc.); note also your cell company’s customer service number; some companies also use a PIN or verbal password to prove it’s you during a phone call
- For Android, also note the phone’s manufacturer (e.g., Samsung, Motorola, etc.), since that’s the third company that you might call for help with issues beyond what the carrier can do for you.
Advance Prep #3: Practice the following steps
Practice signing in to both of those accounts on your computer without using your phone.
Practice calling your carrier’s customer service and getting authorized to talk to them without using your phone. You’ll learn what they’ll accept instead—your account PIN, billing info, email verification, a code sent via text to another phone on the same account, etc. A PIN is often the quickest method, so if you don’t know yours, set up a new one.
Advance Prep #4: Add an alternate 2FA authentication method that doesn’t rely on your phone
If the only 2FA method for signing in to either of your accounts requires your phone, you will be locked out if that phone is lost.
Add another 2FA method now to work around this, e.g., text or voice call to an additional number (cell or landline), email, backup codes (Google only), etc.
Advance Prep #5: Turn on “Find My” now
Your phone can report its location so you can have a good chance of finding it. This lets you see it on a map, whether it’s in your house, down the block, or in another city, which goes beyond the simple “call the phone, listen for it ringing” method. Additional features include making the phone play a sound (even if the ringer is off), erasing the phone, and more.
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iPhone: Turn on the “Find My” feature in Settings, along with Find My network (a.k.a., Offline finding), Send Last Location, and Location Services.
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Android: Turn on “Find My Device” in Settings, along with similar options
You cannot turn this feature on from your computer; you must turn it on using your phone in advance.
Advance Prep #6: Make sure that your phone is backing itself up to its corresponding online (cloud) account
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iPhone: Designed to back itself up to your iCloud online account
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Android: Designed to back up to your Google online account
That will help make the process of moving to a replacement phone much easier.
Note that your online account will need to have enough room to store a backup of your phone.
Your phone will back itself up if it’s plugged in to power, on Wifi, and not being used. You can also trigger a backup manually.
It’s happened—Your phone is lost: Try to locate it first
First, if you think your phone might be nearby, try calling it from another phone, and then listening for it to ring.
If that doesn’t work, use your computer to:
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iPhone: Sign in to iCloud.com, then go to Find My; you can also call Apple for free help with this
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Android: Sign in to your Google (Gmail) account, go to Account->Security->Find a lost device
If your phone is powered on (and you’ve turned on this feature), you’ll see your phone’s approximate current location on a map. If your phone is off, you’ll see its most recent location.
If it’s powered off (not just “locked”), you cannot power it on remotely.
If you cannot locate your phone, call your cell carrier
If you give up trying to find your phone and decide to replace it, you can report it as “lost” to your carrier, either by signing in to the corresponding account or calling customer service. That will prevent anyone from using your phone to make calls, access your voicemail, and intercept texts, especially 2FA sign-in codes. You can also wait until you have a replacement phone before doing this.
Setting up your replacement phone
After getting your replacement phone, you’ll probably set it up in this order:
- Power it on
- Join your Wifi network
- Sign in to your Apple/iCloud (iPhone) or Google account (Android)
- Restore from backup
- Activate it on your cell service, either by inserting a physical SIM card (Subscriber Information Module) or activating its internal eSIM chip
- Make and receive a call to confirm it’s working
It can save time to call your carrier’s customer service (on another phone) and have them help you through the process, especially that activation step. That will also deactivate your lost phone from your account.
Also, customer service people typically send a code via text to verify your identity, which would be fruitless in this case. That’s why I recommend preparing for this situation in advance.
Other basic things to do for both iPhone and Android
If you haven’t already, I also recommend that you:
- Keep the phone’s software reasonably up to date. For software updates or upgrades, instead of installing them right away I recommend waiting 2-4 weeks after they're released. That can help you avoid the problems that some updates may turn out to have.
- Consider getting phone replacement or “protection” insurance. You’ll spend money now to reduce the cost of buying a new phone later in case of loss or damage.
- If the phone is in a larger case or wallet, you could also use an AirTag or Tile to track its location independently.
Low-tech ideas
Consider these simple ideas as well:
- Tape your contact info to your phone, or place it inside the protective case (if it’s transparent), or put that info on your lock screen. You could use your name, another phone number, an email address, your business card, etc.
- Consider adding a phrase like “Reward if found.”
Where to go from here
As always, if any of my advice seems too difficult to follow, I recommend that you find someone you know and trust who can help you.
In the searches below, replace “X” with either “iPhone” or “Android.”
- google: find my X
- google: lost my X
- google: add text to X lock screen
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