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Lost your phone? Do these things, in this order

The order matters. Locking the phone before you start changing passwords saves you a great deal of trouble.

Losing a phone is not just losing hardware. It is losing the device that receives your two-factor codes, holds your email, and can reset most of your passwords. Work through this list in order.

In the first ten minutes

1. Ring it from another phone. Obvious, and it works far more often than people expect. Most lost phones are not stolen – they are on a seat, under a couch, or on a counter.
2. Retrace, then ask. Cafes, taxis, buses and reception desks all have lost-property drawers. Ring the venue rather than turning up – staff can look while you keep searching.
3. Locate it.
   • iPhone: iCloud.com/find, or the Find My app on another Apple device.
   • Android: google.com/android/find. Samsung users also have SmartThings Find.
   Both can make the phone ring at full volume even if it is on silent.

Within the first hour

1. Turn on Lost Mode. This locks the phone, suspends payment cards, and lets you put a message and a contact number on the screen. Do this before anything else – it is the single most useful action available to you.
2. Do not chase the location yourself. If the map shows the phone somewhere unfamiliar, contact the police. People have been hurt confronting strangers over a phone.
3. Tell your mobile provider. They can suspend the service and blacklist the handset's IMEI, which makes it far less useful to a thief. This also stops someone running up charges.
4. Change the password on your main email account first, from a computer. Email is the master key – whoever controls it can reset almost everything else.
5. Check your two-factor settings. If your phone was the only place you received codes, use your backup codes now and add a second method before you are locked out of your own accounts.

Within the first day

1. Report it to the police and get a reference number – insurers and some employers require one.
2. Notify your bank if banking apps or cards were on the device.
3. Tell your workplace IT if there was any work email or access on it. They may be able to wipe the work profile remotely.
4. Check your insurance. Home contents and some credit cards cover phones. Claim windows are often short.
5. Erase it remotely once you have accepted it is not coming back. Do this last: an erased phone can no longer be located.

Do this before it happens again

Everything above is damage control. These take ten minutes and make the next loss much less painful:

• Put contact details on your lock screen. A name and an alternative number, visible without unlocking. Most people who find a phone want to return it and simply cannot work out how. This is the single highest-value thing on the list.
• Fill in the emergency card. iPhone: Health → Medical ID, with Show When Locked on. Android: Settings → Safety & emergency.
• Check Find My or Find Hub is switched on and that you know the password to the account it is tied to.
• Turn on automatic backups so the hardware is the only thing you lose.
• Save your two-factor backup codes somewhere that is not your phone.
• Write down your IMEI – dial *#06# to see it. Police and insurers both ask.

Frequently asked questions