1. Try Calling Your Number Immediately
The first thing you should do after discovering that you have lost your phone is call it from another number. Maybe you have not lost it yet; perhaps you have replaced it with someone’s device or mistakenly left it at a store. If your phone is not on silent, you can still hear it and find it.
However, if someone picks up your phone after it falls from your pocket or bag, they may answer it instantly. So if it rings and no one answers, contact the generous assistance.
2. Lock Down Your Phone Right Away
It is always recommended for Android and iOS users to keep their phones locked with patterns, face-recognition lock, fingerprint, voice-recognition lock, passwords, etc. But you can also lock your iPhone remotely so that no one can access your private information. You can Activate Lost Mode on your iPhone by logging into another device and clicking on the Find My iPhone option by logging into your Apple account.
3. Track Your Phone Using GPS When Lost My Phone
If calling does not help, try to locate the phone using your phone’s GPS. However, if you haven’t activated your phone’s GPS from the start, this method won’t help you at all. Your Android devices come with an inbuilt location tracking service that tracks the activities you do with your mobile phone. For example, you can log in to your Google account from another device and go to Google Location History to track the current location of your lost phone.
Or, with the help of Android Find My Device for Android or Find My iPhone, you can check the recent location of your smartphone.
4. Lost My Phone – Erase All The Data Remotely
If calling or using GPS is not enough to know your phone’s location, maybe the person who got it took out the battery and your sim card as well. You can erase all your data from your iCloud or Google account, but this won’t let you track your device again. But if you had kept a backup of all your data before you lost my phone, you can restore it.
5. Report Your Stolen Or Lost Device To Police
Once you are sure that your phone has been stolen, you should file an FIR. The good thing is that you can file an FIR online in Delhi within minutes. Filing an FIR will prevent the misuse of your phone’s IMEI number, and you won’t be responsible if anything illegal happens.
Though the chance of getting your phone back is nearly zero, you can at least show the reference number to demand your insurance.
But before you head on to the website, make sure you have the following information ready:
- Phone’s IMEI number
- Proof of purchase
- Model number
- Your personal details
6. Deactivate Your SIM Card If Lost My Phone
As soon as you discover that your phone is not receiving any calls from you, contact your service provider to ask them to suspend your SIM card. Of course, this will not get your phone back, but you can at least prevent the misuse of your number. Moreover, if your mobile wallets are linked to your phone number, then the person who stole your phone can rob your account, as the OTP will be sent to your phone number during a purchase. This is a stressful situation, and the last thing you want right now is no balance on your account to buy a new phone.
7. Secure Your Online Accounts
Not only your emails but your social network accounts are also important. The moment someone finds your phone or steals it from you, that person can quickly look into your social media accounts and pretend to be you. They can access your Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, and other networks and text people you usually do. To prevent this, change your passwords from all accounts, including Google and other emails you have.
Preferably try to wipe your smartphone with the help of Android Device Manager or iCloud.
8. Unlink Your Accounts
If changing passwords does not give you that mental satisfaction, you can manually unlink all your cloud accounts. Unlinking your cloud storage like Dropbox, Google Drive, etc., can also stop the syncing process, making your accounts safer. You can do this from your desktop or another mobile device by going to the account’s security page and removing your lost device from the list.
