For a modern person, a telephone is not just a device for communication. Besides the fact that it contains a SIM card, it is also a repository of a huge amount of personal and confidential information, starting with photos and ending with saved passwords from various accounts. Therefore, the understanding that you have lost your mobile is a shock for every person. However, you should not panic: instead, it is better to look for the lost phone or block third-party access to your personal data.
How to find a lost phone on Android?
If you find that your cell phone is missing, then the first thing you should try to find it remotely. For smartphones running on the Android operating system, for this you need to perform the following actions:
- Go to the com/find website and authorize a Google account linked to the phone.
- Select a lost gadget (if you have several devices attached to this Google account).
- Get information about the approximate location of the phone. If the system cannot receive this information, it will show you the last saved location of the device.
It is worth noting that all these actions will not lead to the desired result in every case. So, this requires the simultaneous observance of the following conditions:
- The phone must be turned on and linked to your Google account.
- The phone must be visible on Google Play.
- It must be connected to the network, and the location data transfer function must be active on it.
- On the phone must be an active function “Find Device”.
Suppose that all these conditions were met and you were able to track the location of the lost phone. In this case, you have several options (besides the fact that you can go to the point indicated on the map and try to find your gadget there):
- Call back. This feature will cause the lost phone to emit a loud beep for 5 minutes. The call will work even if the device has been switched to silent mode.
- Block. You can also block a lost device using a PIN code, password or pattern. This will work if one of the listed blocking tools was added by you when using it. Otherwise, you can use the screen lock feature. You can put some text on the last one (for example, a request to contact you when a phone is found).
- Clear. This feature completely and permanently erases all information from a lost gadget. Data stored on a removable memory card will not be affected. If you clear the information from the device, you will also delete the data associated with your Google account. This means that after that you cannot use the device search.
If you use the above tips is not possible, then we strongly recommend that you delete your Google-account associated with the lost phone, or change the password for it. So you will not find the lost cellular, but at least protect your personal data by preventing even larger losses. Also, it will not be superfluous to change passwords for the most important accounts that have been saved in the phone.
How to find a lost iOS?
IOS smartphones also have a number of search capabilities in case of loss. To use them, you must follow this algorithm:
- Go to the com / find site from any device and go through authorization. For the same purpose, you can use the Find iPhone application on any other mobile device running iOS.
- Get information about the location of the lost phone. If it is nearby, you can use the beep function to detect the loss yourself. Otherwise, you will need to turn on the “Lost Mode”.
The inclusion of the loss mode allows you to perform several actions with a lost iPhone:
- Lock the device with a password.
- Display messages with a specific text (for example, asking you to return the gadget to such or such an address or call this telephone number).
- Delete all data. This is a radical measure that will prevent third parties from accessing your personal information. After the removal procedure, you can no longer use the iPhone search function.
It is also worth noting that for the duration of the disappearance mode, making payments via ApplePay will no longer be possible.
All of the above tips will be valid only if the iPhone is turned on, connected to the network and if the “Find iPhone” feature is active on it. Phone location itself is not much of a factor, as my friend used it Thailand, when he lost a phone in a villa rented from yourkohsamuivillas.com and it worked ok. If the lost phone is turned off, then you can still perform any of these actions, but the corresponding changes will take effect only after it is online.
If you could not find your phone off or, for example, if you didn’t activate the Find iPhone feature, then the best solution would be to change the Apple ID password. This action will not help you find the lost device but will block third-party access to your personal information. We also recommend changing passwords from accounts that have been saved in your iPhone (for example, from accounts in social networks).
Appeal to law enforcement agencies and mobile operators
If you did not manage to find the lost, you can always contact the police officers, as well as your mobile operator, who will try to track your phone by the SIM card number. The operator can also deactivate your account so that use of your phone number for third parties is no longer available.
Thus, finding a lost phone or at least minimizing losses when it is lost is a very real task. The main thing – to act clearly and correctly in accordance with the algorithms.
