That cold drop in your stomach when you pat your pocket and find nothing is one of the worst small feelings there is. If you have never thought about what to do if you lose your phone, the first instinct is panic, and panic wastes the minutes that matter most. The good news is that every phone sold today can be found, locked and wiped from another device, as long as one setting was on before it went missing. Here is what to do if you lose your phone, in the order I would work through it, for both iPhone and Android.
Key Takeaways
- Call your phone and retrace your steps before anything else.
- Find My on iPhone and Find Hub on Android show the phone on a map from any browser.
- Many phones can still be located after they are turned off or the battery dies.
- Mark the phone as lost to lock it, and erase it only when you are sure it is gone.
- Switch on finding today, because a phone that never had it on cannot be found.
What to do if you lose your phone in the first five minutes
Stop and breathe first. Most lost phones are a couch cushion, a car seat or a café table away.
Borrow a phone and call yours. If it rings nearby, you are done. If you were out, call the last place you visited, the restaurant, the shop or the taxi company, and ask them to check. Staff hand in phones all the time, and a quick call often beats any map. Then retrace your steps while the trail is fresh.
If none of that works, move to the map. The sooner you look, the more likely the phone still has battery to report where it is.
How to find a lost phone from any browser
Where to find it icloud.com/find or android.com/find
Sign in on a computer or a friend's phone. For an iPhone, use icloud.com/find with your Apple Account. For an Android phone, use android.com/find with the Google Account on the phone. The map shows where the phone is now, or its last known place.
On iCloud, the Find Devices button works without a verification code, so the missing phone cannot lock you out of the very page you need. On Android, Google may ask for 2-Step Verification before it lets you lock or erase the phone, which is why backup codes matter, more on those below.
Play a sound if it is nearby
Where to find it The same device page > Play Sound
If the map shows the phone at home or close by, play a sound. It rings at full volume even when the phone is set to silent, and it keeps ringing until you find it and tap to stop. This is the fastest way to find a phone lost inside a house.
How to find a lost Samsung phone
Where to find it android.com/find or smartthingsfind.samsung.com
A Samsung Galaxy phone signed in to a Google Account shows up in Google's Find Hub like any other Android phone. Samsung also runs its own service, SmartThings Find, where you sign in with the Samsung account on the phone. Try both if one does not show the phone, since each uses its own network to locate devices.
How to find a lost phone that is turned off or dead
A phone that is off or out of battery is harder to find, but not always impossible.
On iPhone, two switches help. Find My network lets other Apple devices nearby report your iPhone's location even when it is offline, and Send Last Location sends its position to Apple when the battery runs low. With both on, the map can show where the phone was right before it went dark.
On Android, Find Hub keeps an encrypted recent location, so the map can show where the phone was when it was last online. On supported phones, such as the Pixel 8 series, Google says the Find Hub network can still locate the phone for several hours after it is turned off or the battery runs out.
If the map shows a last location, go there first. A dead phone does not move on its own.
Mark it as lost
Where to find it Find My > Devices > your phone > Mark As Lost or Find Hub > your phone > Mark as lost
Marking an iPhone as lost locks it with its passcode, can show a message and a number on the Lock Screen, and suspends the cards in Apple Pay. If the phone is offline, the request waits until it connects again. Android offers the same lock and message from Find Hub.
If you think the phone was stolen rather than lost, leave your contact details off the Lock Screen. Apple advises against going to a location on the map you do not recognize, so report it to the police instead.
Protect your accounts if it was stolen
Change the password for your Apple Account or Google Account from another device, and sign out of the lost phone if you can. Then call your carrier and ask them to suspend the line. That stops anyone using your number, and it blocks codes sent by text from reaching the thief.
Call your bank if any banking apps were on the phone, and check your email for password reset messages you did not ask for. If your phone is insured or covered by a theft plan, file the claim quickly, since most plans want the report soon after the loss.
Erase it only as a last resort
Where to find it The same device page > Erase This Device or Factory reset device
Erasing deletes everything and cannot be undone. An Android phone that is factory reset no longer shows in Find Hub. On an iPhone, never remove the erased phone from Find My, because the Activation Lock that stays on is what stops someone else from using it.
Erase only when you are sure the phone is gone for good and you have a backup of what matters.
Set it up today, before you need it
Where to find it iPhone, Settings > your name > Find My > Find My iPhone or Android, Settings > search for Find Hub
A phone that never had finding switched on does not appear on any map, and nothing can be done for it remotely. On iPhone, turn on Find My iPhone, Find My network and Send Last Location. Turn on Stolen Device Protection too, under Face ID and Passcode, which adds a security delay before anyone can change your Apple Account password away from familiar places.
On Android, Find Hub, the new name for Find My Device, turns on by itself once a Google Account is added. Check that location is on, and that Find your offline devices is switched on.
Keep your 2-Step Verification backup codes somewhere other than the phone, and keep your photos backed up. Our guide on how to back up photos shows the free way to do it.
Ready Before It Happens
Take two minutes tonight to switch on finding, save your backup codes and check your backups. Then if the bad day ever comes, you will open a browser, find the phone and get on with your life.
FAQs about what to do if you lose your phone
- How do I find my lost phone that is turned off?
- Open icloud.com/find for an iPhone or android.com/find for Android. If Find My network or Find your offline devices was on, the map shows the last location the phone reported, and some phones can still be located for a while after they turn off.
- Can I find a lost phone that is dead?
- Often you can see where it was. On iPhone, Send Last Location sends the position when the battery runs low. On Android, Find Hub shows the last place the phone was online.
- How do I find a lost Samsung phone?
- Use android.com/find with your Google Account, or SmartThings Find with your Samsung account. Both can show the phone on a map, ring it, and lock it.
- What should I do first if my phone is stolen?
- Mark it as lost from another device, change your account passwords, and call your carrier to suspend the line. Then report the theft to the police.
- Should I put my phone number on the Lock Screen if the phone was stolen?
- No. Apple advises leaving contact details off a stolen phone, and going to the police rather than to a location on the map you do not recognize.
- I use 2-Step Verification. How do I sign in without my phone?
- Keep backup codes somewhere other than the phone. Google asks for 2-Step Verification before it will lock or erase a lost Android phone remotely, and the codes get you in when the phone that receives your prompts is the one that is missing.
- Should I call my carrier when I lose my phone?
- Yes, if you cannot find it quickly. A call to the carrier belongs on any list of what to do if you lose your cell phone. Your carrier can suspend the line so nobody else uses your number, and it can tell you about replacement options.
- Can I still find my phone after I erase it?
- An Android phone disappears from Find Hub after a factory reset. An erased iPhone stays protected by Activation Lock as long as you do not remove it from Find My.
